[Reader-list] re: F-911

[Curt Gambetta]

Hi all,

Just a quick response to the postings about Farenheit
911... I think Berger is right on when he concludes
his critique. What is most important about this movie
(for me, at least), was its call for the United States
to end its dependence on the military industrial
complex... though industrial seems like the wrong word
these days. i have moved back to Florida, a year back,
and it is incredible the kind of information
infrastructure this economy of contemporary war
requires. i live in Orlando, and there are many young
people i met at community college who are in one way
or another affiliated with the military, ie: working
for military contractors (logistics, info systems),
having relatives in the army etc. Coincidentally,
Lockheed Martin and its network of smaller contractors
constitutes a large chunk of the local economy in
Orlando (next to tourism... Disney etc). Even in my
own lifetime, I have had 3 relatives in the
military... grandfather, uncle and an uncle (not to
mention the many more distant relatives). Farenheit
911 forces a lot of long overdue public introspection
on just how militarized the United States actually is
(especially after George W), and how dependent we are
on the military economy (and how dependent this
economy is on the underclass and lateral mobility).
Gore Vidal nicely titles his essays on the issue:
"Perpetual War for Perpetual Peace." It is interesting
that despite the Republican Party's traditional
efforts to "scale back government," government related
jobs are being touted as an expanding sector,
especially jobs that fall under national security. i
believe johns hopkins, for instance, has begun a
"homeland security" program, with more likely to
follow at other universities. it's an expanding market
for universities and potential employees... i'm not
too optimistic about the reversal of this trend.

i think many people were very shaken up by the film
here... it did put things in terms that people could
understand, relating stories that the general public
could relate to. that someone could make a blockbuster
striking at the heart of this economy of violence and
perpetual inequality (both inside the united states
and how it deals with the rest of the world) is a
really, really incredible thing. i'm always skeptical
of moore's appeal to the "common man," because i think
the common man, at least in the US, has been largely
bought out... but who knows--i'm glad he's optimistic
about it all, even if it seems naive or overstated.
surely pessimism and cynicism have not paid off.
pessimism and apathy got us stuck with one of the most
cynical, callous regimes i have ever seen in the
United States.

Curt


		
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