I know we Americans like to think our health care system is the best in the world but it is not. Just because people with a good PPO plan and spend $1000 a month are taken care of, doesn’t mean the rest of us are. All the statistical data proves this, as far as quality, mortality rates, life expectancy, the U.S. falls to 37th in overall health ranking according to the World Health Organization. Michael Moore tackles this issue in his latest film “Sicko”, and you know when Moore’s on the case, the powers that be start to feel the heat.
Michael Moore is equally as divisive a character as he is passionate. He’s stuck his neck out for so many tough issues like the factory closings of multi-national General Motors, the issue of guns, our culture of media induced fear and the ease of which nutjobs can obtain weapons, the war on Iraq and the crooked agenda of President Bush and now universal health care. So far, Moore has been right about all of his previous films topics, as proven with GM’s further factory closings, that wacko at Virgina Tech and the utter failure of President Bush. Now he tackles health care and people are taking notice, as they should. I don’t always agree with the controversial film maker, but we should at least hear him out. I think he’s earned it thus far.
Apparently, there are many who do not share my positive view of Michael Moore. I’ve seen a host of editorials disguised as movie reviews and even an interview by Good Morning America that was very unfair to the film maker. The morning shows were so nice to Mel Gibson after his anti-semitic rant, yet Moore gets the 3rd degree? Somethings not right.
What really gets me is this review written by corporate shill Kurt Loder, pawn and host of MTV News. When I read his verbose rant describing Moore as a “con-man” and a “fool”. I was so absolutely offended that I wrote the folks at MTV a letter.
I have had deep feelings of anger about MTV for many years now, starting when I was their prime audience, yes that’s right 13. Growing up watching its mindlessness degenerate further into blatant sexual exploitation and a bunch of spoiled kids pulling pranks and stunts, selling an image to youth that materialism is good and all you have to do to be cool is to be a materialist. Since the youth market has exploded into a $15 billion marketplace, MTV stands for everything that is wrong with this country. They peddle soft-core porn to horny and confused teenagers to sell crap to people who don’t need it. They’re not just feeding lies to the youth of this nation, they are breeding a nation of spoiled, confused, materialistic brats who idolize useless idiots like Paris Hilton and 50cent. Girls are told that sexuality is a commodity that they should use, while boys are filled with a hyper masculine image, you know, oiled up rappers holding guns, that borderlines on gay. If you want to know why the generations standards are sliding down the drain, MTV is the first place you should look. It is not by a long shot the only problem, but it explains a lot.
So when Loder starts laying into Michael Moore as a conman, I thought that was just a bit too much for me to stand. I had to say something, even if no one ever reads it. The following is my letter to MTV regarding the Kurt Loder interview of “Sicko”:
I love how Kurt Loder gives a completely lopsided, unbalanced and unfair assessment of a movie he claims is lopsided, unbalanced and unfair. What I find even funnier is that Loder gave a polite and glowing review to Fantastic Four, just a few weeks back, eluding to the fact that he hated it, while defending it every chance he got, and that movie was 106 minutes of pure crap, a widely accepted view. So why is he so hostile to this film? Well I’d say Kurt Loder, a man who makes a fortune being a shill for the music industry and the media corporations such as Viacom can afford decent health insurance, that’s why. Rich people, regardless of ideology seem to love our health care system since they don’t have to deal with it. The man is so removed from reality he might as well be talking about the Russian health care system, as he’s probably spent about as much time in the trenches as President Bush. What he doesn’t seem to get is that these stories, not like the Canadian, French and British systems are not isolated incidents. I know 5 people who have had nightmarish dealings with Insurance companies and that doesn’t include my own horror story, just trying to get my gallbladder removed.
Loder’s arguments are completely baseless, transparent and pathetic all around. Especially the arguments of foreign health care systems where he resorts to the same tactics he criticizes Moore for. Not to mention this entire mean spirited tone of the whole article. It’s obvious that Loder has an agenda, not trying to give a fair opinion of a movie, which is what a review actually is. Instead he spits out a trash-a-thon of Micheal Moore as a “con man.” Now please, isn’t that a bit much. There are certainly bigger con-men in this world, like mediocre journalists who pass themselves off as legitimate, selling pretend news, not to mention a whole corporate image of materialism as being cool, and sexuality as a commodity to young and impressionable teens. There is nothing cool about MTV, it’s the end result of statistics and research panels trying to sell records, shoes, movies and clothes. In other words, it’s one big con-job, and Loder is one of it’s chief front men.
I like how Loder calls Moore a socialist prominently as if it were a negative thing. I never heard Loder offer up mocking opinions of devil worshipers on his “News” program. Apparently it’s worse to be a socialist in this country than a devil worshiper.
Come on Loder, you can do better than this can’t you? I mean, I know you’ve grown tired of dishing out meaningless news about meaningless bands, but this is a new low. You’re not just preventing the solution by filling youngsters with grand illusions of life, materialism and commodified sexuality, you are telling them to stay away from one of the few films that talks about something real. Love it or hate it, this is a topic we should all be discussing, not resorting to cheap quasi-journalism to taint a film. What’s a matter? Job security not going to well over there in the land of perpetual youth. You are looking a bit gray around the gills. Are they leaning on you to crush this thing? Or did you do it on your own so you can add another floor to your house?
Do yourself a favor and try not to lose your job, wealth and health care otherwise you’d see what life is REALLY like in this country.
Stick to spooging out tidbits of gossip about Panic! at the Disco, rather than take a crack at writing an article about a serious subject.
That’s all middle-aged sellout shills who hang out with teenagers are good for, filling empty minds with bullshit.
I’m sorry to be so blunt, but since you gave Moore the same treatment, I figured you could take it as well as you dish it.