Factoid

from the desk of Robert, the Waugh to end all Waughs

Well, I saw Fahrenheit 9/11 on the 26th, and I'm currently trying to figure out exactly what I think of the movie. Expect a thorough review to come later this week. But for now I have to comment on Ray Bradbury's reaction to the movie, or I should say, the movie's title.

In an interview on Hardball, Bradbury has come out against Michael Moore for "stealing" his title. Overlooking the fact that, as pointed out in Boing Boing, "there's no copyright in title," and overlooking Bradbury's own co-opting of titles for his stories, is there anything to this particular story worth repeating?

Probably not. First of all, Michael Moore's movie has gained nothing from the association except a catchy title... and I can assure you, it would have had a catchy title -- Fahrenheit or no Fahrenheit. All of Moore's movies have catchy titles, which is more than I can say for Bradbury who has coined such wonderfully original titles as: It Came from Outer Space(2004), The Cat's Pajamas(2004), S Is for Space(1966), R Is for Rocket(1960), and The Martian Chronicles(1950).

In fact, I imagine that Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451 gains the most from this association. I never read the book myself until a week before Fahrenheit 9/11's release date. (Expect a glowing review of the book to come as well.)

From what I've heard, Moore took the title not from the book, but from an email someone sent him. He may be covering his own tracks by saying this, but the political statements in the movie really don't build off of the book at all. One can draw parallels from the book on a sociological level -- the dumbing down of media and the hatred abroad of America's prosperity and hubris as it feeds on the world's natural and human resources. And in fact, Moore's use of the title emphasizes the brilliance of Bradbury's vision, since the world since the September 11th attacks resembles his fictional world so closely it's frightening. Forget Nostradamus and his funky quatrains. Bradbury's predictions are much less cryptic, and more complete.

Personally, I think Bradbury is most upset that "his" title was used in a film critical of the Bush presidency. Perhaps Moore should have realized that, at least in 2001, Ray Bradbury thought Bush was wonderful because of his dedication to reform America's schools. (No comment)

But what bothers me most about Bradbury's reaction is that he chose to broadcast it on Hardball, essentially allowing himself to be co-opted by the news media. As he stated in a video interview about censorship and television published on his website:

Fahrenheit's not about censorship. It's about the moronic influence of popular culture though local TV news. The proliferation of giant screens, and the bombardment of factoids. All the popular programs on TV -- the competition programs -- they don't give you anything but factoids. They tell you when Napoleon was born, but not who he was.

Mr. Bradbury, you have just become a factoid.

Posted by Robert Waugh at July 1, 2004 05:10 AM