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{{For|the ''American Dad!'' episode|Roger 'n' Me}}
{{For|the ''[[American Dad!]]'' episode|Roger 'n' Me}}
{{Infobox film
{{Infobox film
| name = Roger & Me
| name = Roger & Me
Line 8: Line 8:
| writer = Michael Moore
| writer = Michael Moore
| starring = Michael Moore<br />[[Roger B. Smith]]<br />Janet Rauch<br />Rhonda Britton<br />Fred Ross<br />[[Ronald Reagan]]<br />[[Bob Eubanks]]
| starring = Michael Moore<br />[[Roger B. Smith]]<br />Janet Rauch<br />Rhonda Britton<br />Fred Ross<br />[[Ronald Reagan]]<br />[[Bob Eubanks]]
| music =
| music =
| cinematography = Chris Beaver<br />John Prusak<br />[[Kevin Rafferty]]<br />Bruce Schermer
| cinematography = Chris Beaver<br />John Prusak<br />[[Kevin Rafferty]]<br />Bruce Schermer
| editing = Jennifer Beman<br />[[Wendey Stanzler]]
| editing = Jennifer Beman<br />[[Wendey Stanzler]]
| distributor = [[Warner Bros.]]
| distributor = [[Warner Bros.]]
| released = {{Film date|1989|12|20}}
| released = December 20, 1989 ([[United States|US]])
| runtime = 91 minutes
| runtime = 91 minutes
| country = {{Film US}}
| language = English
| language = English
| budget = $160,000<ref name="boxofficemojo.com">http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=rogerandme.htm</ref>
| budget = $160,000<ref name="boxofficemojo.com">http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=rogerandme.htm</ref>
| gross = $6,706,368<ref name="boxofficemojo.com"/>
| gross = $6,706,368<ref name="boxofficemojo.com"/>
}}
}}

'''''Roger & Me''''' is a 1989 American [[documentary film]] directed by [[Michael Moore]]. With sarcasm and [[irony]], Moore portrays the regional negative economic impact of [[General Motors Corporation|General Motors]] [[Chief executive officer|CEO]] [[Roger Bonham Smith|Roger Smith]]'s summary action of closing several auto plants in [[Flint, Michigan]], costing 30,000 people their jobs at the time (80,000 to date) and economically devastating the city.
'''''Roger & Me''''' is a [[1989 in film|1989]] [[Cinema of the United States|American]] [[documentary film]] directed by [[Michael Moore]]. With sarcasm and [[irony]], Moore portrays the regional negative economic impact of [[General Motors Corporation|General Motors]] [[Chief executive officer|CEO]] [[Roger Bonham Smith|Roger Smith]]'s summary action of closing several auto plants in [[Flint, Michigan]], costing 30,000 people their jobs at the time (80,000 to date) and economically devastating the city.


==Plot==
==Plot==
{{Plot|date=December 2010}}
Moore begins by introducing himself and his family through [[8 mm]] archival [[home movies]]; he describes himself as "kind of a strange child," the [[Irish American]] [[Roman Catholic|Catholic]] middle-class son of a [[General Motors]] employee assembling AC Spark Plugs. Moore chronicles how GM had previously defined his childhood in [[Flint, Michigan]], and how the company was the primary economic and social hub of the town. He also points out that Flint is the place where the [[Flint Sit-Down Strike]] occurred, resulting in the birth of the [[United Auto Workers]]. He reveals that his heroes were the Flint natives who had escaped the life in GM's gigantic factories, including the members of [[Grand Funk Railroad]], [[Casey Kasem]], the spouses of [[Zubin Mehta]] ([[Nancy Kovack]]) and [[Don Knotts]], and "Flint's most famous native son," game show host [[Bob Eubanks]].
Moore begins by introducing himself and his family through [[8 mm]] archival [[home movies]]; he describes himself as "kind of a strange child," the [[Irish American]] [[Roman Catholic|Catholic]] middle-class son of a [[General Motors]] employee assembling AC Spark Plugs. Moore chronicles how GM had previously defined his childhood in [[Flint, Michigan]], and how the company was the primary economic and social hub of the town. He also points out that Flint is the place where the [[Flint Sit-Down Strike]] occurred, resulting in the birth of the [[United Auto Workers]]. He reveals that his heroes were the Flint natives who had escaped the life in GM's gigantic factories, including the members of [[Grand Funk Railroad]], [[Casey Kasem]], the spouses of [[Zubin Mehta]] ([[Nancy Kovack]]) and [[Don Knotts]], and "Flint's most famous native son," game show host [[Bob Eubanks]].


