I was interested in seeing the responses printed in the opinion section after the release of Michael Moore's new film, "Fahrenheit 9/11." I had already seen reviews in various magazines and on Web sites, but I wanted to see what people had to say around here.
I had decided to go see the movie with a rather diverse set of my friends who have taken different directions in their lives. I want to describe a little about my friends who came with me. Now, all of these guys are friends who I graduated with locally, one works for a local concrete company, the other is a preventative maintenance technician, who up until recently was in the U.S. Navy, serving as a reactor operator on a submarine.
The third is a tinner for a mechanical company, and he is also on active reserve in the Army National Guard, and he just got back from deployment in Bosnia a few months ago. I am a graphic designer and sign painter for a local sign shop.
Now I figured at least one of us is going to have a little different political stance, especially when it deals with something as controversial as a film from a known left-wing fire starter like Moore. After the two-hour movie, we decided to go and have a beer and something to eat while we discussed the movie. This was by far the best part of the day. Because instead of going in a collective group of one select political force, we had different ideas. But one thing we agreed on was the fact that the movie made us open our eyes and maybe look a little differently at the subject.
Now, I know that Moore put his spin on the movie, but he brought up very important issues that you just can't spin. If some of you critics out there weren't moved at least a little, you are blind. Some people have gone so far as to tell me that people were superimposed and computer-generated into the film. Get real.
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It is hard to bend yourself out of a political mold, and maybe people can't hang out with those whose opinions may differ, but when we went to see the film, it was with open minds. Instead of coming in with your weapon drawn, why don't you use your ears, common sense, and a little rationale before you jump on the bandwagon, one way or another?
Mikkelson lives in Moorhead. E-mail nerdfrog@702com.net
