Sicko
More good coverage of Moore’s upcoming film from The Huffington Post. I’ll be in Canada when the film launches and may even try to see it there.
I get asked on a fairly regular basis if our family is planning on staying in the US for the long term (note to anyone from UVM: I have no plans to go anywhere else right now). One of the main things that makes us think from time to time about going back to Canada is the healthcare system here in the US. Thanks to our coverage from my job, we have had great treatment so far from some fantastic doctors. But what will happen to our kids when they grow up and have to cover their own healthcare? What happens if any of us get really sick? And then the really big question: how long can one continue to support indirectly a system that only covers a portion of the population and still be able to look at oneself in the mirror? That, frankly, is the question that I find the hardest to deal with these days.
I’m really hoping that SICKO helps people realize just how much better things could be here if everyone in the US were covered by a single-payer system. That would truly be an American Revolution.
The publicity for SiCKO says the movie sticks to Michael Moore’s “tried-and-true one-man approach” and “promises to be every bit as indicting as Moore’s previous films.”
This is actually somewhat misleading. The approach is a little different. There’s humor, but there aren’t many gimmicks in SiCKO. There’s no effort by Moore to confront industry executives. Moore himself has a much smaller role than in previous films.
It is also a bit deceptive — as an understatement — to say SiCKO is as indicting as Moore’s previous films. No matter how big a fan you may have been of Moore’s earlier movies, you’ll find that SiCKO cuts deeper and is more powerful and profound. SiCKO is, by far, his best movie.
This is, simply, a masterful work. It is deeply respectful of and compassionate towards the victims. It seethes with outrage, but its fury is conveyed by all of the horrifying stories it presents. The narrative is, by and large, understated. It overflows with raw emotion, but manages to explain clearly the systemic imperatives that lead the richest nation in the history of the world to fail so miserably at delivering health care to all.
Could things be different in the United States?
Yes.