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Disguised as a TV journalist from [[Toledo, Ohio]], Moore interviews some auto workers in Flint and discovers their strong antipathy to General Motors chairman [[Roger B. Smith]]. Moore begins seeking out Smith himself to confront him about the closing of the Flint plants. He tries to visit Smith at GM's headquarters in [[Detroit]], yet he is blocked by building security as Moore hasn't made an appointment. A company spokesman comes to the lobby and exchanges contact information with Moore, initially promising him to discuss an interview with Smith, but due to lack of credentials (since Moore is independent and likewise, does not have a business card), he refuses to grant him one. Over the course of the film, Moore attempts to track down Smith at the [[Grosse Pointe Yacht Club]] and the [[Detroit Athletic Club]], only to be told either that Smith is not there or to leave by employees and security guards.
Disguised as a TV journalist from [[Toledo, Ohio]], Moore interviews some auto workers in Flint and discovers their strong antipathy to General Motors chairman [[Roger B. Smith]]. Moore begins seeking out Smith himself to confront him about the closing of the Flint plants. He tries to visit Smith at GM's headquarters in [[Detroit]], yet he is blocked by building security as Moore hasn't made an appointment. A company spokesman comes to the lobby and exchanges contact information with Moore, initially promising him to discuss an interview with Smith, but due to lack of credentials (since Moore is independent and likewise, does not have a business card), he refuses to grant him one. Over the course of the film, Moore attempts to track down Smith at the [[Grosse Pointe Yacht Club]] and the [[Detroit Athletic Club]], only to be told either that Smith is not there or to leave by employees and security guards.


From here, Moore begins to explore the emotional impact of the plant closings on some of his friends. He interviews an auto worker named [[Ben Hamper]] who apparently suffered a [[nervous breakdown]] on the assembly line and is currently staying at a mental health facility. From here, to the [[Beach Boys]] song "[[Wouldn't It Be Nice?]]", we see a montage of the urban rubble and decay enveloping Flint, interspersed with newspaper headlines about the increasing layoffs, residents moving away, and a news report informing us that the rat population in the city soon outnumbered the human population. He also turns his camera to the upper class residents of the more affluent suburbs such as [[Grand Blanc, MI|Grand Blanc]], who display rather classist and naïve attitudes when it comes to the economic hardships of the city (at a party they are hosting, Moore takes note when they hire laid off workers to be Human Statues).
From here, Moore begins to explore the emotional impact of the plant closings on some of his friends. He interviews an auto worker named [[Ben Hamper]] who apparently suffered a [[nervous breakdown]] on the assembly line and is currently staying at a mental health facility. From here, to the [[Beach Boys]] song "[[Wouldn't It Be Nice?]]", we see a montage of the urban rubble and decay enveloping Flint, interspersed with newspaper headlines about the increasing layoffs, residents moving away, and a news report informing us that the rat population in the city soon outnumbered the human population. He also turns his camera to the middle/upper class residents of the more affluent suburbs such as [[Grand Blanc, MI|Grand Blanc]], who display rather classist and naïve attitudes when it comes to the economic hardships of the city (at a party they are hosting, Moore takes note when they hire laid off workers to be Human Statues).


Here, Moore changes course and turns his camera on the [http://www.visitflint.org/index.html Flint Convention and Visitors Bureau], who are in the process of response by promoting a vigorously incompetent [[tourism]] policy. The Bureau, in an effort to lure tourists into visiting Flint, permit the construction of a [[Hyatt Regency]] Hotel, a [[festival marketplace]] called Water Street Pavilion, and [[AutoWorld]], hailed as the world's largest indoor theme park. These efforts fail, as the Hyatt soon files for [[bankruptcy]], Water Street Pavilion sees most of its stores go out of business, and AutoWorld closes due to a lack of visitors just six months after the grand opening. (AutoWorld would reopen the next summer only to close down again, and in the end was demolished, which is seen in Moore's film ''[[The Big One (film)|The Big One]]''.)
Here, Moore changes course and turns his camera on the [http://www.visitflint.org/index.html Flint Convention and Visitors Bureau], who are in the process of response by promoting a vigorously incompetent [[tourism]] policy. The Bureau, in an effort to lure tourists into visiting Flint, permit the construction of a [[Hyatt Regency]] Hotel, a [[festival marketplace]] called Water Street Pavilion, and [[AutoWorld]], hailed as the world's largest indoor theme park. These efforts fail, as the Hyatt soon files for [[bankruptcy]], Water Street Pavilion sees most of its stores go out of business, and AutoWorld closes due to a lack of visitors just six months after the grand opening. (AutoWorld would reopen the next summer only to close down again, and in the end was demolished, which is seen in Moore's film ''[[The Big One (film)|The Big One]]''.)
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Well-known personalities and celebrities are also shown coming to Flint to bring hope to the unemployed, some of them interviewed by Moore. [[Ronald Reagan]] visits the town and suggests that former auto workers find employment by moving across the country, though the restaurant where they are meeting has its cash register stolen during Reagan's visit. The mayor pays television evangelist [[Robert Schuller]] to preach to the town's unemployed. [[Pat Boone]] and [[Anita Bryant]], who have supplied GM with celebrity endorsements, also come to town; Boone tells Moore that Roger Smith is a "can-do" kind of guy. Moore also interviews [[Bob Eubanks]] during a fair near Flint, during which he cracks an anti-semitic and homophobic joke.
Well-known personalities and celebrities are also shown coming to Flint to bring hope to the unemployed, some of them interviewed by Moore. [[Ronald Reagan]] visits the town and suggests that former auto workers find employment by moving across the country, though the restaurant where they are meeting has its cash register stolen during Reagan's visit. The mayor pays television evangelist [[Robert Schuller]] to preach to the town's unemployed. [[Pat Boone]] and [[Anita Bryant]], who have supplied GM with celebrity endorsements, also come to town; Boone tells Moore that Roger Smith is a "can-do" kind of guy. Moore also interviews [[Bob Eubanks]] during a fair near Flint, during which he cracks an anti-semitic and homophobic joke.


