SICKO

Michael Moore put together an incredible documentary—it’s tragic, sure, but he uses enough dark humor to keep even the most hardline conservatives glued to the screen.

To my fellow Americans, give this a watch if you can handle the emotional heavy lifting. And to everyone else abroad, just enjoy the comforts of home while you can.

Has anyone actually watched SICKO yet?
Nobody has anything to say about it?

Seriously, go watch it!!!

Hey placidfox55 😬
I might check it out—I watch a lot of stuff—but honestly, I doubt it’ll be one of those "eye-opening" experiences where I learn something totally new...
I've read Michael Moore's articles about every single movie, including that whole CNN controversy, and it never really grabbed me...

I’ll have to catch it once it hits theaters in NYC
but I don't think it’s even out in theaters yet😉

It’s a pretty darkly comedic take—in that classic Michael Moore style—on how the American healthcare system operates. Honestly, I was floored watching how people are denied life-saving surgeries over the most trivial, insignificant reasons. And while everyone seems to obsess over the segment on Cuba, that’s really just the last fifteen minutes of the film. Moore travels through France, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Cuba, visiting hospitals along the way, where he asks—rather naively, if you ask me—about the cost of services, only to be told every single time that everything is essentially free 🤣. There's plenty of satire woven in, too. Definitely worth a watch 👍

It looks like I'm on a bit of a documentary binge this week. After watching Lee's brilliant film, I decided to dive into the latest one from Michael Moore.
I have to say, though, it was a pretty depressing experience. It wasn't because the filmmaking itself was bad—quite the opposite—but because Moore once again managed to highlight just how pathetic and misguided Americans can be.

There’s plenty of cheap sentimentality and humor mixed in, making it a definite "must-see" among this year's releases.

It’s actually quite refreshing to see Moore taking a backseat in this film. That segment set in Cuba felt a bit over-the-top, though; I think the local Cuban propaganda definitely played up the drama there.

redowl90 said:just because Moore managed once again to show how truly pathetic and miserable Americans can be.

I suppose it all depends on your perspective.
In the US, a doctor's monthly salary usually runs between $50,000 and $100,000 $0.00 which is about four to six times higher than the average income
while back home in the old country, you might see something like $5,000 to $10,000 $0.00 making it roughly equal to or even double the local average... I think there's still this lingering socialist mindset where people feel entitled to free healthcare, or they won't blink at paying $10 $0.00 for car insurance, but suddenly paying $10 $0.00 for health insurance feels totally unreasonable

In the States, hospitals are essentially designed to turn a profit and stay in the black, which is just the way capitalism works
whereas in most of Europe, hospitals are constantly struggling to stay afloat financially

Anthony Phillips33 said:It depends on your perspective.
In the US, a doctor's monthly salary ranges from $50,000 to $100,000 $0.00—which is about four to six times the national average.
Meanwhile, in some other places, it might be $5,000 to $10,000 $0.00 (meaning it's significantly higher than the average there). It feels like there's still this lingering socialist mentality where people expect healthcare to be totally free, or they think paying $10,000 $0.00 for car insurance is fine, but paying $10,000 $0.00 for health insurance is somehow unacceptable.

In the US, hospitals are designed to turn a profit, which is just how capitalism works.
But in much of Europe, hospitals are constantly running deep deficits.

Personally, I don't have any issue with a socialized system as long as my healthcare stays affordable—basically, as long as I'm not forced to choose between paying $60,000 to stitch up a middle finger or $12,000 to fix a ring finger.
As an individual, it means absolutely nothing to me whether hospitals are profitable or not; my main concern is simply not having to shell out a fortune just to stay alive.

Besides, I don't think you can really compare health insurance to insuring a car, a house, or an apartment.

And of course, it's NOT okay to pay $10,000 for health insurance if they end up refusing to cover me just because I had a cold thirteen years ago and now I've developed cancer or a tumor.

Anthony Phillips33 said:it really depends on how you look at it, I guess.
In the US, a doctor's salary might be $50,000 - $100, $0.00 per month (which is like four to six times higher than average)
whereas in some other places it might be $5,000 - $10, $0.00 (so maybe average up to twice the average)... I feel like there's still this old socialist mindset lingering where people think they should get healthcare for free, or like paying $10, $0.00 for car insurance is fine, but $10, $0.00 for health insurance just isn't okay.

