Psychology
How Sicko is Relevant to Psychology
Michael Moore is an American filmmaker that has created a body of work and a niche market for hard hitting documentaries about issues critical to American culture. In 2007, he directed, produced, wrote, and starred in a documentary called, Sicko, about the American healthcare system. Moore's films have a habit of polarizing audiences. Audiences have been known to strongly agree with him and known to vehemently disagree. Moore's success comes from his approach to addressing tough issues that usually cause debate. Moore is additionally successful because his early successes attracted the attention of film giants such as the Weinsteins, who, via one of several of their production companies, produced Sicko. Michael Moore knows his audience. He knows the people that will agree with him immediately and not need any convincing regarding his ideas. Moore, more importantly almost, knows his critics. Michael Moore is one of a few directors who consistently and intentionally produces films with the critics of his films in mind as he produces them. Psychologically, this is a position of power and he reaches it with subtlety. Moore presents his counterarguments to his critics in his imagined audiences so that they are left little room to criticize the film; moreover, he presents counterarguments in such a way that again, there is little room for criticism.
Michael Moore contends that the American health care system is itself sick and contributes directly to the lack of health in the country. Moore makes this argument through the strategic use of examples. For example, Moore makes an announcement regarding his film online. He invites Americans to share with him, as fodder and context for the film, their horror stories within the American health care system. Within a day, he received thousands of stories. Within a week of making this announcement, he received stories that numbered in the tens of thousands.
Moore shows the defects in the American health care system with numerous examples and publically accessible research, as is his usual modus operandi. Moore shows very few examples of people who lack health insurance. Most of the examples of mistreatment by the health care system are by those who have insurance and by those who were employed by the insurance industry. Moore shows interviews with a former reviewer whose exclusive objective in his profession was to review approved claims for any minute detail that could be used to overturn the approval for the health claim -- saving the company money.
There was another example of a medical doctor who went before a congressional committee to confess her direct contribution to the death of a person by denying him a procedure that would have saved his life, as well as her confession that at no point was she held accountable for such an action, but rather, that she was summarily rewarded to use her medical expertise to deny people claims. These are powerful examples from voices within the very industry that is on trial over the course of the film. These examples are just as powerful as moving as the ones from individuals...
Capitalism: A Love Story Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story Michael Moore is an expert at tugging on viewer's heart strings, and never passes up an opportunity to do so in Capitalism: A Love Story -- even though the docu-tragi-comedy would have been better without so much bathos. Moore's main problem lies where it always does: with him focusing the camera on humanity's tragedies and milking them for all their worth. It
Admittedly, there have been some minor improvements since 2007. Specifically, legislation enacted in 2009 by President Barack Obama eliminated the ability of health insurance companies to exclude certain individuals from coverage and to deny coverage to beneficiaries in need of expensive healthcare services by simply canceling their policies. That legislation extended the maximum age that children may remain on their parents' policies as well. Unfortunately, the Obama administration essentially gave
At the same time, there are reasons to question many of these claims. It has long been argued that the Canadian system is not as good as believed, for instance, though the film suggests otherwise. The truth about the Canadian and British systems in particular is unclear because of contrasting claims, and a more through investigation of the economics involved is required to be sure that what is said in
For example, one woman got into a car accident and expected insurance to pay for her expenses related to the accident, minus the deductible. The insurance company denied her claim on the spurious grounds that the woman had a "prior condition" that was unrelated to the accident. If private insurance companies are not fulfilling their obligations to consumers, then public insurance becomes the only solution in a free, just,
That the film makes omissions is not a fault against it, as it would be impossible and boring to list ever argument or component implied in the healthcare crisis. In addition, while some may believe Moore's film to point out the obvious, it addresses an issue that many do not want to think about. Question Two It is the job of reviewers to make a rhetorically persuasive case for their opinion
Universal healthcare is the only saving formula for this nation, which is doomed in a health care crisis of unprecedented proportions. There is a urgent need to transform healthcare from its present state of commercialism towards the humanitarian approach which guarantees 'healthcare for all' independent of their social or financial circumstances. A shared and collective responsibility of healthcare management is the only viable formula for America. It is high
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