Moore film fires up America

By Damian Fowler
BBC correspondent in New York

Ivan Medina fought back tears during a recent screening of Michael Moore's documentary Fahrenheit 9/11.

A former marine who fought in the first wave of the war in Iraq, he lost his twin brother in an ambush on the streets of Baghdad.

Millions of Americans have been to see Moore's film

The documentary, which raises questions about the decision to invade Iraq, has fired up Mr Medina's anger towards the Bush administration.

"This film portrays the truth," he says.

"It asks the hard questions that need to be asked. Why did we go to Iraq? Why did we forget al-Qaeda? Why did we forget Osama Bin Laden?

"They haven't clarified why we went to Iraq; they haven't given us the reasons. They hid and hid."

The White House has already branded the film "outrageously false".

Outrage

Mr Medina was joined by other military family members who shared his outrage.

Until recently, voices such as these - not typical die-hard liberals - have been less than conspicuous in challenging the government.

Anything that moves votes is significant, especially in an election like this where margins are not great Henry Sheinkopf, Campaign strategist

Fahrenheit 9/11 has occasioned a robust political debate. It is a piece of agitprop which its supporters hope will translate into a definitive defeat for President Bush in November.

But could it really have an impact?

"It will have a political effect," says Henry Sheinkopf, a veteran campaign strategist who advised Democratic political campaigns including the Clinton-Gore run in 1996.

"The film itself is effectively one long television commercial which uses propaganda to make its point. So, anything that moves votes is significant, especially in an election like this, where margins are not great," Mr Sheinkopf says.

Negative campaign advertisements tend to have more impact than positive ones, he adds.

And given the massive amount of hype the film has received, not to mention the record box-office take, it does seem possible that a film on this scale might reach undecided voters.

Rallying cry

The anti-Moore camp is responding with documentaries of its own

The liberal political action committee MoveOn.org has used Fahrenheit 9/11 as a rallying point to organise more than 4,000 supporters to hold house parties - at least one in each of the 50 states, plus Washington DC.

MoveOn said that 50,000 partygoers celebrated the documentary and collectively listened to a nationwide conference call with Michael Moore.

"These parties are to celebrate the film's success," Eli Pariser, the executive director of MoveOn, told the New York Times.

"But they are also to take the momentum gathered around the movie and direct it towards activities that will have a concrete effect on the election."

Amongst other forms of practical politicking, Mr Moore urged supporters to "adopt five non-voters and bring them to the polls."

Voter registration drives have appeared outside cinemas across the country urging people to participate.

'Fact and fiction'

But the Bush camp says it is not concerned.

"The American people can tell the difference between fact and fiction," campaign spokesman Terry Holt told the Washington Post.

Anti-Moore writers have used his own words against him

"This election is about serious issues, and I don't think most American voters consider Michael Moore a serious analyst of American politics."

Meanwhile, a conservative group called Move America Forward have set up their own screenings of a Disney documentary called America's Heart and Soul, which celebrates American patriotism.

Conservative websites such as Moorewatch.com assert that "Moore is a disingenuous danger to this country, and his assumptions and assertions should not go unchallenged."

And a book called Michael Moore is a Big Fat Stupid White Man, by David T Hardy and Jason Clarke, is generating interest, according to bookseller Amazon.com.

The title plays on that of two liberal best-sellers, Mr Moore's own Stupid White Men and Al Franken's Rush Limbaugh is a Big Fat Idiot.

There is also a documentary in the works called Michael Moore Hates America, directed by filmmaker Mike Wilson.

He promises that it "will challenge our audiences to rethink the documentary and will reinvigorate their passion for the possibilities that the United States offers us all".