Sicko

Review by Loc

Michael Moore, for his expose documentary goodness, has become a marketable Hollywood product. With early films like Roger and Me or even Bowling for Columbine, Moore was a muckraker of the highest regard. He turned over logs that no one wanted to see and brought issues to light that no one wanted to think about. However, everything changed with Fahrenheit 9/11, the film that skewered the G-Dub administration. After pulling in more than $100 million in box office receipts, Moore was thrust on to the highest tree stump in the world for all his supporters to cheer and all his critics to jeer. So when he targeted the American health care industry, describing Sicko as a lightning rod for controversy might have been an understatement. Quick hit: beyond the slanted storytelling, the real message to remember is a sobering realization.

That message: how can we let so many people down? Yes, Sicko presents a very one-sided take on the health care industry. More than his previous efforts, Moore seems to ignore any efforts at presenting a semi-even-handed account of things. Rather, we see the absolute worse that our health care industry has to offer. Incomprehensible medical evaluations? Check. Immoral decisions governed by economics? Check. The helpless citizens who have been denied coverage, strong-armed into choosing between health and money, and the overall dismissal of the uncovered? Check, check, and check. There’s no doubt about it, Moore paints a dire picture where the greedy control the means to health care, and they have no conscience when it comes between people and the bottom-line.

Moore mixes it up with several episodes in various foreign countries: Canada, England, France, even Cuba. And in visiting these places, Moore paints the extreme counterpart, universal health care and the joys that come from government-run medicine. There are no dissenting voices, everyone is in agreement: no one would want to work in America’s health care system, ex-patriots could never fathom using the American system again, and every foreign doctor is the most helpful, open, honest, and empathetic person in the world. Again, Moore doesn’t try very hard to showcase an opposing point of view, and he’s as subtle as a strongman with a mallet.

And really, why should he waste the time to do so. Sure, it might make his argument stronger if he covers the other side. Whether he acknowledges the strong points or he breaks down the supposed falsities, Moore could rally more support for this glaringly shocking issue. However, Moore may not feel the need to rally anyone’s support. He knows the injustice that exists, why spend time justifying any of it. Unfortunately, while the material is still very powerful, Moore misses the opportunity to convert any naysayer. In the end, he’s probably doing a lot of preaching to the converted instead of pushing the boundaries.

Overall, you can overlook the single-minded presentation. The biggest takeaway is the lack of compassion, the lack of caring, that we’ve embraced. Our fellow brethren should never face the decision of reattaching a ring finger tip over a middle finger tip because it costs $48,000 less. Our babies should not die in an emergency room because the first hospital they were taken to wasn’t in the health plan. Something is dangerously wrong when health care is measured against profit margins, and when profit margins are established by denying those who you’ve insured. It’s disheartening to know we let people down, that we allow people to get sick and die in this country over health insurance claims. Yes, there’s a lot of different problems in this world and in this country, but profiteering off of health care shouldn’t be one of them. Out of $125 inhaler prescriptions that cost 5 cents in Cuba, Sicko gets diagnosed with $94. It’s not an even-handed representation, but it does bring a very important issue back to our attention.