BEAUTIFUL MISERY

a film review of SICKO
by Malik Isasis
























The only complaint I have about Michael Moore’s documentary Sicko is the title, but that’s where the complaint ends. Like in Fahrenheit 911, the prologue to Sicko begins with a right and left jab. Adam, who has injured himself, sews the deep gash over his knee, closed himself with a needle and thread. Why? He has no insurance and can’t afford it. Then there’s Rick, who sawed off two of his fingers, the middle finger and his ring finger. Like Adam, Rick has no insurance. He couldn’t afford to save both tips of his fingers, so the doctors gave him a choice, save the middle finger for $60,000 or save the ring finger for $12,000. Rick opted for the ring finger at $12,000. I gave the doctors the middle finger.

The contrasts of the American healthcare system with countries like Canada, France, Britain, and Cuba reveals the systemic failures, the sickness and the bed soars of the American healthcare system. Moore also reveals the corporatization of doctors who’ve wiped their asses with the Hippocratic Oath, which is to due no harm; doctors in the Health Maintenance Organization or HMO, managed care systems have become corporate bean counters, forgoing medicine for the corporate bottom line. The more money they save the HMOs (AETNA, Blue Shield Blue Cross, etc.) the further along they go in their careers. A divide and conquer scheme that is elegant and effective.

Why We Fail

Michael Moore has and is being sold by the corporate media as a Cult of Personality, but that’s only so that the media can discredit him and marginalize him as a far left radical, in an attempt to obfuscate the mirror in which he holds up to our faces.

Notice in reviews of this film, critics go out of their way to say Moore is not a 'journalist' or something derogatory--making the review about Moore, rather than the content of the documentary. These critics are part of the corporate Matrix, I shouldn't expect them to not try and marginalize the messenger. Back to the review.

A former British Member of Parliament in the documentary said:

“If you can find the money to kill people, you can find the money to help people.” Imagine a ‘mainstream’ American politician speaking this way. “If you have power, you use it to meet the needs of your community.” He followed.

The government of Britain has power, and it has chosen to help the people. So have the governments of Canada, France and Cuba. However, the United States government chooses to use its power to show its contempt.

Imagine.

Moore effectively illustrates why the United States government has failed us, and why we have failed us. It would have been interesting to see how many people in Moore’s documentary supported Bush, and support the Occupation of Iraq before their illnesses. Our politicians’ ability to get the poor and marginalized to vote against their own interests and or to give up and not vote is why we continue to fail ourselves. We vote against our own interests, or not vote at all. This is the corner stone of a failing Democracy.

However, there is something else.

Debt bondage

Keep people in debt and they are less likely to revolt. We are born into debt, graduate from college in debt; I graduated with a Master’s in Social Work at a cost of $47,000 from one of the Nation’s top schools. Yet, I’ve been in noble poverty for 7 years caring for the poor and the sick, how do I pay this back with the meager salary of a Social Worker? Speaking of sick, if we become sick or injure ourselves, we accrue debt. It’s tantamount to modern slavery to the likes of Citi Bank, Master Card, Visa, Bank of America, Direct Loans et cetera. Is it no wonder that Americans are the most indebted in the Western world? Do you think this is by design?

In France, the French are not saddled with college debt, education is free, and they aren’t saddled with healthcare costs, because healthcare is free—just like in Britain, Canada, Cuba and many other countries.

There are powerful stories in the film. Some of the people in the film didn’t live because their doctors and insurance companies failed them.

The insurance conglomerates had shown their asses during Hurricane Katrina in which they refused to pay their customers for the damages and losses. Even with reports of record profits months before, the insurance industry bulked at claims.

It is a government approved racket, selling illusions and a false sense of protection to the American people at the very real cost of lives. It is sanctioned murder by neglect.

The film invites a sense of hopelessness.

The depth at which the healthcare corporations have pimped out politicians, doctors, and the media turns one's stomach. The collusion is disheartening.

Is this Who We Want to Be?

In one of the most powerful sequences, a hospital was dumping patients on skid row in Los Angeles because they weren’t able to pay the bill. This was the first time I’d gotten choked up. This is when Moore asked, “Who are we?” I think he was asking for effect, because it is clear who we are.

In Cuba, Moore brought some 9-1-1 rescue workers to get treatment they otherwise couldn’t afford. The rescue workers were medically treated. The intake? Simply the name and date of birth.

One of the workers who ground down his teeth in his sleep due to Post traumatic stress, received new teeth. Another worker was taken off five unnecessary medications. The Cuba sequence was the most powerful in the film; illustrating once again, how effective social medicine can be.

Politicians have become operatives for corporations. Government has become a pit stop for politicians on their way to CEOships at large corporations and lobbying firms. Corporations are producing and incubating politicians like produce, pulling them from the tree when rip and sending them out on the campaign trail to become the next Congressperson, or Senator, and the next President because the bottom line must be protected at all cost.

Who are we?

I dunno Mike, maybe you got the title right after all.


Grade: A+

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