Finding the best way to provide quality healthcare to all populations stands urgent everywhere, as it is one of the most critical factors for the state’s life quality. Despite being the most qualified medical help among the world countries, the healthcare system in the US still has a lot of drawbacks. Moore (2007) presents them in his film Sicko, where he compares US medicine to institutions in Great Britain, Canada, and France. The author uses the tools of propaganda, which significantly lowers the quality of the art piece.
The medical system in the United States is profoundly affected by capitalistic laws, and hence cannot be equal for all. According to the film, healthcare services’ provision depends on money relations (Moore, 2007). There should be the party that has the finances and the other that can receive it as payment for the treatment. Commercialized connections come from the concept of insurance, which is inaccessible to social minorities who do not have enough money and position. Moore (2007) acknowledges the poverty penalty by showing the individual who experiences a lack of funds suffers from the reality of the healthcare system situation and makes an explicit accusation of the government. Moreover, he subtly pays the audience’s attention to the instances of the infringement of the accepted rules by insurance companies (Moore, 2007). In such a way, the critical problems of US medical treatment are demonstrated.
In addition to criticizing the current social polarization in the medical sphere, the movie’s creator suggests solutions for the problems mentioned. Moore (2007) gives information about the benefits of the analogous institutions in Great Britain, Canada, and France, suggesting that the same actions could be adopted in the United States. He provides an example of a doctor with certain prestige similar to American professionals and takes every advantage to help everyone (Moore, 2007). The use of moral shock is evident since the author tries to call for action people who were not affected by the problem. Similarly, he suggests the possible simple solutions for the highlighted concerns, where he subtly conveys the question about the effective implementation of the taxes by the government (Moore, 2007). As a result, there are not only critics for the healthcare system but also possible tools for their solution.
It should be noted that the discussed work has some biases, which might significantly affect the message it conveys. Although the author precisely demonstrates the disadvantages of the healthcare system of the United States but fails to admit that the countries he uses as authority are not perfect either (Moore, 2007). For instance, Canadian patients have to wait in long queues to receive medical help, which means that urgent cases might get a severe deterioration of the patient’s condition. The author shows those countries’ treatment options for people without mentioning their drawbacks (Moore, 2007). In a similar way, the positive constituents of the US medical care structure also do not get the required attention. Hence, the mission of message delivery is approached with some position of favoritism, and there is a lack of media transparency.
To conclude, the discussed film carefully addresses the healthcare system problems present in the United States. The author also proposes possible and reliable solutions based on the experience of the other world countries who successfully deal with the essential social factor of life quality. However, there are no mentioned advantages of the current system, as well as no mentioning of the drawbacks of the other structures. As a result, an uneducated audience might be trapped by the given propaganda. Hence, the film can be regarded as low quality because of the author’s evident bias.
Reference
Moore, M. (2007). Sicko [Film]. Dog Eat Dog Films, Lionsgate.