Fahrenheit 9/11 Analysis

Media has an increasing part in public life, provoking emotions and swaying opinions. The power of the media is played out using language which is specially designed to persuade; But it is through rhetoric; ethos, pathos and logos (especially logos and ethos) that it tries to earn some credibility. Webster’s meaning for ‘Rhetoric’ is the art of speaking or writing effectively. Considering this, the tools of rhetoric- ethos, pathos and logos can be seen in the media coverage surrounding the events of 9/11, the Vietnam War and the Beaconsfield Mine disaster. The media at the time of 9/11 swamped the masses and portrayed ethos, persuading the viewers of an American unity, that could not be crushed, no matter how evil the attack.

On September 11th 2001, the Islamic extremist group al-Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out terrorist attacks against the United States. Two planes were flown into the World Trade Center twin towers. The third hit the Pentagon outside Washington, and the final plane crashed in a field in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people were killed as a result, and this tragic event defined the presidency of George W. Bush (History.com Staff). Shortly after the attacks, President Bush delivered a powerful speech that helped unify the American people, defy the terrorists, and call the citizens to action. In his 9/11 speech, President Bush successfully uses rhetorical devices to address the terrorism, unite people, and give hope to his audience.

In the film, Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore turns his eye on George W. Bush and his War on Terrorism agenda. Through facts, footage and interviews, Moore illustrates his opinion of how Bush and his companions have gotten America into worse trouble than ever before and why Americans should not stand for it. When tragedy hits America with the 9/11 attacks, Moore explains how Bush failed to take immediate action to defend his nation. In the film, Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore is trying to persuade his viewers to believe that the Bush Administration is corrupt by effectively using pathos, egos, and logos.

Bush uses his presidential platform to help alleviate the fear of the American people. In doing this he had to act poised, calm, and professional as his predecessors had to in times of catastrophe and tragedy. Bush had been in the middle of a book reading at an elementary school in Florida at the time of the attack. As soon as the attack happened Bush was contacted and immediately boarded Air Force One, flew from Florida to Washington D.C., made this address to the nation, and finally he flew to New York to aid the first responders in the cleanup of the wreckage. This showed professionalism on Bush’s part because he had dropped everything to help his country. This made the people want

The title of "Fahrenheit 9/11" is a play on the title of the famous Ray Bradbury novel, "Fahrenheit 451" in which society has been transformed into an authoritarian, repressive regime, in which subversive ideas are crimes and books are burned. In the book, a lonely protagonist is awakened to this reality and joins the struggle to keep underground dissidence alive.

Bush then used the rhetorical device antithesis. He started off talking about the American way of life and that day itself. The sentence started with the American citizens, and talked about their freedom and their way of life, the sentence then ended with “a series of deliberate and deadly terrorist acts” (Bush 1). This quote probably relates to the morning of the attack, when Americans were probably going about their normal day in New York, then all of a sudden the attack happened and change people’s lives forever. Bush then explained that the victims “were in airplanes or in their offices--secretaries, businessmen and women, military and federal workers. Moms and dads. Friends and neighbors” (Bush 1). They were friends, family members, and they were mostly all Americans and they did not deserve this. Bush addressed the emotions of every American who were affected due to the events of the 9/11 attacks in these four sentences. Bush addressing this was pretty important because, these mixed feelings were on everyone’s minds.

The September 11 attacks were tragic events that had spread shockwaves of horror and grief across the United States. The tragedy became the subject of controversy as some skeptics began to doubt the details reported to have transpired that day. Some people question its legitimacy, theorizing that the Bush administration devised and orchestrated the attacks to further its agenda. Filmmaker Dylan Avery discusses and promotes this prevalent conspiracy theory in his documentary, Loose Change 9/11: An American Coup. Avery argues that the government possessed foreknowledge of the attacks by comparing them to precedents of similar situations. He challenges the official explanations and provides his analyzations of evidence from the reports and media. Avery effectively appeals to pathos, ethos, and logos in his film, but his compelling argument is ultimately undermined by fallacies.

Firstly, the “war on terror” had reduced the humanitarian concerns down, and the foreign policy. Furthermore, media coverage had become more deferential and constrained: therefore, reducing the chances of media influencing policy. The “war on terror” most importantly provided journalists with a guide in which they could understand global events and policy makers with the ability to justify a more aggressive foreign policy plan. At last, the “war on terror” had constructed an ideological bond between journalist and policy makers which created stronger media management. Techniques developed to display coverage of certain issues over others to frame stories that support official

Fahrenheit 9/11, creates many good points and provides the public with an inside look into the corruption of George Bush’s presidency and what could have possibly led to the attacks on 9/11. However, the documentary overall argument is extremely weak. It is not convincing to anyone, other than those already suspicious of Bush’s involvement in 9/11, because of the ineffective ways of argument shown throughout the film.

