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DVD REVIEW
Sicko
Director: Michael Moore
The Weinstein Company
DVD Review
By Amy Steele
Very few people have never had a problem with their healthcare. Perhaps not life-threatening as with many of the people he shows in the film, but annoying. I know I have. I cannot stand what I have to deal with when I have to go to specialists. There are many anecdotes: a woman who loses her husband because his bone marrow transplant from his own brother got denied; a doctor who admits to denying claims for a health care company; a man who had to choose which finger to re-attach after an accident with a round saw because he could not afford both. Yes, it is a worthy film and it is bi-partisan. He even shows that Hillary Clinton, who once spear-headed the Health Care Reform Initiative in the 90s, is now in the pockets of these mammoth HMOs, as are many of her colleagues in the Senate. I got angered and I laughed a few times.
A woman tells Bush that she works three jobs and he pauses and then responds, "That's great. That's the American dream right there." Really. Sure, one job does not provide enough money for most of us to live the way we want but how can we have the time to work another and be healthy. I feel short-changed as I want to exercise every day for at least an hour but also do social or cultural things several times a week and it just isn't possible.
Moore also shows us the apparently superior [and socialized] health care systems in Canada, France, England and even Cuba. When Moore visits France, it seems all wonderful. But what about the taxes? I never got that answer. Health care and education are all covered by the government but what quality is that health care [this film says great]and the education. How can it be that great if anyone can go anywhere? There needs to be competition. Also, I know that in England not everyone can even go to college you have to take certain tests. A-forms, I believe. Here, anyone can find somewhere to go to college: we have community colleges and Ivy League and then other levels of education. Something for everyone. And this is how it should be.
When I was in graduate school in Maryland, a German classmate complained bitterly about how inferior the American educational system was but when I asked why he bothered to be here he told me there were no journalism programs in Germany. There you go. And think of all the Indian, Middle Eastern, Chinese and Europeans who come here to get educated and then return to their native countries. It bothers me sometimes that some get educated here and then use it against us. Moore does deserve credit for bringing health care into the spotlight again and making us think about it and discuss its need for reform.
DVD Extras: Many more interviews with people who've been screwed over by our healthcare system. There's his visit to the House of Representatives for universal healthcare bill. Plus, people find living in France to be a scary prospect? Take a look at Moore's creepy jaunt to idyllic Norway. Yikes!
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