SUZANNE HILLINGER

TOTALLY UNDER CONTROL
Directed by Alex Gibney, Ophelia Harutyunyan and Suzanne Hillinger.

At this moment over 200,000 Americans have died from COVID-19. From July 15 to August 31, the death toll was running at an average of 1,000 / day. That’s double the number of those who perished on 9/11 every week. The carelessly designed lockdowns and their long-lasting economic effects have led to massive job losses (23 million/14.7% in April), widespread hunger, dislocation, and a runaway federal deficit. Had the federal government done its job properly - by following clear guidelines in place based on past pandemics - most of the death and destruction could have been avoided. While the current administration makes its claims for a job well done, the fact is that the US response to COVID-19 is one of the worst, with 4% of the world’s population and 21% of the deaths.

How did this happen?

On January 20th, 2020 the US and South Korea both discovered their first cases of COVID-19. However, nine months later, the novel Coronavirus has claimed the lives of over 200,000 Americans and caused staggering economic damage, while in South Korea, there were no significant lockdowns and, in an urbanized population of 51 million, only 344 lives have been lost. Where did we go wrong? As the presidential election nears, Americans are increasingly enraged by a lack of clear leadership, endemic political corruption and left to wonder how did the wealthiest and most powerful country in the world manage to fail so thoroughly in its response to a global pandemic?

REVIEWS Totally Under Control - Watching the dominos fall in the U.S. pandemic catastrophe