Sicko and Moore free essay sample

Michael Francis Moore is a controversial American filmmaker who has directed numerous documentaries. These documentaries have taken a large spectrum of popular American issues and reduced them to one: capitalism. His most popular cinematic works include Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, Capitalism: A Love Story, and most ­notably, SiCKo. With a liberal stance, Moore has documented his own vision on America’s large corporations, such as the Bush administration’s foreign policy, financial crises, and the American healthcare system. Although all of his movies are worth naming, SiCKo is one of Moore’s most complex documentaries, for it discusses the issue of the United States of America’s healthcare system. The issue is not only complex, but also highly debated for it affects the lives of millions of Americans in very profound ways. Broderick Fox, author of Documentary Media History, Theory, Practice, illustrates different styles that filmmakers use in documentaries. For example, he writes, â€Å"The interventional gaze makes no attempt to hide, but rather actively confronts the situation† (Fox 104). We will write a custom essay sample on Sicko and Moore or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Throughout the movie SiCKo, Moore â€Å"actively confronts the situation,† as he sends out the message that America needs universal healthcare supported by our government, because we are a country that neither abandons our citizens to health care debt nor denies our citizens the right to health care. Moore does this through his exceptional ability to throw himself into the middle of the debate of whether America Dawli 10 should reform its current privately owned healthcare system to a government owned system. Jane Chapman, author of the book Issue in Contemporary Documentary, defines documentaries as having, â€Å"discursive formations, presenting first ­hand experience and fact by creating a rhetoric immediacy and ‘truth’, suing photographic technology† (Chapman 8). Moore’s documentaries fit this definition, and for this Moore has attracted much deserved criticism for his unique â€Å"rhetoric immediacy† and for the â€Å"truth† he advocates for. Whether or not Moore is politically correct, his filming technique is creative and unconventional. He uses various strategies, such as ironic humor, over ­dramatization, over ­simplification, and strategic omission, in order to get his point across. Critics argue that Moore’s credibility is hurt, for he stretches the truth. However, Moore’s strategies are purposeful and directly aimed at what he is trying to accomplish: an increase in the debate on the American healthcare system. Moore’s use of ironic humor is unconventional because healthcare is a serious issue that ultimately lacks all forms of humor, as it affects the â€Å"real lives of real Americans† (SiCKO). Although the severity of this issue is somewhat ignored at times, Moore is capable of making such a humorless topic into one that is entertaining. The fact that Moore uses ironic humor throughout the documentary widens his audience because it attracts individuals who were not likely to watch a basic documentary on the United State’s healthcare system, due to the topic’s serious nature, but chose to do so based on Moore’s reputation as a satirical filmmaker. As Ernest Callenbach, a writer for Film Quarterly, states, â€Å"[A] powerful appeal in Moore’s films is that he is funny, in a down ­home way† (Callenbach 18). For example, Moore takes the victims affected by the â€Å"evils† of healthcare on a boat trip to Guantanamo Bay, which he claims is the only place in America that has free healthcare. During Moore’s adventure, the United Dawli 10 States Coast Guard stops and questions Moore and his crewmembers about their destination. Moore cleverly answers, â€Å"We’re not going to Cuba! We’re going to America! It’s American soil† (SiCKo). This voyage is humorous because Moore plays upon the irony that in order for American citizens to receive free quality health care, they must be taken the prison, which houses some of America’s most dangerous criminals. Another example in the film is when Moore â€Å"discovers in a British hospital corridor a â€Å"CASHIER† window, which he pretends to suppose is the hidden flaw in British free health services† (Callenbach 18). However, he soon learns that the â€Å"Cashier† is actually a place where the hospital pays its patients for any costs they may have incurred throughout their stay, such as transportation costs to and from the hospital. Moore compares the fact that people can actually get paid to go to the hospital in England, to America where patients need to pay for their health care, and illustrates this point using humor and sarcasm. As Chapman illustrates, â€Å"Documentary is also recognized as being a very engaged sort of cinema, which means that there are inevitably pressures and sometimes conflicting claims† (Chapman 8). In other words, although Moore engages the viewer and thus creates an affinity between himself and his viewers through humor, he also hinders his credibility? it is inappropriate for Moore to make jokes about such a serious matter that involves individuals with serious illnesses. Moore also over ­dramatizes events as a strategy to capture his audience. He cleverly inundates the viewer with three narratives of healthcare disasters told by individuals. For example, Moore presents a case where a mother loses her 18 ­month old daughter: the child developed a high fever and was denied the proper treatment and medication because her daughter was not insured. Quickly after this story, the viewer becomes inundated with similar Dawli 10 stories. The quick back ­to ­back string of stories accentuates the drama and creates hyper ­stimulated, emotional viewers. As Jacob S. Hacker, a