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Sicko - Michael Moore's Commentary On Us Healthcare? |
By:
Frank Abbott |
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Sicko - Michael Moore's Commentary On Us Healthcare?
Frank Abbott
Michael Moore's latest documentary film undertaking, "Sicko", has struck a chord with many Americans. With over 40 million Americans without health insurance and 250 million, there was something for everyone to think about in this film. Moore called this film "a call to action and not a partisan film." Moore's provocative style and use of humor and satire makes the documentary enjoyable and also enlightening.
Moore first shares a story in which an uninsured American man has severed 2 of his fingers and has to go to the hospital to have them re-attached. The storyline coincides with a Canadian man who has also severed a finger. The American is told the amount to re-attach his fingers and it is over $60,000.
The American then has to make a decision which of his fingers he would like to keep because one of them will cost much less to re-attach. He opts for the cheaper finger. The Canadian has his finger re-attached and it costs him nothing.
This story sets the mood for the rest of the documentary film which overviews several health care systems in diverse places such as France, Cuba, Canada and the United Kingdom. He discusses America's disdain for universal health care began in the 1950's when universal coverage was akin to communism. He then makes the comparison that we have many successful universal services already in place in the United States. They are the police, fire service, libraries, the public school system and the postal service.
Moore then goes the United Kingdom and interviews doctors and patients about the universal system their government provides. Moore presses a doctor about his pay because the perception that a doctor in the United Kingdom would make significantly less than a doctor in the United States. He features shots of the young doctor exiting his new Audi and then tours the doctor's upscale townhouse. The audience is left to make their own decision about whether the UK's physician's standard of living compared to the United States.
Moore then takes us to France, to the world's leading number one health care system, and interviews American ex-patriots who enjoy the benefits of the free socialized medical system. The Americans described services such as the French system has 24 hour service with doctors who make house calls, $1 per hour daycare and cooking, and even cleaning and laundry services for new mothers.
The most provocative part of the film was when Moore took several 9-11 workers who were denied 9-11 funds by the U.S. government to the Guantamo Bay detainment camp in Cuba to see if they could receive the same, by most accounts superior, medical treatment the detainees were getting. Their tactics are not met with enthusiasm so they go to Cuba where the workers receive their much needed medication for a fraction of the cost in the U.S. and are treated by the Cuban physicians for their ailments.
Michael Moore has revolutionized the way people view documentaries. His films usually borderline the bounds of propriety but they cause citizens to discuss, rage and in many cases take action. More and more Americans are voicing their opinions about our failed healthcare system and films like this help add fodder for the exchanges of views.
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Article Source: http://www.statssheet.com/articles/article67273.html |
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