The effects of watching Michael Moore's Fahrenheit 9/11 on voting intentions, mood, and beliefs about why President Bush and his administration initiated war in Iraq

This study evaluated the effects of viewing Moore's film Fahrenheit 9/11 with a survey conducted in 4 California theaters. Seventy-three prefilm participants completed surveys as they were about to see the film, and 127 postfilm participants completed surveys as they exited the theater (N = 200). Compared to prefilm participants, postfilm participants were more likely to attribute the war to President Bush, Vice President Cheney, oil companies, defense contractors, and the Saudi leaders. Also, postfilm participants were more likely to see a desire for oil and global domination as motivations behind the Bush administration's initiation of the war and less likely to endorse the Bush Administration's rationales. Furthermore, postfilm participants viewed President Bush more negatively, reported less likelihood that they would vote for Bush for President, and they felt angrier, more fearful, and sadder. These results indicate that a documentary film can have significant immediate effects in the direction intended by the film's creators on political beliefs about war, voting intentions, and mood.