(Photos above courtesy of MichaelMoore.com)*
From there . . . to here: The marquee of the Vogue Theater in
San Francisco's Presidio District. The director of "SiCKO" hopes that
after seeing his new film viewers will obey Matthew Tsou's placard and get
involved with local and statewide initiatives designed to make free healthcare a
reality. Tsou, a volunteer member of the California Universal Health Care
Organizing Project, stands outside the AMC Van Ness cinema in San Francisco with
one of the organization's flyers yesterday.
(Photos: Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com)
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July 1, 2007
SAN FRANCISCO, California --
It is a scene that has been repeated across the United
States this weekend. From its nationwide opening on Friday, Michael
Moore's new documentary "SiCKO" has sent people running into theaters and away
from getting a jumpstart on this week's July 4 holiday. In a land where
summer blockbusters have largely fizzled so far, lines of people have turned Mr.
Moore's $9 million film into a smash hit (according to estimates provided by
Exhibitor Relations, with a $4.5 million gross this weekend, the film has
already made back half of its total cost.) "SiCKO" examines the U.S.
healthcare system and its impact on the millions of Americans who have health
insurance -- those 250 million people who expect that their insurance will cover
all the maladies that they suffer, through no fault of their own.
Universal healthcare advocates have appeared in or outside virtually every
theater where "SiCKO" is showing in the U.S., encouraging moviegoers to lobby
their politicians and local representatives to get behind various state
initiatives to make free universal healthcare a reality in America.
On Friday, June 29, "SiCKO" opened in 440 theaters in the U.S. and additional
theatres north of the border in Canada. (During the prior week the film
showed in one theater in New York City.) In San Francisco yesterday, in
two of the theaters, The Popcorn Reel spoke to several moviegoers about "SiCKO"
-- those who had seen it and those who were about to. The lines were
nowhere to be seen at the Vogue Theater in the City's Presidio District -- but
that is because many of the tickets had already been sold for Saturday's 7:00pm
show and a sell out was "very close" to happening, said the theater's manager.
Movie patrons who had just left the 4:00pm showing of "SiCKO" walked out into
the early evening sun and were greeted by numerous free healthcare advocate
volunteers with leaflets and flyers. Many simply wanted to digest the
two-hour experience in their own time and space but a few others were kind
enough to supply their initial thoughts to The Popcorn Reel about what they had just
seen.
"It's upsetting to see how many people are affected by the current healthcare
situation in this country," said one middle-aged woman outside the Vogue.
This particular moviegoer also lamented Hillary Rodham Clinton's apparent
about-face on taking healthcare out of the hands of health insurance companies.
Mr. Moore's film exposes the Democratic presidential candidate as something of a
flip-flopper over time, from her innovative socialized medicine plan introduced
during her husband's first term in the White House in the mid-1990's, to
becoming the U.S. presidential candidate with the highest amount of financial
contributions ($848,872) from HMOs (health maintenance organizations),
pharmaceutical companies and physicians (during the first quarter of 2007),
according to the Center For Responsive Politics. The moviegoer's friend
was not surprised about the politics of healthcare in the United States.
"I'm in healthcare and so I've been knowing this for years and years and years.
I've been working for national healthcare before this. It's
ridiculous that we don't have [healthcare]. It's insane. [The U.S.
is] the only country in the western world that doesn't have it. Most of
the stuff [in "SiCKO"] was not new to me." The patron added that the film
"maybe will push the consciousness up a little bit."
Consciousness is something that the California Universal Health Care Organizing
Project hopes will galvanize moviegoers into action and making universal health
care or socialized medicine, as it is called in countries like France and
England, a reality in California and ultimately rest of the United States.
Matthew Tsou was among that organization's members passing out flyers outside
the AMC Van Ness 1000 Theaters in San Francisco to moviegoers who had just
finished seeing Mr. Moore's film. While a few people stopped to engage in
conversation with the Organization's members and volunteers, many others
continued about their business in the few minutes that The Popcorn Reel was
present. Mr. Tsou's placard, which read, "Michael Moore Says STOP HERE",
was eye-catching enough for anyone, let alone viewers who had just seen "SiCKO".
A member of the California Universal Health Care Organizing Project since 2002,
Tsou explained the organization's presence outside the movie theater.
"We've always been behind single-payer healthcare, which Michael Moore endorses
in his movie." Early last month Tsou and other members of CUHCOP were
treated to a screening of the film in Sacramento with the filmmaker.
"Basically we are exclusively devoted to supporting SB 840, the California
Universal which would establish a single payer system in the state of
California. It would essentially eliminate the health insurance industry
as an entity in the state of California -- and why we want to do that is because
health care premiums have increased at double-digit rates for the past ten
years. And 15 to 30% of every healthcare dollar goes towards
administration, bureaucracy, profit -- and doctors, hospitals, patients -- we're
all sick of it." Tsou cited studies conducted by The Lewin Group, a
healthcare consulting firm, in which the state of California would save $343
billion over ten years if the state adopted universal health care. "[The
money] would be enough to cover every resident in the state in California with a
comprehensive, Cadillac-type benefits healthcare plan," Tsou added. He
also mentioned that California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has been unwilling
to approve legislation for such single-payer healthcare "because unfortunately
he's in the pockets of the health insurance industry," citing the governor's
vetoing of California state senator Sheila Kuehl's SB 840 bill. The time
may come soon however, where the bill may become a real measure that is
implemented for the state's residents. Incrementally improved responses by
the state's legislature has been seen in its votes on authorizing the bill to
pass. "We're really confident we can get this bill passed within the next
year or two," said Tsou.
