I hit the theatre on the way home and picked up a 7:25 ticket. There were no lines despite a T.V. news reporter in the parking lot. But I was going with friends who hadn't picked up their tickets early. By the time we got back there, lines snaked their way almost to the escalators and the earliest show we could get was 10:30 - unheard of in Syracuse, NY.
At 10:30, the theatre was packed. Taking seats where we could, we settled into a mixed group - lots of young people, punks, Goths, grandparents, 40/50 somethings, African Americans, young professionals.
These people laughed. They cried. They got angry. And they applauded hard at the end. But most of all...there was a bit of shell shock on everyone's faces. As if they were all trying to shake off the cognitive dissonance. This was especially true for a group of three African-Americans who sat there, staring at the screen...even as the rest of us filed out...
Scenes from the movie that stay with me:
*The quiet comparison between the Iraqi woman crying to her God and the mother in Flint, calling on hers after the death of her son. Our (Iraqis and Americans) humanity was never so clear.
*The fact that the mother learned of the death of her son by phone and not in person. This is crass and abominable. There are creative and frugal ways around this even in a high tech, super media age. No parent should learn of the death of their enlisted child through the detached static of a phone call. And the country needs to know the sacrifice it's paying - up close and personal.
*During the exchange between the mother from Flint and the anti-protester, a woman walks up and dismisses it all as a fabrication. When the mother tells her that her son is dead, the woman disbelieves her and starts asking her "Where? Where did he die? Where?" And when the mother tells her, the woman's only response is "Well there are a lot of other sons dying." No apology. No sympathy. No, "I'm sorry for your loss." Just a vacuous statement dismissing a mother's grief as just another sacrifice. No different from any other. Sad day...
*Secret Service and the Saudi Embassy.
*The fact that Bush, Sr. receives daily CIA updates while working as a private broker for the Carlyle Group.
*And every African-American member of Congress who stood up, while Al Gore stood there, gavel in hand, overseeing the process.
*Reliving 9-11 in the dark... Witnessing those scenes all over again... You can imagine what effect.
The list is long...but I left the theatre feeling an odd mix of emotions and more empathy for Bush than I expected. It's a damning piece, gang. More damning if free-thinking conservatives would take a look - there's a lot in there for them too.