Moore also attends the General Motors 1988 Shareholders Convention, disgusied as a shareholder himself. However when he gets a turn at the microphone to air his grevances to the board, and even though he is the last one, Smith immediately shuts him out and has the convention adjurned, despite Moore's attempts to interject him. In a close up of Smith, he can be heard joking about what he did with a fellow boardmember before leaving.
Moore also attends the General Motors 1988 Shareholders Convention, disgusied as a shareholder himself. However when he gets a turn at the microphone to air his grevances to the board, and even though he is the last one, Smith immediately shuts him out and has the convention adjurned, despite Moore's attempts to interject him. In a close up of Smith, he can be heard joking about what he did with a fellow boardmember before leaving.


Moore also meets some of the residents of Flint, who are reeling from the economic fallout of the layoffs. We meet a former feminist radio host named Janet who, to find work, joins [[Amway]] as a saleswoman. We also meet a former auto worker, angered over the layoffs, who is named James Bond. The most famous resident that appears in the film is Rhonda Britton, who sells [[rabbits]] for "Pets or Meat".<ref>[http://dogeatdog.michaelmoore.com/films/detroitnews.html]</ref><ref>[http://dogeatdog.michaelmoore.com/films/latimeswash.html]</ref> (The scene many believe was the reason ''Roger & Me'' received an R-rating features Britton killing a rabbit by beating it with a lead pipe. The rabbit fights back before and during the early part of the beating.) Prevalent throughout the film is Sheriff's Deputy Fred Ross, who worked at a Flint GM plant for 17 years before accepting his sheriff's deputy position, whose job now demands that he go around town carrying out [[eviction]]s on families unable to pay their rent.
Moore also meets some of the residents of Flint, who are reeling from the economic fallout of the layoffs. We meet a former feminist radio host named Janet who, to find work, joins [[Amway]] as a saleswoman. We also meet a former auto worker, angered over the layoffs, who is named [[James Bond (disambiguation)|James Bond]]. The most famous resident that appears in the film is Rhonda Britton, who sells [[rabbits]] for "Pets or Meat".<ref>[http://dogeatdog.michaelmoore.com/films/detroitnews.html]</ref><ref>[http://dogeatdog.michaelmoore.com/films/latimeswash.html]</ref> (The scene many believe was the reason ''Roger & Me'' received an R-rating features Britton killing a rabbit by beating it with a lead pipe. The rabbit fights back before and during the early part of the beating.) Prevalent throughout the film is Sheriff's Deputy Fred Ross, who worked at a Flint GM plant for 17 years before accepting his sheriff's deputy position, whose job now demands that he go around town carrying out [[eviction]]s on families unable to pay their rent.


During all of this, as the film progresses, Flint's crime rate skyrockets, with shootouts and murders becoming all too common. Crime becomes so prevalent, that when the [[ABC News]] program ''[[Nightline (US news program)|Nightline]]'' tries to do a live story on the plant closings, someone steals the network's van (along with the cables), abruptly stopping the broadcast. Living in Flint becomes so desperate, that ''[[Money (magazine)|Money]]'' magazine names the town as the worst place to live in America. The residents react with outrage and stage a rally where issues of the magazine are burned.
During all of this, as the film progresses, Flint's crime rate skyrockets, with shootouts and murders becoming all too common. Crime becomes so prevalent, that when the [[ABC News]] program ''[[Nightline (US news program)|Nightline]]'' tries to do a live story on the plant closings, someone steals the network's van (along with the cables), abruptly stopping the broadcast. Living in Flint becomes so desperate, that ''[[Money (magazine)|Money]]'' magazine names the town as the worst place to live in America. The residents react with outrage and stage a rally where issues of the magazine are burned.
Line 71: Line 70:


Moore returned to the subject of ''Roger and Me'' with a documentary called ''[[Pets or Meat: The Return to Flint]]'' (1992), which aired on the [[PBS]] show ''[[P.O.V.]]'' In this film, Moore returns to Flint two years after the release of ''Roger & Me'' to see what changes have taken place. Moore revisits Flint and its economic decline again in later films, including ''[[The Big One (film)|The Big One]]'', ''[[Bowling for Columbine]]'', ''[[Fahrenheit 9/11]]'' and ''[[Capitalism: A Love Story]]''.
Moore returned to the subject of ''Roger and Me'' with a documentary called ''[[Pets or Meat: The Return to Flint]]'' (1992), which aired on the [[PBS]] show ''[[P.O.V.]]'' In this film, Moore returns to Flint two years after the release of ''Roger & Me'' to see what changes have taken place. Moore revisits Flint and its economic decline again in later films, including ''[[The Big One (film)|The Big One]]'', ''[[Bowling for Columbine]]'', ''[[Fahrenheit 9/11]]'' and ''[[Capitalism: A Love Story]]''.

==Reception==
Critical reception of the film was highly positive, with its score on Rotten Tomatoes currently at 100%.<ref>http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/roger_and_me/</ref>


==Criticism==
==Criticism==
Film critic [[Pauline Kael]] criticized the film, claiming it exaggerated the social impact of GM's closing of the plant and depicted the actual events of Flint's troubles out of [[chronological order]]. Kael called the film "shallow and facetious, a piece of gonzo demagoguery that made me feel cheap for laughing". One such criticism is that the eviction at the end of the film occurred on a different day from Smith's speech, but the two events were intercut for emotional effect.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kael|first=Pauline|title=Review of Roger & Me|publisher=[[The New Yorker]]|date=1990-01-08}}</ref> Moore addresses this criticism in the [[DVD]] commentary, stating that "there are no dates in the film; we'll be going back and forth throughout the decade of the '80s."
Film critic [[Pauline Kael]] criticized the film, claiming it exaggerated the social impact of GM's closing of the plant and depicted the actual events of Flint's troubles out of [[chronological order]]. Kael called the film "shallow and facetious, a piece of gonzo demagoguery that made me feel cheap for laughing". One such criticism is that the eviction at the end of the film occurred on a different day from Smith's speech, but the two events were intercut for emotional effect.<ref>{{cite news|last=Kael|first=Pauline|title=Review of Roger & Me|publisher=[[The New Yorker]]|date=1990-01-08}}</ref> Moore addresses this criticism in the [[DVD]] commentary, stating that "there are no dates in the film; we'll be going back and forth throughout the decade of the '80s."

A critic noted that the movie is filled with well-documented factual errors. For instance, Moore makes it appear that all of these workers lost their jobs in two years rather than over decades.<ref>[http://multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/issues/1990/01/gold.html]</ref> It also portrays General Motors as laying off of thousands of Flint auto workers, even though the company is experiencing record profits, however these good years from 1981-84 were largely as a result of [[Voluntary Export Restraints]] imposed by Japan.<ref>[http://diplomatdc.wordpress.com/2009/05/07/724rogerbsmith/]</ref> Moore also did not mention that GM had numerous problems by the 1980s, losing market share to foreign automakers for the first time. These in the industry who defended Smith against ''Roger & Me'' criticism note that he realized that GM's vast workforce and inefficient bureaucracy made it uncompetitive.<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/03/business/main3564918.shtml]</ref><ref>[http://books.google.ca/books?id=RGmHAVPhmRwC&pg=PA378&lpg=PA378&dq=Roger+Smith+elephant+to+dance&source=bl&ots=h6EZuQ389B&sig=UH5sqeP7KMyyHoeWiMRJBPWwK-I&hl=en&ei=QLxxTMPqHcH58AaSle2MBg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CBQQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=Roger%20Smith%20elephant%20to%20dance&f=false]</ref> Gus Buenz, a spokesman for Oldsmobile during the 1980s, stated that Smith consolidated GM's operations to increase competitiveness, albeit with considerable layoffs (with Flint being among the hardest-hit areas).<ref>[http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2007/12/03/business/main3564918.shtml]</ref> Moore responds to historical inaccuracies saying that he did not set out to produce a PBS Nova documentary series.<ref>[http://multinationalmonitor.org/hyper/issues/1990/01/gold.html]</ref>