Meanwhile, inside the AMC Theaters Van Ness one young couple in their late
twenties or early thirties patiently waited outside the auditorium where "SiCKO"
was showing, about to enter for the 8:00pm show. "Healthcare is a pretty
big issue for both of us, so we're really glad there's a film that finally
decided to present the subject the way it really exists as opposed to the
standard, sanitized "ER" version of healthcare. I still think that a lot
of Americans are under the impression that there's not really a healthcare
crisis in this country," said the young man, who later added a practical
perspective as he alluded to another film that has received a lot of attention
within the last year. "Even with "An Inconvenient Truth", it seems like it
really only makes an impact if they are enough people afterwards who have more
power than filmmakers who are willing to say, 'this is something that has to be
changed.' So hopefully this movie attracts the right people who have some
degree of political and economic power to make a change in that industry."
During the interviews of some filmgoers, several comments expressed the
sentiment that Mr. Moore was "preaching to the choir" with his new film.
The context of the comments weren't necessarily cynical or damning, but the
young man at the AMC Van Ness who was giving his opinion had an inquiry he
wanted to satisfy. "I'd like to know who the choir is. It seems to
me the only people who ever express disdain for the concept of changing the
healthcare system are people who are significantly wealthy, have health
insurance and never have had a problem with health insurance. I have a
hard time believing would kind of look at the industry we have right now and
say, 'oh, there's nothing wrong with it.'" The young man's girlfriend
agreed, adding that that some people in America become suspicious of films that advocate or
say something to try to change a current condition that has not necessarily served
large numbers of people well.
By the time the couple had finished giving their opinions, a line of some 80
moviegoers had formed behind them a good 30 minutes before the film's 8pm show.
Coinciding with this development were exiting patrons who had just seen the
film. The reactions ranged from "excellent" to "a film that every American
should see." One middle-aged man said "[the country] should
probably have another revolution" after
seeing "SiCKO". One young woman was shaken with outrage and said that she
wanted to take part in making changes to the healthcare system. Another
man praised the "international perspective" of Mr. Moore's film.
Back at the Vogue, Sandy, a woman who works for Dennis Kucinich's Democratic
presidential campaign, which supports the healthcare initiative of H.R. 676, a
proposed federal measure for universal health care for all Americans, sponsored
by U.S. House Democrat Chair John Conyers, was about to see the film.
"It's a super important issue . . . it's important for everyone to understand
what's going on with healthcare in this country," Sandy said. "I mean, the
way change happens is from the bottom up. It's -- you know, we'd be great
if we had dynamic leaders. But sometimes we don't, sometimes we do.
And so we need to take it upon ourselves to do the right thing and that's push,
in this instance, for healthcare for everyone. I mean it's crazy!
--
that we don't have it."
Sandy, like most of those who gave an opinion for this story, is an admirer of
Michael Moore. "Again, his way of making films more interesting is what
drew me. And if he would have been bashed it probably would have drawn me
more."
*Photos at the start of this story: the Marquee in Berkeley,
California. Lines of people in Edina, Minnesota. A nighttime entry
in Brookline, Massachusetts, and an early evening line in Berkeley, all for "SiCKO",
which opened nationwide in the U.S. and Canada on Friday, June 29.
Comments on this roving reporter story? E-mail
editor@popcornreel.com
This is the second in a periodic series of Popcorn Reel Roving Reporter stories.
The prior story was on whether
movie popcorn bags should be labeled with health warnings.
AUDIO: Before and After, in San Francisco movie theaters showing "SiCKO"
Before: Here are comments from moviegoers
waiting to see "SiCKO" at the Vogue Theater in San Francisco (June 30,
2007)
After: Here are comments (one,
two and
three)
from moviegoers who had just seen "SiCKO" at the Vogue Theater in San Francisco
(June 30, 2007)
Before: Here are comments from
moviegoers waiting to see "SiCKO" at the AMC Theaters Van Ness 1000 in San
Francisco (June 30, 2007)
After: Here are comments (one,
two, and three)
from moviegoers who had just seen "SiCKO" at the AMC Theaters Van Ness 1000 in
San Francisco (June 30, 2007)
For more information about the California Universal Health Care Organizing
Project email info@singlepayernow.net
or visit
www.SinglePayerNow.net
Other information:
www.OneCareNow.org and
H.R. 676
(John Conyers' website with details on the bill)
Related features:
The Popcorn Reel Review of "SiCKO"
"SiCKO": Michael Moore's First Aid
