OK, not of the streaky, glimmery $100-300 variety--though that would be teh bomb--but from yours truly. Oh, and spoiler alert! The details below about Sicko (MM's latest) will likely detract from your outrage/surprise if you go see the movie (though surely you know what happens in a broad sense: the documenting of Americans getting completely fucked over.) I have developed a few highlight-worthy categories, but feel free to add your own in the comments.
Funniest moment: prolly when Moore (and by extension, the audience) discovers that in France new mothers receive help from the government in the form of a nanny who will, among other things, do laundry. (Close runnerup: the boat trip to Guantanamo.)
Cutest doctor: I thought it was the English one, until I saw the Cuban one. Not that this was the point, but I did expect more from France.
Most compelling tidbit: (second place for most outrageous) The way that incentives for English health care workers to deliver the best, most thorough treatment are the direct INVERSE of those here in the U.S. In other words, while some testimony (literally) from U.S. doctors and other workers in the health care industry revealed that doctors are rewarded for discouraging potentially life-saving treatments because of the money they save insurance companies, doctors in England receive merit raises based on--you guessed it-- cures and success rates. Huh!
Most obvious elision of complicated circumstances on the part of the filmmaker: The line of argument about how Guantanamo prisoners get better medical care than "most" (Bill Frist's word I think) U.S. citizens, with no acknowledgment about how they get treated otherwise.
Weirdest self-indulgence, even for MM: the bit about how MM 'anonymously' gave his biggest critic 12K to help pay his wife's medical bills. Though the first sentence from the one non-fan letter was pretty funny. The line? "Fuck you Mike."
Best use of chiasmus: [nearly a direct quote, but I'm not sure, so I won't use quotation marks] In France, the government is afraid of the people, but in the US, the people are afraid of the government.
The rhetorical canon most effectively used: Arrangement, hands down. The orderly move from countries with which most Americans most easily identify (Canada and England) to those they don't (France and Cuba), a move that also happens to achieve a neat geographic loop from the U.S., up, out, down, and back to the U.S., is not only elegant but powerful. And I don't think this is just because I prefer to travel in loops.
Oddest omission: A real paucity of discussion with American physicians. Do they feel threatened? Are they too busy trying to schedule people in their network, like my doctor, who three weeks ago couldn't schedule me til today, and now I'm all better? Too busy getting wooed by Big Pharma? I would think that Jerome Groopman might have made an appearance. His book, btw, is really good.
Most outrageous moment: Brought to you by our fine president, of course. This is the clip that shows GWB talking with a woman in a town-meeting kind of setting (I never get how something with a big stage and tons of cameras is a town meeting, but whatev), and the woman tells him that she works three jobs, and W jumps back like a little monkey whose banana got stolen from him in a game and then responds "Three jobs? Well, good for you!" What. TF. I still seethe when I think of it. grrrrrr.
What a #@$%#@# idiot! (Referring to the last paragraph) 586 days can't pass quickly enough!
Posted by: dawn | 11 July 2007 at 12:59 PM
Bush adds something about how working three jobs shows just what the American spirit is all about. If he only knew how right he was. According to the census bureau, 7.6 million workers hold down two or more jobs. Unbelievably, 310,000 workers work two--count 'em two--full-time jobs. Madness.
I can understand why he's impressed, though. It's doubtful whether he's able to do his one job.
Posted by: JM | 11 July 2007 at 01:33 PM
This has absolutely nothing to do with GWB or Michael Moore. Nope, it's about academic work. I just wanted to say that I've been struggling with the difference between agonistic and antagonistic (as some people seem to use these words interchangeably) and wanted to tell you that I found your first chapter of Bodily Arts so incredibly helpful. Thanks for your good work, which made my work SO much easier!
Posted by: Abby Knoblauch | 12 July 2007 at 10:23 PM
Abby,:).
Posted by: dhawhee | 13 July 2007 at 08:16 AM