Sicko

Watching Michael Moore's Sicko, I came to realize what the great debate about health care in America is all about. Living in North Dakota, with parents who have Blue Cross/Blue Shield coverage and have never experienced any problems, I was shocked at the stories told by Moore of people who have had terrible experiences with their insurance companies. I was brought to tears while watching people discuss losing their health, loved ones, and homes because of their difficulties with the high cost of health care or with insurance providers who refused to deliver on their promise of medical coverage. I got more and more angry as the stories continued.

Which is exactly what Michael Moore wanted. He wants his viewers to become convinced of his very strong point of view on every subject he tackles in his documentaries. However, even as I felt sadness and angers for these people, I kept asking myself if I was getting the whole truth. Moore is very good at finding the most extreme examples, good and bad, to support his own very strong view that America should have free universal health care.

I found Moore's narration to be very effective. He has a very believable, convincing tone while focusing on just the areas he wishes to use to back up his arguments. He seemed to go to great lengths, traveling across America to find people who have been victims of America's health care system, and then going from Canada to England to France and then Cuba to score points for his promotion of socialized medicine in America.

Where I started to have doubts about the credibility of Moore's positions was the large section devoted to the Canadian system. While he went out of his way to counter the criticism that Canadians do not have access to as good of a system as Americans, through the years I have read articles and have heard first hand from people that Canadians do wait very long for surgery and other procedures, for example. I feel that it's easy for any film maker to find the examples they wish to use to make the point they are striving for and leave out differing opinions.

Reading the other articles, such as Kurt Loder's 'Sicko': Heavily Doctored, we are reminded that our system is not entirely wrong and socialized medicine in other countries is not nearly as perfect as Moore would want us to believe. Loder quotes a British film reviewer who wrote of his own experience spending the night waiting in the hallway of a London hospital, with his severed toe in an ice filled cup, and watching that toe shrivel while he waited for medical attention. Loder cites many examples of current event stories, from Canada to Europe revealing that socialized health care is in serious trouble in many countries. None of this would be believed from watching Moore's Sicko.

No, rather than using news items such as this, Moore emphasizes the strong emotional aspects of this story. Moore gets very personal with his interviews with close up shots of their faces while they are telling their very sad stories. This helps us see the human side of this great national debate. Many critics would probably say that Moore is manipulating us in this process. While this is very effective, one might question whether the problems of millions Americans can really be expressed in just a dozen examples.

There are many positive results of this film in my opinion. Bringing attention to the terrible situation in New York City, where volunteers who worked at Ground Zero following 911, who now suffer health problems because of that and are not getting any attention. The big finish to his film, involving taking several of those 911 volunteers to Cuba for medical attention was obviously very staged and done with the cooperation of the Cuban government, which I am sure enjoyed the positive attention. However, it was a very good thing that these people were able to receive medical advise that they were unable to receive in the U.S. Also, many people are probably surprised to learn how advanced the Cuban health care system is, given the bad relationship that our governments have had since Fidel Castro took power decades ago.

The article From ballet to Buddhism by Guillermo Perez reveals the story of a far different film maker, who takes a much different approach than Michael Moore. Chaille Stovall is obviously quite unique in that he started making films at the age of eight. Beyond that, the articles shows how Stovall takes a very simple, child-like approach to his documentaries. Unlike Moore, who injects himself in scene after scene, making himself a major part of the film, Stovall, like many other film makers, takes a more detached position.

Moore, in great contrast to most film makers, resorts to publicity stunts, comedy, and even outrageous acts as all part of his film making technique. This has brought him many critics including the person mentioned in the film who has a website devoted entirely to bashing Moore.

Generally, I believe this documentary did a good thing in bringing attention to a very important subject that Americans should be discussing. President Obama campaigned saying that he would deliver universal health care to all Americans. This film points out how difficult that may be to deliver and what a great debate it will be in the country. From this film and reading the articles, I can see that there are many sides to this debate and I am uncertain to what the answers are, but expect to learn a lot more as this plays out.

