I bought my ticket for the opening night of Farenheit 9/11 on Thursday. When I went back on Friday, two hours before the 9:00 showing, to buy a ticket for a friend, it was sold out. I got to the theater about half an hour before the show thinking that I could get a good seat. Instead I found myself waiting outside with about one hundred other filmgoers waiting to get a good seat, all of us with tickets already in our hands. The group that had just seen the movie began filing out and there was a somber buzz in the air. I heard one guy say, "It was smokescreen after smokescreen. Why didn't we hear about these connections before?" I heard a lot of other mutterings in the crowd, and it was interesting to see all the groups of people that had just seen the movie hanging out after the movie to discuss what they had seen. The looks on people's faces ranged from shock to anger to a look a look of new purpose.
There are those that say only liberals, or Moore fans, will see this movie. Well, perhaps that is true but I'll bet there is a hign percentage of Moore fans that will see this movie who had previously planned to vote for Nader, like Moore did in 2000. Also, a lot of Moore fans, which means a lot of young people, probably didn't really plan to vote at all because Kerry hasn't really inspired the youth vote. I'll bet that most of those potential Nader, and non-voters will walk out of this movie eager to vote Bush out of office.
Remember, there are many Moore fans out there. So, for those that argue that say only like-minded people come to this movie, and it won't change minds. Well, think again. From the look on the faces of the people that just watched the movie, minds are changed.
And I haven't even made it into the theater, yet. It has been a long time since I have seen a movie feeling this level of excitement.
Stay tuned for my 'After the Movie' reaction.