Sicko

This was a strange film to watch, it was a documentary on the American health care system and insurance. I am a nursing major, so this documentary is related to my career of choice. I was saddened by all of the accounts that were made on the documentary and I am skeptical as to how far the truth was stretched in the film. I hope that all of the stories were not entirely true because it really makes America question their health care system and where all of their insurance money is going. I was in tears as I heard about the one woman who needed an operation for her brain tumor and the insurance company refused the claim because it was supposedly an “investigational” procedure. The woman ended up dying because she was not able to afford the procedure.
The truth of the matter is that people are denied health care everyday all over the world, not just in the United States. In the US we do have a law that states that any individual who presents his/herself to the emergency department needing emergency care for a life threatening condition, must be treated. However, the doctors and hospitals are the people who ultimately make these decisions.
I think that Michael Moore did manipulate a lot of the information that was presented in the documentary. The MTV website about “Sicko” also stated that Michael Moore had “cherry-picked facts, manipulative interviews, with lingering close-ups of distraught people breaking down in tears, and blithe assertions”. I think that the previous statement is entirely true and I am enraged at the way he went about directing this film. I understand the point that he wanted American to get, our health care system does need reform and the way things are working right now is not just and fair. Millions are uninsured and this is a big problem in the United States but part of the reason our healthcare is so expensive is because of all the people who do not have insurance and seek treatment anyways. Many people do not qualify for Medicare and Medicaid and for whatever reason cannot afford individual health insurance. But some of the people who do not have health insurance choose to not have health insurance because they do not think that they need it.
Over the past decade our people have sought solutions to the problem with our rising healthcare costs. Michael Moore does not focus on solutions to these problems instead he focuses on the horrific stories and highlights other countries healthcare systems. He makes social healthcare seem like it is the only solution, but he does not state the problems that it would bring to our country. In Canada healthcare is free to all people but just as the girl in our class said, you are put on a wait list for operations and you are ranked against other individuals. The woman from class said she needed ACL repair and received prompt treatment because she was young. Now, I do not think that is fair and it scares me to think about what would happen in the United States if that is the direction our government went. It scares me to think that if my grandmother falls down and breaks her hip, she wouldn’t receive treatment until all of the people before her were treated. It is really scary and I pray to God that our healthcare system does not head in the direction of social healthcare.
I do believe that we need to have affordable healthcare and I think that the presidential candidates for this upcoming election have proposed some really good ideas for our healthcare system. The United States has gotten better and our country learns with time, I hope that the new president will be able to make some serious changes in the affordability of health care so that the healthcare costs can level out.
Also, as the article on the MTV website highlighted, Michael Moore focused on how great the French healthcare system was but in 2004 the French declared that its system was out of control and was in need of immediate reform. I do not think that any one country has a perfect healthcare system but I believe that the United States is on its way to a pretty good and efficient system. We learn from our mistakes and our allies mistakes so hopefully America can formulate new and effective ways to make healthcare affordable.
I think that Michael Moore did a good job in directing this film and if it didn’t piss me off I would say that this was a good documentary. He highlighted the right topics and centered on emotions of interviewees which caught the heart of the viewing population. The movie drew in the audience and made them really think about what was being presented in the film. After the movie (before I logically thought things through) I wanted to call my insurance company and demand to speak to the president because I was pissed off. But after I did think about it the truth to the film is stretched and misleading. Prior to this movie, when I thought of a documentary, I thought of a movie that spoke about the facts and true stories. Now, I question every documentary I have ever seen. Michael Moore made it hard for other directors to be able to present documentaries because the population is going to be skeptical after seeing “Sicko”, at least I will be.
To comment on the documentary itself, I think that the interviews were good and the emotion displayed was great. The transitions between scenes were subtle and drug me into the story line, the lighting was good and I didn’t even recognize the music. Was there any music? I guess I was so focused on the characters and their interviews that I didn’t pay attention to the background noise. I cannot say that I enjoyed this movie because I hated it but, I am glad that we watched it.