In March 2007, Canadian filmmakers Debbie Melnyk and Rick Caine appeared on MSNBC's ''[[Tucker (television program)|Tucker]]'' to talk about their documentary ''[[Manufacturing Dissent]]''. They reported to have found that Moore talked with General Motors Chairman [[Roger Bonham Smith|Roger Smith]] at a company shareholders' meeting, and that this interview was cut from ''Roger & Me''.<ref>[http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117933050.html?categoryid=1263&cs=1 Leydon, Joe. "Manufacturing Dissent",] ''Variety'' March 11, 2007. URL accessed April 4, 2007.</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/04/15/svmoore115.xml Melnyk, Debbie. "Taking on the Big Man"] ''Sunday Telegraph''. April 15, 2007. URL accessed May 30, 2008.</ref> Moore acknowledged having spoken with Roger Smith after surprising him at a shareholders' meeting in 1987, before he commenced filming, but said the encounter concerned a separate topic unrelated to the film.<ref name=harshwords>{{cite news|last=Flesher|first=John|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19269567/|title=Michael Moore has harsh words for critics|publisher=MSNBC|date=2007-06-16|accessdate=2007-06-17}}</ref> The filmmaker also told the Associated Press that if he had managed to secure an interview with Smith during production, then suppressed the footage, General Motors would have publicized the information to discredit him. "I'm so used to listening to the stuff people say about me, it just becomes entertainment for me at this point," he remarked. "It's a fictional character that's been created with the name of Michael Moore."<ref name=harshwords />
In March 2007, Canadian filmmakers Debbie Melnyk and Rick Caine appeared on MSNBC's ''[[Tucker (television program)|Tucker]]'' to talk about their documentary ''[[Manufacturing Dissent]]''. They reported to have found that Moore talked with General Motors Chairman [[Roger Bonham Smith|Roger Smith]] at a company shareholders' meeting, and that this interview was cut from ''Roger & Me''.<ref>[http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117933050.html?categoryid=1263&cs=1 Leydon, Joe. "Manufacturing Dissent",] ''Variety'' March 11, 2007. URL accessed April 4, 2007.</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/04/15/svmoore115.xml Melnyk, Debbie. "Taking on the Big Man"] ''Sunday Telegraph''. April 15, 2007. URL accessed May 30, 2008.</ref> Moore acknowledged having spoken with Roger Smith after surprising him at a shareholders' meeting in 1987, before he commenced filming, but said the encounter concerned a separate topic unrelated to the film.<ref name=harshwords>{{cite news|last=Flesher|first=John|url=http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19269567/|title=Michael Moore has harsh words for critics|publisher=MSNBC|date=2007-06-16|accessdate=2007-06-17}}</ref> The filmmaker also told the Associated Press that if he had managed to secure an interview with Smith during production, then suppressed the footage, General Motors would have publicized the information to discredit him. "I'm so used to listening to the stuff people say about me, it just becomes entertainment for me at this point," he remarked. "It's a fictional character that's been created with the name of Michael Moore."<ref name=harshwords />


Canadian filmmakers Debbie Melnyk and Rick Caine additionally noted, in deleted scenes from their documentary, that Moore had been successfully sued regarding misrepresentations (presumably confirmed for litigation to have been successful)- specifically, that the "classist and naïve attitudes when it comes to the economic hardships of the city" were offered on the understanding that Moore was filming a documentary regarding Money magazine's unfavourable review of living conditions, and that the interviewees were "talking up" the city as a matter of local pride.<ref>[http://www.variety.com/review/VE1117933050.html?categoryid=1263&cs=1 Leydon, Joe. "Manufacturing Dissent",] ''Variety'' March 11, 2007. URL accessed April 4, 2007.</ref><ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/04/15/svmoore115.xml Melnyk, Debbie. "Taking on the Big Man"] ''Sunday Telegraph''. April 15, 2007. URL accessed May 30, 2008.</ref>
Critic Roger Ebert wrote an article entitled, "Attacks on "Roger & Me" completely miss point of film" that defends Moore's manipulation of his film's timeline as an artistic and stylistic choice that has less to do with his credibility as a filmmaker and more to do with the flexibility of film as a medium to express a viewpoint using the same methods that satirists have used. Ebert argues that the point of the film is not to present a completely cut and dry presentation of facts, but instead to create a jumping point for interest and dialogue through use of humor and irony.


==See also==
==See also==
{{Portal box|Michigan|Film}}
{{Portalbox|Michigan|Film}}
* [[List of documentaries]]
* [[List of documentaries]]


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==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
{{Wikiquote}}
{{wikiquote}}
* {{Official website|http://www.michaelmoore.com/dogeatdogfilms/rogerme.html}}
* {{official|http://www.michaelmoore.com/dogeatdogfilms/rogerme.html}}
* {{IMDb title|0098213|Roger & Me}}
* {{imdb title|id=0098213}}
* {{Rotten-tomatoes|roger_and_me|Roger & Me}}
* {{Rotten Tomatoes|roger_and_me}}
* {{Allmovie title|41914|Roger & Me}}
* {{Amg movie|41914|Roger & Me}}
* [http://www.roger-and-me.com Roger & Me online museum]
* [http://www.roger-and-me.com Roger & Me online museum]


