Health Care: Michael Moore’s “Sicko," a review

By Gary Gordon

It is difficult to review a Michael Moore film without reviewing Michael Moore. He is the upstart troublemaker, activist, trickster, vaudevillian, the sore spot on the ass of the official story; celebrated, vilified, studied by anthropologists. Oh, and he’s popular.

In “Roger & Me,” he documented the economic collapse of Flint, Michigan as General Motors reorganized and the local Chamber of Commerce simultaneously denied the collapse and concocted bizarre and unsuccessful plans to revitalize the place.

In “Fahrenheit 9/11,” he argued that the “war on terror” and the invasion of Iraq were based on lies.

Now, in “Sicko,” he declares the healthcare system in the United States is broken, owned and operated by a greedy and often corrupt insurance industry and their servile politicians in both major parties, and there has to be a better way.

Through heartbreaking interviews with healthcare system victims, including 9/11 heroes who worked ground zero, and those in middle-management who once perpetuated the system and have since defected, Moore clearly documents the problems created by the for-profit health industry.

Through interviews with citizens of Canada, England, France and Cuba, Moore presents exciting aspects of their national health systems and maintains this kind of socialized approach is a solution for us to grab. To detractors of socialized systems, he points to long-socialized American institutions: medicare, our police and fire departments, our post office, public schools and libraries.

Critics of Moore often pick over his films the way vultures devour roadkill, finding fault and what they argue is deception and manipulation. Unfortunately, by some reputable accounts, Moore leaves himself open to these attacks because there are times when his use of narrative and moving images slights the truth of a more complex situation. His celebration of then-First Lady Hillary Clinton’s health care plans, as if her call for a national health plan was not a colossal deception designed to maintain the insurance industry’s grip speaks to his occasional naiveté. To his credit, he points out her rank as senator and presidential candidate among recipients of health insurance industry donations: she is number two.

The thing is, Flint, Michigan’s economy did collapse when General Motors shifted facilities and tens of thousands of jobs to Mexico and the Chamber’s schemes flopped, the “war on terror” and the invasion and occupation of Iraq were and are based on lies, and the US healthcare system is broken.

In other words, despite Moore’s faults and his critic’s best efforts, Moore gets it right.

CBS Anchorman Walter Cronkite once observed that anyone who got their news solely from him was a fool, that many sources should be sought and considered.

Moore’s is not the first nor final word on the healthcare debate, but his film “Sicko” is a brilliant, devastating and at times an oddly entertaining and humorous portrait of a sick system and a poignant draft of a possible solution.

Activist and singer-songwriter Gary Gordon is the creator of The Fictional Times.

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Michael Moore Rips Into CNN's Wolf Blitzer

Sicko director Michael Moore gives host Wolf Blitzer and resident MD Dr. Sanjay Gupta a dressing-down in a must-see live TV moment (watch until the end to see CNN try to put Moore back in place before the next segment).

- Watch the clip here:

<http://youtube.com/watch?v=6TR1SG8WDbU>

- Watch Sanjay Gupta's 'Sicko Reality Check' here:

<http://www.crooksandliars.com/>

- Read Moore's point by point rebuttal to the 'Sicko Reality Check' here:

<http://www.michaelmoore.com/>