Having read the lengthy piece by David Kopel, Fifty-six Deceits in Fahrenheit 911, I was struck by the sheer cunningness of Moore’s film. When you read Kopel, try to detach yourself from any revulsion you may feel at a work of literal propaganda receiving such wide-spread accolades from mainstream politicos, as well as attendance by your friends and neighbors.
Instead, notice the film’s meticulousness in saying only (or mostly) “true” or defensible things in support of a completely misleading impression. In this way, Kopel’s care in describing Moore’s “deceipts” is much more interesting than other critiques I have read, including that of Christopher Hitchens. Kopel’s lawyerly description of Moore’s claims shows the film to be a genuinely impressive accomplishment in a perverse sort of way (the way an ingenious crime is impressive)–a case study in how to convert elements that are mainly true into an impression that is entirely false–and this leads in turn to another thought.
If this much cleverness was required to create the inchoate “conspiracy” (whatever it may be, as it is never really specified by Moore), it suggests there was no such conspiracy. With this much care and effort invested in uncovering and massaging the data, if there really was a conspiracy of the kind Moore suggests, the evidence would line up more neatly behind it, rather than being made to do cartwheels so as to be “true” but oh-so-misleading. If the facts don’t fit, shouldn’t we acquit?
Update: Fred at Stone Court correctly notes an aspect of Kopel’s column I decided not to mention: His count of 56 “deceits” is padded. Some items he takes issue with are not “deceits” and, in at least once case, I noticed what seemed to be double counting. So Fred’s point is an entirely fair one. What I think is most interesting about Kopel’s post, however, (and what I chose to blog about) is not the number of “deceits” he identifies but the cleverness with which he shows how Moore uses “true facts” (as the National Lampoon used to say) to give a false impression. To defend these particular claims of Moore as “true” or “defensible” is to miss the point I was making of why Kopel’s list is so interesting and instructive.
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