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[[Category:1989 films]]
[[Category:1989 films]]
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[[Category:American films]]
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[[Category:English-language films]]
[[Category:American documentary films]]
[[Category:American documentary films]]
[[Category:Directorial debut films]]
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[[Category:Documentary films about business]]
[[Category:Documentary films about politics]]
[[Category:Films directed by Michael Moore]]
[[Category:Films directed by Michael Moore]]
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[[Category:Films set in Michigan]]
[[Category:Flint, Michigan]]
[[Category:Flint, Michigan]]
[[Category:General Motors]]
[[Category:General Motors]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. films]]
[[Category:Warner Bros. films]]
[[Category:Political documentaries]]
⚫
[[Category:Directorial debut films]]
⚫
[[Category:English-language films]]
⚫
[[Category:Documentary films about business]]
⚫
[[Category:Films set in Michigan]]


[[de:Roger & Me]]
[[de:Roger & Me]]

Revision as of 15:50, 31 December 2010

For the American Dad! episode, see Roger 'n' Me.
Roger & Me
Film poster
Directed byMichael Moore
Written byMichael Moore
Produced byMichael Moore
Wendey Stanzler (associate)[1]
StarringMichael Moore
Roger B. Smith
Janet Rauch
Rhonda Britton
Fred Ross
Ronald Reagan
Bob Eubanks
CinematographyChris Beaver
John Prusak
Kevin Rafferty
Bruce Schermer
Edited byJennifer Beman
Wendey Stanzler
Distributed byWarner Bros.
Release date
December 20, 1989 (US)
Running time
91 minutes
LanguageEnglish
Budget$160,000[2]
Box office$6,706,368[2]

Roger & Me is a 1989 American documentary film directed by Michael Moore. With sarcasm and irony, Moore portrays the regional negative economic impact of General Motors CEO Roger Smith's summary action of closing several auto plants in Flint, Michigan, costing 30,000 people their jobs at the time (80,000 to date) and economically devastating the city.

Plot

Moore begins by introducing himself and his family through 8 mm archival home movies; he describes himself as "kind of a strange child," the Irish American Catholic middle-class son of a General Motors employee assembling AC Spark Plugs. Moore chronicles how GM had previously defined his childhood in Flint, Michigan, and how the company was the primary economic and social hub of the town. He also points out that Flint is the place where the Flint Sit-Down Strike occurred, resulting in the birth of the United Auto Workers. He reveals that his heroes were the Flint natives who had escaped the life in GM's gigantic factories, including the members of Grand Funk Railroad, Casey Kasem, the spouses of Zubin Mehta (Nancy Kovack) and Don Knotts, and "Flint's most famous native son," game show host Bob Eubanks.

Initially, he achieves his dream of avoiding factory life, working for a magazine in San Francisco, but this venture fails for him and he ultimately travels back to Flint. As he returns, General Motors announces the layoffs of thousands of Flint auto workers, the jobs of whom will go to cheaper labor in Mexico. GM makes this announcement even though the company is experiencing record profits.

Disguised as a TV journalist from Toledo, Ohio, Moore interviews some auto workers in Flint and discovers their strong antipathy to General Motors chairman Roger B. Smith. Moore begins seeking out Smith himself to confront him about the closing of the Flint plants. He tries to visit Smith at GM's headquarters in Detroit, yet he is blocked by building security as Moore hasn't made an appointment. A company spokesman comes to the lobby and exchanges contact information with Moore, initially promising him to discuss an interview with Smith, but due to lack of credentials (since Moore is independent and likewise, does not have a business card), he refuses to grant him one. Over the course of the film, Moore attempts to track down Smith at the Grosse Pointe Yacht Club and the Detroit Athletic Club, only to be told either that Smith is not there or to leave by employees and security guards.

From here, Moore begins to explore the emotional impact of the plant closings on some of his friends. He interviews an auto worker named Ben Hamper who apparently suffered a nervous breakdown on the assembly line and is currently staying at a mental health facility. From here, to the Beach Boys song "Wouldn't It Be Nice?", we see a montage of the urban rubble and decay enveloping Flint, interspersed with newspaper headlines about the increasing layoffs, residents moving away, and a news report informing us that the rat population in the city soon outnumbered the human population. He also turns his camera to the middle/upper class residents of the more affluent suburbs such as Grand Blanc, who display rather classist and naïve attitudes when it comes to the economic hardships of the city (at a party they are hosting, Moore takes note when they hire laid off workers to be Human Statues).

Here, Moore changes course and turns his camera on the Flint Convention and Visitors Bureau, who are in the process of response by promoting a vigorously incompetent tourism policy. The Bureau, in an effort to lure tourists into visiting Flint, permit the construction of a Hyatt Regency Hotel, a festival marketplace called Water Street Pavilion, and AutoWorld, hailed as the world's largest indoor theme park. These efforts fail, as the Hyatt soon files for bankruptcy, Water Street Pavilion sees most of its stores go out of business, and AutoWorld closes due to a lack of visitors just six months after the grand opening. (AutoWorld would reopen the next summer only to close down again, and in the end was demolished, which is seen in Moore's film The Big One.)