The Matrix

From the beginning of The Matrix, we enter Neo's (Keanu Reeves) world of computers and hacking. We see Neo asleep at his keyboard obviously exhausted from hours of searching for something we soon discover is "The Matrix." Neo receives a mysterious message on his computer telling him that the Matrix has him, but that he can escape by following the "white rabbit." Seconds later, a knock is heard at the door. Neo speaks to the people at the door then notices a tattoo of a white rabbit on a girls shoulder. He now knows he should follow them.

Through a series of fast paced sequences we learn that the sender of the message on his computer is Morpheus (Laurence Fishburne). Morpheus warns Neo of the agents looking for him in his office and gives him the directions to get away. However, Neo finds himself unable to complete his escape and is caught by the agents. The agents are dressed in black suits and wear black sunglasses at all times. By their clone-like appearance, we are able to see that they represent something very powerful and dangerous.

Once Neo is caught by the agents, they sit him down for a discussion about who he is and why they want him. We see the agents' great power through the special effect of Neo's mouth closing up, keeping him from speaking. Neo quickly realizes these agents are bad news through the events that have just occurred.

Neo is eventually brought to Morpheus, who he learns is the leader of a small group of humans who live beneath the earth's surface away from the Matrix, which is controlled by an artificial intelligence system. Neo discovers that his existence has been part of this made up world of the Matrix. Neo also comes to understand that he is "The One" according to Morpheus and his crew who has been sent to save humanity from the Matrix.

Written and directed by Larry and Andy Wachowski, this film introduced the world to the VFX technology, often referred to as "bullet time" photography. According to the article Buddhism, Christianity, and The Matrix: The Dialectic of Myth-Making in Contemporary Cinema by James L. Ford, this creative cinematographic technique is only the beginning of what makes this film so remarkable as modern myth.

Ford points out that while the story has obvious connections to Christianity and the concept of a Savior, it also borrows heavily from the teachings of Buddhism. In particular, the fourth century philosophical school of Buddhism known as "Consciousness-only" is prevalent in the film. Ford argues that the success of the film could be compared to The Wizard of Oz or Star Wars as an example of modern day myth-making. It is evident from the beginning that Neo is viewed as a Messiah. Ford also points out that Trinity (Carrie-Anne Moss) can be compared to Mary Magdeline and Cypher (Joe Pantoliano) is a Judas-like figure, eventually betraying Morpheus and Neo. However, the film does not have the equivalent of God as a character.

Much like Jesus in the New Testament story, Neo has doubts about himself. As the film concludes, Neo battles the agents of the Matrix, rescues Morpheus, dies and comes back to life to conquer the Matrix.

Ford suggests that the film's target audience of young males may not be very knowledgeable when it comes to the Christian Bible or Buddhism, which serves to increase the impact of this story the way the Wachowski brothers tell it.

The many dazzling scenes of slow motion martial arts fighting showcase the film makers' technique. While providing very popular action scenes, the technique also fits with the existential themes of the movie.

The appearance of multiple agents who all look alike added to the intimidating feel of the Matrix while at the same time suggesting comparisons with the "artificial world" we live in today. The presence of what appeared to be "monsters" that are really machines controlled by the Matrix adds to the futuristic feel of the movie.

Perhaps the most incredible images in the movie are when the Matrix system of breeding human beings to serve as an energy sources are revealed.

One of my favorite characters in The Matrix was Tank (Marcus Chong). He was the programmer who would download "training sessions" into the characters' brains to get them through their various conflicts. Tank was never involved directly in the action but controlled the outcome through his programming skills. We could feel the "human side" of the conflicts through Tank's emotional reactions as he watched Neo and others suffering through their battles in the Matrix.

This film has become a modern classic with it's special effects, cinematography, and mind-challenging futuristic vision of the world. Parts two and three of this trilogy proved to be just as popular as the first and have guarenteed the Wachowski brothers their place in film making excellence.