In the US, hospitals are basically set up to turn a profit, which I suppose is just capitalism doing its thing.
But in most of Europe, hospitals are usually running deep in the red.

Maybe I still have a bit of that old-school socialist mentality stuck in my head, but I always felt like hospitals should be built to actually do their jobs first, and then if they happen to make a profit, well, that's just an extra hobby for them, I guess.

quietdriver3 said:Maybe I’m just old-school or stuck in a socialist mindset, but hospitals should be built to actually help people first, and then worry about turning a profit...

👍

What really gets to me is how American doctors get handed bonuses based on how many patients they can effectively deny coverage to. Basically, if you manage to cut enough costs by leaving people without care, you walk away with the biggest paycheck. It’s the exact opposite over in the United Kingdom. Over there, if you pull the most exams, you’re the one driving an Audi A6.

Maybe we should just go ahead and privatize the police and the fire departments too, just so everyone can truly experience the "magic" of capitalism firsthand.😬

Honestly, Michael Moore is starting to grate on my nerves with all his posturing. Like that one scene where they were acting all tough about trying to get into Guantanamo Bay, but the second an alarm goes off, they’re out the door running for their lives.

Man, Michael Moore, the guy with the signature cap... I haven't actually sat down with SICKO yet, but I've caught *Crazy Arms* and *Fahrenheit 9/11*... honestly, they're pretty solid documentaries.

But after scrolling through your posts, I’m left wondering how doctors in America can have the nerve to just screw people over like that... where did the Hippocratic Oath go?

Sure, they have those state-run facilities for social cases, but don't expect them to actually treat the "expensive" diseases there.

20/20 SICKO: America : Whose Body is IT Anyway?
- Part 1
- Part 2
- Part 3
- Part 4
- Part 5
- Part 6

Hey guys! SICKO is finally hitting the Sundance Film Festival during the matinee slot... Catch it at the local theater at 2 PM, or maybe later tonight over in Europe...
Check out www.chicago.com
The full schedule should be up around May 10th.

quietdriver3 said:Maybe I’ve still got a bit of a socialist mindset, but hospitals should be built to actually provide care first. Making a profit should just be a side hobby if they even have the time for it.

You’re essentially expecting doctors—who spend over a decade in school—to be free labor. You expect every single supply needed for a surgery to be handed to you for nothing. Give me a break with that logic. This is exactly why our schools, healthcare, and bureaucracy are struggling. Everyone wants everything for free, then they turn around and blame the government for running a deficit because of them. Try saying that to an auto insurer or life insurance companies; they’ll politely show you the door.

redowl90 said:I don't have any issue with a socialist system as long as my healthcare is covered. I don't want to be forced to choose between paying $60,000 to stitch up a middle finger or $12,000 for a ring finger...
As an individual, I couldn't care less if hospitals are turning a profit. My main concern is not having to shell out massive amounts of cash just to stay alive.

Besides, I don't think health insurance is really comparable to car or home insurance...

And obviously, it isn't right to pay thousands for insurance only to have a claim denied because I had a cold thirteen years ago and now I'm dealing with cancer or a tumor...

Only a crazy person would argue against free services when it comes to their own medical treatment. But that's just not how civilization works, and I doubt we'll see a society like that anytime soon. You might as well start asking for free cars, free iPhones, free laptops, or a free escort every night while you watch reality TV during prime time.

Anyway, it's hard to take someone seriously when they criticize the system while holding shares in McDonald's.

At the end of the day, the healthcare system is a bit more complex than some cheap, one-off documentary made by someone who doesn't really know what they're talking about.

John Robinson said:So, you're basically expecting doctors—who spend over a decade in school, mind you—to just be free labor? And you think all the supplies needed for surgery should just be handed out for nothing? I mean, wow. That kind of logic... it's just not really working for me.

Just one word comes to mind: Cuba.

You mean a country where athletes show up to international competitions just to figure out how they can flee the very nation they’re supposedly representing?

Seriously, you guys have to see this movie. I actually caught the screening at the closing night of the Sundance Film Festival, and I even got to hang out at the press conference and the brunch hosted by Moora, who was one of the big guests there this year.

For me, though... the part that really ripped my heart out was seeing how people in Cuba are greeted with such respect and dignity, while back here in the States, people don't even give a damn about those who played such a massive role in saving lives on 9/11. It’s just... honestly devastating.