Well-known personalities and celebrities are also shown coming to Flint to bring hope to the unemployed, some of them interviewed by Moore. Ronald Reagan visits the town and suggests that former auto workers find employment by moving across the country, though the restaurant where they are meeting has its cash register stolen during Reagan's visit. The mayor pays television evangelist Robert Schuller to preach to the town's unemployed. Pat Boone and Anita Bryant, who have supplied GM with celebrity endorsements, also come to town; Boone tells Moore that Roger Smith is a "can-do" kind of guy. Moore also interviews Bob Eubanks during a fair near Flint, during which he cracks an anti-semitic and homophobic joke.

Moore also attends the General Motors 1988 Shareholders Convention, disgusied as a shareholder himself. However when he gets a turn at the microphone to air his grevances to the board, and even though he is the last one, Smith immediately shuts him out and has the convention adjurned, despite Moore's attempts to interject him. In a close up of Smith, he can be heard joking about what he did with a fellow boardmember before leaving.

Moore also meets some of the residents of Flint, who are reeling from the economic fallout of the layoffs. We meet a former feminist radio host named Janet who, to find work, joins Amway as a saleswoman. We also meet a former auto worker, angered over the layoffs, who is named James Bond. The most famous resident that appears in the film is Rhonda Britton, who sells rabbits for "Pets or Meat".[3][4] (The scene many believe was the reason Roger & Me received an R-rating features Britton killing a rabbit by beating it with a lead pipe. The rabbit fights back before and during the early part of the beating.) Prevalent throughout the film is Sheriff's Deputy Fred Ross, who worked at a Flint GM plant for 17 years before accepting his sheriff's deputy position, whose job now demands that he go around town carrying out evictions on families unable to pay their rent.

During all of this, as the film progresses, Flint's crime rate skyrockets, with shootouts and murders becoming all too common. Crime becomes so prevalent, that when the ABC News program Nightline tries to do a live story on the plant closings, someone steals the network's van (along with the cables), abruptly stopping the broadcast. Living in Flint becomes so desperate, that Money magazine names the town as the worst place to live in America. The residents react with outrage and stage a rally where issues of the magazine are burned.

At the film's climax, Moore finally confronts Smith at the chairman's annual Christmas message, addressing him from a distance (Moore claims in the DVD commentary that two security guards are restraining him to keep him from getting closer to Smith). Smith is shown expounding about generosity during the holiday season, concurrently as Sheriff Fred Ross evicts more families. After Smith's speech, Moore hounds Smith:

Moore: Mr. Smith, we just came down from Flint, where we filmed a family being evicted from their home the day before Christmas Eve [sic - Moore misspoke - it was Christmas eve, rather than the day before Christmas eve][citation needed]. A family that used to work in the factory. Would you be willing to come up with us to see what the situation is like in Flint, so that people...?

Smith: I've been to Flint, and I'm sorry for those people, but I don't know anything about it, but you'd have to...

Moore: Families being evicted from their homes on Christmas Eve...

Smith: Well, I'm... listen, I'm sure General Motors didn't evict them. You'd have to go talk to the landlord...

Moore: They used to work for General Motors, and now they don't work there anymore.

Smith: Well, I'm sorry about that.

Moore: Could you come up to Flint with us...

Smith: I cannot come to Flint, I'm sorry.

Dejected by his failure to bring Smith to Flint, Moore proclaims that "as we neared the end of the 20th century", as the rich got richer and the poor got poorer, "it was truly the dawn of a new era."

After the credits, the film displays the message "This film cannot be shown within the city of Flint", followed by "All the movie theatres have closed."

History

This film, financed partly by Moore's mortgaging of his home and partly by the settlement money from a lawsuit he filed against Mother Jones for wrongful termination, was meant to be a personal statement over his anger not just at GM, but also the economic policies and social attitudes of the United States government, which allows a corporation to remove the largest source of income from an entire town. The film proved to be the most successful documentary in American history at the time in its theatrical run (since surpassed at the box office by Moore's later documentaries Bowling for Columbine and Fahrenheit 9/11) and enjoyed wide critical acclaim. In response, General Motors threatened to pull advertising on any TV show that interviewed Michael Moore.[citation needed]

Roger & Me was filmed under the working title A Humorous Look at How General Motors Destroyed Flint, Michigan.[5]

Warner Bros. gave Moore $3 million for distribution license, a very large amount for a first time filmmaker and unprecedented for a documentary. Part of the distribution deal required Warner Bros. to buy four houses for the families evicted in the film and give away 20,000 tickets to the unemployed workers.[citation needed]

Moore returned to the subject of Roger and Me with a documentary called Pets or Meat: The Return to Flint (1992), which aired on the PBS show P.O.V. In this film, Moore returns to Flint two years after the release of Roger & Me to see what changes have taken place. Moore revisits Flint and its economic decline again in later films, including The Big One, Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11 and Capitalism: A Love Story.