The majority of the documentary is spent proving this theory that Moore has ingeniously managed to synthesise. Whether it is fear of the black man during slavery, fear of terrorists after 9/11 or fear of teenagers after the Columbine Shooting; there is always a reason for America to worry. Moore shows us that when people are scared, they look for ways to protect themselves, causing them to spend money; shown by the increase in homeland security after 9/11, which also was apparently caused by the CIA supplying Osama Bin Laden with weaponry and tactical training that was later used against the USA. He then investigates the media’s role in inflating these issues, stirring the

The obvious bias illustrated throughout Michael Moore’s film certainly does detract from the messages conveyed however when presented in the right circumstances it adds more value to the messages. The obvious bias leaves many people questioning the credibility of the director’s message as it doesn’t show the full spectrum of the situation, which is what documentaries are for, and ultimately this detracts the films message. However, in some circumstances the obvious bias brings more light on important aspects which should be acted upon thus adding more value the message being portrayed. Michael Moore has directed over 12 documentaries and a handful of them have been awarded with prestigious film awards. “Where to invade next”, “Sicko”, “Bowling for Columbine”, “Capitalism: a love story” and “Fahrenheit 9/11”, these are just half of the documentaries in which Michael Moore has directed. The purpose of a documentary is to present a nonfictional motion picture which aims to promote or

In response to the second attack, the FAA banned all takeoffs of flights going to NYC or around the city, and the Port Authority closed all bridges and tunnels in the NYC area. Next, President George W. Bush gave a statement from Florida, responding to the attacks, calling them an “apparent terrorist attack on our country.” Only 6 minutes after his initial statement did the third attack occur, and it was on the Pentagon. Hijackers crashed Flight 77, the third plane, into the western side of the Pentagon, killing 59 on board and 125 people inside the building. Consequently, the FAA grounds all flights over or bound for the United States, and sends thousands of commercial flights and private planes to airports in Canada and the U.S. Additionally, the White House, Capitol, and other high-profile places are evacuated as well, in case of another attack. In the late morning, passengers aboard Flight 93, the fourth hijacked plane, are alerted of the attacks by friends and family. In response to that, they panic and try to fight the hijackers to retake the

The tragic events that occurred on September 11th, 2001 will live on forever in the history of the United States as citizens shed fresh tears for those lost every year. Hundreds upon thousands of articles have been written since the life-shattering catastrophic event, most of which – unsurprisingly – focus on the politics of the entire situation. In one article, “9/11,” Susan Sontag ruthlessly criticizes the government response following the attacks, making bold claims that they were withholding information from the public and leaving citizens blind and ignorant. Though Sontag is effective in describing a valid argument against the government’s response after the events of 9/11, her success is lost in her failed establishment of ethos in her lacking appearance of knowledge, little fairness toward the government’s side, and lost credibility due to inadequate facts and strong emotions.

In addition to using pathos to get the audience’ attention Moore also makes extensive use of rhetorical questions during “Fahrenheit 9/11,”to create a negative representation of George W Bush. For example, during the classroom scene on September 11th, while Bush sits quietly, contemplating the attacks, Moore poses whether Bush should “have held at least one meeting since taking office to discuss the threat of terrorist” (Moore, Fahrenheit 9/11). Immediately this implies that Bush hasn’t had a meeting on terrorism since taking office in 2001, providing the audience with a disapproving outlook on Bush’s image.

In June of 1999, while still Governor of Texas, Bush announced his candidacy for President of the United States. In the final showdown, it was between Bush and Vice President Al Gore in one of the closest elections ever. After a third recount, Bush received 271 electoral votes to Gore’s 266 and became the 43rd President of the United States. However, he lost the popular vote by more than half a million votes. His fist initiative as President was the No Child Left Behind Act, which raised standards in schools and insisted on accountability in return for federal dollars. The most significant event during Bush’s reign came on September 11, 2001 when terrorists hijacked several planes and attacked American soil killing nearly 3,000 people. In response to the attack, Bush established the Department of Homeland Security and announced the “War on Terrorism” which still continues to this day. Bush focused his attention on Iraq, labeling them as part of an “axis of evil”. He proclaimed that they were in the possession of weapons of mass destruction and had to be stop. Eventually, they captured the Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein but no weapons were discovered. In 2000 and again in 2004, Bush was named the Person of the Year by Time magazine.