History Film / RogerAndMe

* UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan: He appears in a clip wherein he buys pizza for some unemployed autoworkers, and advises them to move south if they want jobs. ([[spoiler:Literally; the Southern U.S. got many manufacturing jobs that were formerly in Michigan.]]) Later that day, the pizzeria's cash register disappeared.

The film became the most successful non-concert documentary of all time upon its release (Moore's later films ''Film/BowlingForColumbine'' and ''Fahrenheit 9/11'', among others, have since out-grossed it), has earned the coveted 100% rating on ''Website/RottenTomatoes'', and won an Emmy.

[[quoteright:300:http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/roger_and_me.jpg]]

'''''Roger and Me''''' is a 1989 documentary, as well as Creator/MichaelMoore's first film. Michael Moore explores the deterioration of his hometown of Flint, Michigan, following the shutdown of the General Motors factories to which it was home, and his own attempts to track down Roger Bonham Smith, General Motors CEO, and get him to come to Flint. Though its accuracy is disputed ([[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment and let's say no more about that]]), the film became legend for its acerbic, poetic attacks on downsizing.

* DocumentaryOfLies: The main reason the film has been criticized. But as Creator/RogerEbert [[http://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/attacks-on-roger-and-me-completely-miss-point-of-film pointed out]], it's not so much about facts as about making a statement decrying corporate greed, which Ebert argues is what made the movie good. So, as usual, sensationalism trumps fact.

'''''Roger and Me''''' is a 1989 documentary, as well as Creator/MichaelMoore's first film. Michael Moore explores the deterioration of his hometown of Flint, Michigan following the shutdown of the General Motors factories, and his own attempts to track down Roger Bonham Smith, General Motors CEO, and get him to come to Flint. Though its accuracy is disputed ([[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment and let's leave it at that]]), the film became legend for its acerbic, poetic attacks on downsizing.

The film became the most successful non-concert documentary of all time when it was released (Moore's later documentaries ''Film/BowlingForColumbine'' and ''Fahrenheit 9/11'', among others, have since out-grossed it), has earned the coveted 100% rating on ''Website/RottenTomatoes'', and won an Emmy.

* {{Biopic}}: The first ten minutes of the documentary is about Moore's own life, from his childhood in greater Flint, to his work as a journalist at home and later in San Francisco, and his firing from ''Mother Jones'' magazine. The purpose of this is to show the role GM played in the wealth of Flint, and underscore how much was lost with the layoffs.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Roger Smith, who caused the decline of Flint with his downsizing. Beyond Flint, his policies led to GM's continued decline in market share (as well as quality of the cars), and he was named history's fifth worst auto chief by ''[[http://money.cnn.com/gallery/autos/2013/04/03/worst-auto-ceos.fortune/6.html Fortune]]'' in 2013. He even threatened to pull advertising funds from any TV station that offered interviews to Michael Moore.
-->'''Moore:''' ''(narrating)'' [Roger Smith] appeared to have a brilliant plan: First, close eleven factories in the U.S., then open eleven in Mexico where you pay the workers 70 cents an hour. Then, use the money you've saved by building cars in Mexico to take over other companies, preferably high-tech firms and weapons manufacturers. Next, tell the union you're broke and they happily agree to give back a couple billion dollars in wage cuts. You then take that money from the workers, and eliminate their jobs by building more foreign factories. Roger Smith was [[SarcasmMode a true genius]].
* DescriptionCut: A pretty depressing one. Roger Smith gives a speech on Christmas Eve on how the holiday brings out the generosity and warmth in everyone. Then we cut to families being evicted from their homes by Deputy Sheriff Fred Ross.
* DocumentaryOfLies: The main source of the film's criticisms. But as Creator/RogerEbert [[http://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/attacks-on-roger-and-me-completely-miss-point-of-film pointed out]], it's not so much about facts as about making a statement decrying corporate greed, which Ebert argues is what made the movie good. So, as usual, sensationalism trumps fact.
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Moore fails to bring Smith to Flint, which is entrenched in decline. Retroactively it is also this, with Flint's continued decline and further layoffs into the 21st century, to which Moore's later documentaries returned, culminating in General Motors' bankruptcy in 2009, which is mentioned in ''Film/CapitalismALoveStory''.]]

