By Adriana Sierra

With the 2004 presidential election about to stir the country in a few weeks, Fahrenheit 9/11, directed by the one and only Michael Moore, is available to rent or own at a perfect time. The film, a documentary about the inside jobs taking place at the White House, certainly puts the actions and intentions of President George W. Bush in the spotlight, possibly causing many viewers to “rock the vote,” for Democrat candidate, Senator John Kerry.

The start of the film takes you back to the 2000 presidential election, a seemingly surreal moment in the history of America, where many news broadcasts issued apologies the following days after announcing Al Gore as the winner at 8 p.m., and learning that Fox News later announced Bush as victorious at 2:15 a.m. Back in the moment of the election, when the public only knew what they saw, it all seemed a little fishy, especially since Fox is notoriously known for being Republican biased. Moore presents unsettling information such as the man in charge of the decision desk at Fox News on election night was none other than Bush’s first cousin, John Ellis, who spoke with the President several times that evening. In addition, the woman who counted the votes for the election was, coincidently, the chairman of Bush’s campaign, taking the election from fishy to absolutely reeking.

But the real disturbance starts in August 2001, when President Bush was on vacation the first eight months in office, and was reported to have been “on vacation 42 percent of the time,” according to The Washington Post.

During this time, warnings of the planned attacks on America were presented and, seemingly, disregarded. When the planes hit the World Trade Centre on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, President Bush sat in a Florida elementary school classroom and did nothing for seven minutes after he had been informed that the second plane had crashed and the nation was under attack. The attack killed nearly 3,000 people and airports were completely shut down and secured. The only flights to leave the nation were six private jets and approximately two dozen commercial planes with 24 members of the Bin Laden family and 142 Saudi Arabian nationals, none questioned.

The film continues to unravel seemingly confidential information, like the friendly business relationship the Bush family has with the Bin Laden family. With each passing scene, another secret is disclosed to the audience.

From the comparison of the influx of money from the Saudis ($1.4 billion) to the salary of an American president ($400,000), to the two month head start Osama Bin Laden had before troops were sent to Afghanistan, facts and satire are being tossed at viewers left and right. However, the film takes on a different spin as Moore shows Lila Lipscomb, a middle-class mother, who is supportive of the war in Iraq, until her son, a soldier, passes away. A scene of Lipscomb screaming and mourning in front of the White House proves to be moving and allows the audience to connect with its message on an intimate level.

Beside the film, the DVD also contains many special features, some just as disturbing as the film itself. Cleverly, the special features menu is reminiscent of the all too familiar terror alert system that has consistently been shown on the news since 9/11. From the menu, one can look at the “Release of Fahrenheit 9/11,” home video of Lila Lipscomb attending the premiere and deleted scenes, but the most compelling is footage from Swedish journalist Urban Hamid, showing the abuse of Iraqi detainees.

For those who keep up with current events, much of the information may not seem like anything new. However, for the average citizen, Moore has lifted the wall between the public and the government, sending a message not to believe what you see on the surface. It goes much deeper than that.

Final Grade: A