I admit I haven't seen Fahrenheit 9/11 yet but it is well known to be a anti-war, anti-Bush, documentary cum propaganda film that is engaging the nation in dialogue about the war in Iraq, the course of our nation, and most importantly the leader who chose that course for us. It is also well known that the film is specifically crafted to bolster the effort to unelect the President and I feel safe in saying, even though I haven't seen it yet, that the film is less about the war in general than it is about the problems with the president. To those ends, the film deserves to be seen.
But Fog of War is a film that accomplishes so much more and stands on much firmer ground. Fog of War: 11 lessons from the life of Robert S. McNamara is a documentary in the true sense of the word: it documents McNamara's recollections of his life and perspectives following his involvement as Secretary of Defense during the Kennedy and Johnson presidencies during the Vietnam War. McNamara has been demonized for his part in that saga but he surprised many by coming forward a few years back and "admitting" that Vietnam was a mistake.
Production on Fog of War began even before the attacks on 9/11 and the subsequent military excursions undertaken by the United States in the so-called War on Terror. It is not an anti-Bush or anti-American movie in any sense. But after watching it, it does have the effect of making the mistakes of the current U.S. administration stand out in glaring relief.
The movie is educational in exploring what was going on during the Vietnam War with McNamara and the presidents. I learned a lot about that chapter in our country. The main message of the film transcends Vietnam and seeks to redeem the mistakes made there by highlighting the educational opportunities provided by them. I've often mentioned that I don't have many regrets in life even though I've done my fair share of boneheaded maneuvers because some of the most important lessons I've learned and knowledge I've acquired came about as part of the mistake-making and recovery process.
Making mistakes gives us the experience of crossing the line and dealing with the pain of the aftermath; explicit knowledge of where those lines are, what the consequences of transgression are, and real world experience in charting a path to the edge and beyond (and thus knowledge about where not to go in the future) is priceless. Without such experiential reference, all we have are hypothetical arguments and thought experiments. These are useful and important, to be sure, but they are subject to subversion to our own self-interests; we tend to believe that the most likely outcomes are those that coincide with our desired course of action. Ultimately, it can prove worthless and obscures quality grounded decision making.
The lessons discussed by McNamara (the movie is primarily him, 85 years old at the time, talking, overlaid with film of the era) are so incredibly relevant that I was continually amazed at how elegantly they highlighted problems in the campaign in Iraq. It is tragic at the same time, since the whole purpose of McNamara's coming forward and of the film is to make those lesson explicit and help us to avoid making the same mistakes made during that debacle. Yet the points made by in the film were multiply violated in Iraq.
This is not a partisan film or partisan argument. I challenge anyone to dispute the lessons put forward by McNamara and the flim makers in general. Just try to argue that those are not accurate or suggest why they ought not be followed. I cannot imagine anyone would dissent with the message before 9/11 at all, which leads me to conclude that anyone who would do so now is more a victim of their desire to maintain their position in support of the President or in opposition to terrorists, as if avoiding the mistakes of the past would somehow make us more susceptible to destruction by terrorists.
See this movie. It is very very good. It is visually very beautiful as well, cinematically orchestrated with a haunting soundtrack that reminisces the Qatsi films in their unspoken commentary on the human condition. Highly recommended, as it is uncontroversial, relevant, and educational.
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Posted by Nutrimentia at July 16, 2004 03:35 PM | TrackBack