* EndOfAnEra: The film highlights the end of the age of company towns and the businesses that were ingrained in them, in favor of the greed-driven, globalized world.
-->'''Moore:''' As we neared the end of the twentieth century, the rich were richer, the poor, poorer. [[ItMakesSenseInContext And people everywhere now had a lot less lint, thanks to the lint rollers made in my hometown.]] It was truly the dawn of a new era.
* FamilyUnfriendlyViolence: The infamous "Pets or Meat" scene, in which an unemployed woman slaughters a rabbit and skins it for meat. [[WordOfGod Moore himself]] attributes the R rating the movie received to this scene.
* {{Irony}}: Depending on whom you ask, Tom Kay, the General Motors spokesman whom Moore interviews, says job security cannot be achieved in a free enterprise system. Then, once the movie starts to end properly, we see an interesting subtitle after he reasserts his defense of GM's actions:

* PunchClockVillain: Deputy Sheriff Fred Ross, who has the unenviable job of evicting people who can't pay rent from their homes. His job is to enforce the law, no matter how distasteful it is.
* RepurposedPopSong: Music/TheBeachBoys' "Wouldn't it Be Nice," used in bitter irony to show how Flint, Michigan is suffering.
* UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan: Ronald Reagan is presented as inviting some unemployed autoworkers to a pizzeria. He suggests they move south if they want jobs. Later that day, the pizzeria's cash register turned up missing.

* UpperClassTwit: The wealthy of Flint are portrayed as out of touch with the suffering, but they 'help' some unemployed autoworkers, by giving them jobs as ''human statues'' for their parties. This was a bone of contention for [[http://dogeatdog.michaelmoore.com/rainer.html Peter Rainer]] of the ''Los Angeles Times''.
* WretchedHive: Smith's actions turn Flint into one -- although the residents retain enough pride that when ''Money'' magazine declares them the worst town in America, they burn copies of the magazine in public.

'''''Roger and Me''''' is a 1989 documentary, as well as Creator/MichaelMoore's first film. Michael Moore explores the deterioration of his hometown of Flint, Michigan following the shutdown of the General Motors factories, and his own attempts to track down Roger Bonham Smith, General Motors CEO, and get him to come to Flint. Though its accuracy is dubious ([[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment and let's leave it at that]]), the film became legend for its acerbic, poetic attacks on downsizing.

* PunchClockVillain: Deputy Sheriff Fred Ross, who has the unenviable job of evicting people who can't pay rent from their homes. While it's not the most honorable job, Moore is willing to admit it is a stable one.

* FamilyUnfriendlyViolence: The infamous "Pets or Meat" scene, in which an unemployed woman ''beats a rabbit to death'' and skins it. [[WordOfGod Moore himself]] attributes the R rating the movie received to this scene.

* RepurposedPopSong: Music/TheBeachBoys' "Wouldn't it Be Nice," used in better irony to show how Flint, Michigan is suffering.

'''''Roger and Me''''' is a 1989 documentary, as well as Creator/MichaelMoore's first film. Michael Moore explores the deterioration of his hometown of Flint, Michigan following the shutdown of the General Motors factories, and his own attempts to track down Roger Smith, General Motors CEO, to get him to come to Flint. Though its accuracy is dubious ([[RuleOfCautiousEditingJudgment and let's leave it at that]]), the film became legend for its acerbic, poetic attacks on downsizing.

The film was the most successful documentary of its time, surpassed by Moore's later documentaries ''Film/BowlingForColumbine'' and ''Fahrenheit 9/11'', and won an Emmy.

* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Roger Smith, who caused the decline of Flint with his downsizing. Beyond Flint, his policies led to GM's continued decline in market share (as well as quality of the cars), and he was named history's fifth worst auto chief by ''[[http://money.cnn.com/gallery/autos/2013/04/03/worst-auto-ceos.fortune/6.html Fortune]]'' in 2013. He even threatened to pull advertising funds from any TV station that gave Michael Moore inteviews.
-->'''Moore:''' ''(narrating)'' [Roger Smith] appeared to have a brilliant plan: First, close 11 factories in the U.S., then open 11 in Mexico where you pay the workers 70 cents an hour. Then, use the money you've saved by building cars in Mexico to take over other companies, preferably high-tech firms and weapons manufacturers. Next, tell the union you're broke and they happily agree to give back a couple billion dollars in wage cuts. You then take that money from the workers, and eliminate their jobs by building more foreign factories. Roger Smith was [[SarcasmMode a true genius]].

* OldShame: What this film and the events depicted therein are to the city of Flint. The Sloan Museum in Flint, which documents the city's history, makes absolutely no mention of ''Roger and Me'', [=AutoWorld=], or any of the other major events that took place in the 1980s that this film documents.
** As one writer put it, "The Sloan Museum having an [=AutoWorld=] exhibit would be like the Henry Ford Museum having an exhibit about ''The International Jew''."
** A [[TheStinger Stinger]] added to the end credits manages to [[PlayedForLaughs wring some dark laughs]] out of the '[[BannedInChina Banned in Flint]]' nature of ''Roger'':
--->This film cannot be shown within the city of Flint.[[spoiler: All the movie theatres have closed.]]

* SoundtrackDissonance: In-universe, an autoworker and later journalist named Ben Hamper (a personal friend of Moore's) remarked that he had been listening to "Wouldn't It Be Nice" by the Beach Boys during a ''nervous breakdown''. Afterward, the song is later played over footage of Flint's continued decline, as well as a news report about the rat population of Flint exceeding the human population with all the abandoned buildings.
* UpperClassTwit: The wealthy of Flint are portrayed as out of touch with the suffering, but they 'help' some unemployed autoworkers, by giving them jobs as ''human statues'' for their parties. ''LA Times'' critic Peter Rainer [[http://dogeatdog.michaelmoore.com/rainer.html had a bit of a problem with this]].
* WretchedHive: Flint, Michigan, thanks to Roger Smith- although the residents have enough pride that when Money magazine declares them one of the worst towns in America, they publicly burn copies of the magazine.
* ZanyScheme: In the wake of the city's ailing economy, the Flint Convention and Visitor's Bureau decide the best course of action is to turn it into a tourist trap. Among their ridiculous ventures is a $100 million indoor car-themed amusement park called [=AutoWorld=]. It works about as well as you'd expect ("like going to New Jersey to visit Chemical World, or Valdez, Alaska to visit Exxon World"), and closes six months after opening.

* EndOfAnEra: The film highlights the end of the age company towns and the businesses that were ingrained in them, in favor of the greed-driven, globalized world.

'''''Roger and Me''''' is a 1989 documentary, as well as Creator/MichaelMoore's first film. Michael Moore explores the deterioration of his hometown of Flint, Michigan following the shutdown of the General Motors factories, and his own attempts to track down Roger Smith, General Motors CEO, to get him to come to Flint. Though its accuracy is dubious (and let's leave it at that), the film became legend for its acerbic, poetic attacks on downsizing.

* {{Biopic}}: The first part of the documentary is about Moore's own life, from his childhood in greater Flint, to his work as a journalist, and his firing from ''Mother Jones'' magazine. The purpose of this is to show the role GM played in the wealth of Flint, and underscore how much was lost with the layoffs.

