Fahrenheit 9/11 Analysis
Documentary and fictional aspects of the film Fahrenheit 9/11 “In feature films the director is God; in documentary films God is the director.”(web quotes) This quote by Alfred Hitchcock contains some truth, but in past decades the documentary genre has become more than just factual information about real people and places. It has become a mode for opinion and bias. In Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11, the “creative use of actuality” (film ed. Grierson) in its editing, style and source information all serve Moore’s argument and thus the directors view. Documentaries are films that inform truth with factual evidence in contrast to narratives that employ fictional events. The conventions of this genre are what make it creditable and serious. Non
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First is source information, second are interviews and third is narration. These three aspects add creditability to Moore’s piece and give it the gritty documentary image he seeks to convey. Moore achieves this with source information to support his claims. The use of hand-cams, domestic video footage, newspaper clipping and news footage are the film elements. This gives us that journalistic reality that’s believable. He also uses footage shot by other sources other than him which helps convince the audience that it was created outside of the directors controlling vision. (muse) The use of statistics is also prevalent throughout the entire film, This gives a serious tone to the subject. The shock factor is used to show images and video not otherwise shown on domestic news outlets. Iraqis piled in a back of a truck are an example of the gritty reality that Moore wants to share. Interviews with member of congress, military and family are shown as well to add a different angle but always supporting his view. These sources are presented as reliable and in some sense unedited even thought that is not the case.
First is source information, second are interviews and third is narration. These three aspects add creditability to Moore’s piece and give it the gritty documentary image he seeks to convey. Moore achieves this with source information to support his claims. The use of hand-cams, domestic video footage, newspaper clipping and news footage are the film elements. This gives us that journalistic reality that’s believable. He also uses footage shot by other sources other than him which helps convince the audience that it was created outside of the directors controlling vision. (muse) The use of statistics is also prevalent throughout the entire film, This gives a serious tone to the subject. The shock factor is used to show images and video not otherwise shown on domestic news outlets. Iraqis piled in a back of a truck are an example of the gritty reality that Moore wants to share. Interviews with member of congress, military and family are shown as well to add a different angle but always supporting his view. These sources are presented as reliable and in some sense unedited even thought that is not the case.