writer from The New England Journal of Medicine, lists the multiple tragedies, â€Å"a woman seriously injured in a car crash whose insurer denies payment because she doesn’t obtain ‘prior authorization’ to visit the emergency room, an elderly couple who move into their daughters storage room because they cannot afford their medicine, an uninsured man forced to choose which of his two fingers to have reattached after an accident† (Hacker 1). All of these stories are indeed tragic and cause the viewer to be emotionally manipulated to sympathize with these individuals while developing anger towards the American healthcare system and even possibly the American government for not taking care of their citizens. As stated in the book, The Documentary: Politics, Emotion, Culture, by Belinda Smaill, â€Å"Emotion shapes how political issues and individuals are represented and perceived in documentary is crucial to how we engage with the vicissitudes of the public sphere† (Smaill 187). In other words, a documentary relies upon the emotion of its viewers in order to be successful. This strategy is purposeful for it encourages individuals to understand that it is their duty to debate in favor for universal healthcare. Additionally, Moore over ­simplifies the complex issue of American healthcare to make it more understandable to the average citizen. Through lightening the perplexity of the healthcare system, more viewers are capable of comprehending his proposals and views, and also his argument becomes more convincing. Moore over ­simplifies the issue by only presenting us with only black and white concepts: that the American healthcare system is awful, while healthcare in other countries – such as France and Canada – is flawless. However, he fails to recognize the consequences, which would result if ‘free’ universal healthcare were to be implemented. For Dawli 10 example, critics argue that the name ‘free universal healthcare,’ and the way Moore uses the term, are very misleading. In France, where healthcare is free according to Moore, there is a 13. 55 per cent payroll tax, 5. 25 per cent income tax, and additional taxes on tobacco, alcohol, and pharmaceutical company revenues (Tanner 2). These taxes are significantly higher than taxes in America, for France needs to pay for their citizens’ entire healthcare. Therefore, the ‘free’ universal healthcare is, in reality, not all that free. Furthermore, as Sanjay Gupta, a writer for CNN, states, â€Å"I also worry that Michael, who is an accomplished film maker, tried to leave people with the impression that health care is free in many other nations and there is a state of utopia† (Gupta 1). The point which Gupta touches upon is highly relevant to Moore’s technique in the film SiCKo, because it alludes to his tendency to over ­simplify and exaggerate the truth in order to get his point across in the most effective manner. In regards to healthcare outside of the United States, Moore also formulates an argument that there are no waiting lists in foreign countries with universal healthcare. He does this by interviewing patients in Canadian hospitals, who appear to be completely satisfied with the health care they receive. However, there are currently 800,000 Canadians on the waiting list for commonly needed surgeries (Tanner 2). Waiting lists are not unusual for countries with ‘free universal healthcare. ’ Also, Michael Tanner, author of SICKo: Michael Moore’s Latest Fantasy, states, â€Å"Even though American men are more likely to be diagnosed with prostate cancer than their counterparts in other countries, they are less likely to die from the disease. † In fact, â€Å"less that one out of five American men with prostate cancer will die from it, but a quarter of Canadian men will, and even ominously, 57 per cent of British men and nearly half of French and German men will† (Tanner 2). This clearly shows that despite the fact that health care is â€Å"free† in countries, such as Canada, their residents Dawli 10 are also dealing with a healthcare system that considerably less efficient at treating their patients. In addition, America spends 18% of its GDP on healthcare expenditures. In all reality, America spends more money than all the other countries in the world. Despite spending 18% of its gross domestic product on health care expenditures, America is still left with unhealthy individuals and lower life expectancies compared to Europe and Canada. This is a result of American’s poor nutrient and diets, not of low level of health care (Curran 1). Moore states that the reason why America has lowered life expectancy when compared to countries in Europe is because America does not have the same ‘free universal healthcare’ that these countries have for citizens. However, â€Å"most experts agree that life expectancies are a poor measure of health, because they are affected by too many exogenous factors such as violent crime, poverty, obesity, tobacco, and drug use† (Tanner 2). Moore continues to present the viewers with the negative aspects of the American healthcare system through over ­simplifying the issue. Although it may appear that Moore presents the absolute issue of healthcare, he, in reality, changes the actual issue. As Michael Tanner states, â€Å"He often refers to the 47 million Americans without health insurance, but fails to point out that most of those are uninsured for only brief periods, or that millions are already eligible for government programs but fail to apply† (Tanner 1). Also, Moore fails to recognize that â€Å"hospitals are legally obligated to provide care, regardless of ability to pay and while physicians do not face the same legal requirements, few are willing to deny treatment because a patient lacks insurance† (Tanner 1). Through Moore’s strategy of over ­simplification, it makes Moore’s argument easier to comprehend.