Criticism

Film critic Pauline Kael criticized the film, claiming it exaggerated the social impact of GM's closing of the plant and depicted the actual events of Flint's troubles out of chronological order. Kael called the film "shallow and facetious, a piece of gonzo demagoguery that made me feel cheap for laughing". One such criticism is that the eviction at the end of the film occurred on a different day from Smith's speech, but the two events were intercut for emotional effect.[6] Moore addresses this criticism in the DVD commentary, stating that "there are no dates in the film; we'll be going back and forth throughout the decade of the '80s."

A critic noted that the movie is filled with well-documented factual errors. For instance, Moore makes it appear that all of these workers lost their jobs in two years rather than over decades.[7] It also portrays General Motors as laying off of thousands of Flint auto workers, even though the company is experiencing record profits, however these good years from 1981-84 were largely as a result of Voluntary Export Restraints imposed by Japan.[8] Moore also did not mention that GM had numerous problems by the 1980s, losing market share to foreign automakers for the first time. These in the industry who defended Smith against Roger & Me criticism note that he realized that GM's vast workforce and inefficient bureaucracy made it uncompetitive.[9][10] Gus Buenz, a spokesman for Oldsmobile during the 1980s, stated that Smith consolidated GM's operations to increase competitiveness, albeit with considerable layoffs (with Flint being among the hardest-hit areas).[11] Moore responds to historical inaccuracies saying that he did not set out to produce a PBS Nova documentary series.[12]

In March 2007, Canadian filmmakers Debbie Melnyk and Rick Caine appeared on MSNBC's Tucker to talk about their documentary Manufacturing Dissent. They reported to have found that Moore talked with General Motors Chairman Roger Smith at a company shareholders' meeting, and that this interview was cut from Roger & Me.[13][14] Moore acknowledged having spoken with Roger Smith after surprising him at a shareholders' meeting in 1987, before he commenced filming, but said the encounter concerned a separate topic unrelated to the film.[15] The filmmaker also told the Associated Press that if he had managed to secure an interview with Smith during production, then suppressed the footage, General Motors would have publicized the information to discredit him. "I'm so used to listening to the stuff people say about me, it just becomes entertainment for me at this point," he remarked. "It's a fictional character that's been created with the name of Michael Moore."[15]

Canadian filmmakers Debbie Melnyk and Rick Caine additionally noted, in deleted scenes from their documentary, that Moore had been successfully sued regarding misrepresentations (presumably confirmed for litigation to have been successful)- specifically, that the "classist and naïve attitudes when it comes to the economic hardships of the city" were offered on the understanding that Moore was filming a documentary regarding Money magazine's unfavourable review of living conditions, and that the interviewees were "talking up" the city as a matter of local pride.[16][17]

See also

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Related books and films

  • Final Offer - a documentary film that shows the backroom 1984 General Motors contract negotiations, that would result in the union split of the Canadian arm of the UAW. It also shows how the UAW was more willing to negotiate with General Motors than their Canadian counterparts. The film depicts some of the events that would lead to the closing of plants in Flint, and other plants around the United States. GM Chairman Roger Smith is featured in the film.
  • The Corporation - shows the history of the corporation and some of its potential downfalls. Michael Moore appears in the film.

References

  1. ^ http://dogeatdog.michaelmoore.com/rmecredits.html
  2. ^ a b http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=rogerandme.htm
  3. ^ [1]
  4. ^ [2]
  5. ^ Pierson, John, Spike, Mike Reloaded, pg.137
  6. ^ Kael, Pauline (1990-01-08). "Review of Roger & Me". The New Yorker.
  7. ^ [3]
  8. ^ [4]
  9. ^ [5]
  10. ^ [6]
  11. ^ [7]
  12. ^ [8]
  13. ^ Leydon, Joe. "Manufacturing Dissent", Variety March 11, 2007. URL accessed April 4, 2007.
  14. ^ Melnyk, Debbie. "Taking on the Big Man" Sunday Telegraph. April 15, 2007. URL accessed May 30, 2008.
  15. ^ a b Flesher, John (2007-06-16). "Michael Moore has harsh words for critics". MSNBC. Retrieved 2007-06-17.
  16. ^ Leydon, Joe. "Manufacturing Dissent", Variety March 11, 2007. URL accessed April 4, 2007.
  17. ^ Melnyk, Debbie. "Taking on the Big Man" Sunday Telegraph. April 15, 2007. URL accessed May 30, 2008.

External links

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