Chenille+Brown

 Michael Moore

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Michael Moore: Expects more from us all… One persons’ message can influence changes in our society. People like Martin Luther King, Ralph Nader and John F. Kennedy make a mark by helping and uplifting people. Others, like Louis Farrakhan and Adolf Hitler leave a different imprint. These people are all known for messages that they present to society. These messages, some, starkly different, and delivered in diverse ways, are all effective in the sense that they reach and inspire people to take action. People who have strong views and the ability to influence millions are important actors that shape the social environment. I see Michael Moore as another example of someone diffusing messages in a way that may be influencing the shape our society takes. Michael Moore is likely the most famous documentary film-maker alive today. Most of his work is non-fictional addressing the social and political issues that are most relevant at their time of release.*(3) He was born in 1954 to Irish Catholic parents living in Flint, Michigan.*(1) Before taking on producing documentaries his early interest in social issues led him to run for a seat on the Flint Board of Education. *(1) In 1972, at age 18, he became one of the youngest people to ever run for public office.*(1) Around this time he became a student at the University of Michigan-Flint. It didn’t take him long to figure out that he didn’t want to be a student but rather an activist tackling social problems and so he traded the classroom for the real world.* (1) At twenty years old, he helped create an alternative weekly newspaper, //The Flint Voice// people .*(1) He later went on to become the chief editor of the paper., changed its name to the Michigan Voice and expanded its distribution throughout the state. Although the Michigan Voice was succeeding, reaching more people than ever before Moore’s ambition was to have a bigger impact. So he decided to try the film medium that might reach a larger audience. Around him he saw the devastating impact of what he believed was heartless corporate actions driven by uncaring greed and he wanted to enlighten Americans about this danger by sharing a story that had affected him personally. *(2)/(4) In 1989 he released his first documentary film, Roger & Me.*(3) In it he illustrates the harsh the realities that came to be when General Motors shut down its Flint auto plant.*(3)(4) General Motors was the place that his father and grandfather had worked most of their lives.*(1) It was also one of the most significant economic force in Flint. *(5) When Roger Smith, General Motors chairman, decided that the plant was no longer needed and could save money without it, he closed it’s doors leaving hundreds of Flint residents without jobs and devastating the local economy.*(4)(3) This film was financially successful, critically acclaimed and honored at various film festivals.*(6) Moore is now responsible for the release of numerous documentaries on social and political issues. Through detailed research and the ability to make effective and humorous presentations he has indisputably changed the way documentary films are regarded and distributed.*(6) Michael Moore has been able to do what no other documentary film maker before him had done in America. He released his work nationally, at mainstream theatres and achieved box office success. His work is now viewed and respected all over the world.*(6) Moore has won both an Oscar and it’s French equivalent the Palm D‘or. *(6)(7) //Sicko,// his most recent film was released in 2007 focuses on the two main challenges many Americans face with the healthcare system; affording an insurance policy and receiving the coverage that it promises when you’re sick. The latter is what comes as a surprise to many that see the film. Insured but uncovered. There are millions of Americans that have health insurance and believe and/or believed that their “plan” will cover most costs accrued should they need treatment.*(7) People like Tracey Pierce who died after being repeatedly rejected by his “insurer“ coverage for a bone marrow transplant. His doctors at the University of Kansas Medical Center had not only recommended the transplant but were quoted as saying that it was “his only chance of survival.”*(7) In the film, each face that is shown and voice that was heard is intended to represent thousands of similar stories. This message is even more compelling because it is often told by people like Lisa Pierce, widow of Tracey Pierce, or the thousands of others who loved one’s died while battling an insurer who refused to pay for a major surgery, treatment, or medication. Cost that they argue were supposed to be paid for and that the deceased could not pay for otherwise. *(3)(7) . In the film Moore shows that whenever an insurance company denies coverage to one of it’s client it is always accompanied with a “legitimate” reason. The most common reasons are; “patient had a pre-existing”, or “the treatment sought has not been proven necessary” by medical community.. Pre-existing conditions are when a person fails to disclose something about their medical history and may have contributed to their current health condition or their ability to acquire the policy they have. In these cases, an insurance company could claim that their contract is no longer valid. Insurance companies often deny treatments that are only “highly recommended” by doctors but are not fully proven to cure a particular illness.*(3)(7) Moore then goes on to interview a former insurance executive who confesses, remorsefully, that she often denied claims for treatment even when she felt it might be beneficial to the patient. She expresses that she felt pressure from her employer to deny as many claims as possible so that they would save money. He also exposes that insurance representative are often rewarded for saving their company money.*(7) He also spends a great deal of time examining the impact our government’s policies have on the healthcare system for Americans. Then he contrasts our approach with countries such as France, Canada, England and Cuba and how they have chosen to address healthcare for their citizens. In all of these countries everyone is insured. Services and medicines are provided for free or very low cost. He suggests that Americans would be better off with an universal coverage system similar to those. Of course, there are many people who disagree with his positions.*(8)(9) Some say that his argument is unbalance leaving out the various problem with socialized medicine. They point out that our current system is likely the reason that the quality of care in America is ranked second to none. Sicko has been one of the most watched documentary film than in history.*(3) Moore promoted the film on most major TV and radio networks and put the healthcare issue at the center of the public debate. Whether seen or not, most people have at least heard of it or the firestorm over healthcare that it fanned. According to Kathleen Kingsbury of Time Magazine “the healthcare industry is now on red alert.“ To what extent it his views have influenced public opinion is hard to measure in certain terms. It’s likely given ammunition to proponents of universal healthcare coverage and made opponents reflect on how to address the shortcomings of the current system. Regardless of how much he influenced or changed people’s view with any of his works, surely, he should be credited for raising public awareness and stirring the public debate.

Michael Moore-Works Consulted