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June 21, 2007
Sicko
I was feeling ill today, so I did what everyone should do-- watch a movie about being sick. Duh. Thanks to the miracle of file "sharing", I was able to watch the just-released Micheal Moore file "Sicko" on my very own television...
What was of interest to me was how little new information he presents. If you've been paying any attention at all to the health care debate, you know that America isn't getting what we're paying for. What this movie does is break that down into very simple terms for people who haven't been paying attention. It'll be great for people like my Father who simply don't understand how health care is run...
The strength of the movie lays in its opening half-hour/ 45minutes. Simply: Moore shows how step by step people are denied medical coverage. He points out that it is some people's entire jobs to make sure that as few people as possible are able to use the health care they've paid for. It's an obvious point, yet wildly under appreciated...
Ironically, the the movie is at its weakest when Moore tries to paint another picture of the problem. He indulges in some rather bizarre
conspiracy paranoia, seeming to believe that powerful people conspire to keep Americans from having a stable floor from which to live whatever lives we see fit. Which is upsetting; it is productive to see the very real warfare being waged by the top 1%. It is unproductive to believe that there are any generals on the other side...
Overall, the movie is quite strong, and ought to help shape the presidential debates...
Posted by Andrew at June 21, 2007 06:23 PM