Michael Moore’s Heroic Shift

Ever since his film, Roger and Me, which held GM accountable for the destruction of Flint, Michigan (as well as forcing good, decent, hard working people to kill and eat cute little bunnies), Michael Moore has been a polarizing force in politics. His “documentaries” work as stories (many don’t) because he casts himself as the hero out to expose wrong doers, a classic hero role. But his latest film – Sicko – defines his point of view not by what it is against (corporate greed, the gun lobby, or the war in Iraq) but by what it is for – universal health care. The result is a softer, more accepting heroism. His on screen know-it-all swagger becomes the mildly befuddled air we all have as we try to figure out what our health plan covers and why. When he visits countries that do have universal health care (every other industrialized nation), he seems amazed and disbelieving.  At one point he puts his hands over his ears so he won’t have to hear some of the benefits the French receive from their health coverage to avoid being overwhelmed with envy. As a result, his persona is more attractive personally and more powerful politically. Moore wins the argument by refusing to have it, playing the ingénue.  The final image – Moore carrying a basket of dirty laundry up the steps of the Nation’s Capital, hoping to find someone who will wash it for him – seems aimed straight at the most important political demographic in coming years – males 18 to 27. This is state of the art political propaganda at its best.