* DescriptionCut: A pretty depressing one. Roger Smith gives a speech on Christmas Eve on how the holiday brings out the generosity and warmth in everyone. Than we cut to families being evicted from their homes by Deputy Sheriff Fred Ross.
* DocumentaryOfLies: The main source of the film's criticisms. But as Creator/RogerEbert [[http://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/attacks-on-roger-and-me-completely-miss-point-of-film pointed out]], it's not about facts, it's about making a statement about corporate greed, which Ebert argues is what made the movie so good. So, as usual, sensationalism trumps fact.
* DownerEnding: [[spoiler:Moore fails to bring Smith to Flint, which is entrenched in decline. Retroactively it is also this, with Flint's continued decline and further layoffs into the 21st century, to which Moore's later documentaries returned, culminating in GM's bankruptcy in 2009, which is mentioned in ''Film/CapitalismALoveStory''.]]

* FamilyUnfriendlyViolence: The infamous "Pets or Meat" scene, with a woman ''beating a rabbit to death'' and skinning it. [[WordOfGod Moore himself attributes]] the R rating the movie received to this scene.
* {{Irony}}: Depending on whom you ask, Tom Kay, the General Motors spokesman whom Moore interviews, says job security cannot be achieved in a free enterprise system. Then, once the movie starts to end properly, we see an interesting subtitle after he reasserts his defense of GM.

* OldShame: What this film and the events depicted therein are to the city of Flint. The Sloan Museum in Flint, which documents the city's history, makes absolutely no mention of ''Roger and Me'', Autoworld, or any of the other major events that took place in the 1980s that this film documents.
** As one writer put it, "The Sloan Museum having an Autoworld exhibit would be like the Henry Ford Museum having an exhibit about ''The International Jew''."

--->This film cannot be shown within the city of Flint.[[spoiler: All the movie theaters have closed.]]
* PunchClockVillain: Deputy Sheriff Fred Ross, whose job it is to evict people from their homes who can't pay rent. Not the most honorable job, but Moore notes it is a stable one.
* UsefulNotes/RonaldReagan: Ronald Reagan is presented as inviting some unemployed autoworkers to a pizzeria. He doesn't offer much hope, and later that day, the pizzeria's cash register turned up missing.

* ZanyScheme: In the wake of the city's ailing economy, the Flint Convention and Visitor's Bureau decide the best course of action is to turn it into a tourist trap. Among their ridiculous ventures is a $100 million indoor car-themed amusement park called [=AutoWorld=]. It works about as well as you'd expect, and closes in six months.

* DescriptionCut: A pretty depressing one. Roger Smith gives a speech on Christmas Eve on how the holiday brings out the generosity and warmth in everyone. Than we cut to families being evicted from their homes by Deputy Fred Ross.
* DocumentaryOfLies: The main source of the film's criticisms. But as Creator/RogerEbert [[http://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/attacks-on-roger-and-me-completely-miss-point-of-film pointed out]], it's not about facts, it's about making a statement about corporate greed, which Ebert argues is what made the movie so good. So sensationalism trumps fact, as always.

* PunchClockVillain: Deputy Fred Ross, whose job it is to evict people from their homes who can't pay rent. Not the most honorable job, but Moore notes it is a stable one.

* UpperClassTwit: The wealthy of Flint are portrayed as out of touch with the suffering, but they 'help' some unemployed autoworkers, by giving them jobs as ''human statues'' for their parties.

Roger and Me is a 1989 documentary, as well as [[Creator/MichaelMoore Michael Moore's]] first film. Michael Moore explores the deterioration of his hometown of Flint, Michigan following the shutdown of the General Motors factories, and his own attempts to track down Roger Smith, General Motors CEO, to get him to come to Flint. Though it's accuracy is dubious (and lets leave it at that) the film became legend for its acerbic, poetic attacks on downsizing.

The film was the most successful documentary of its time, surpassed by Moore's later documentaries, and won an Emmy.

!! The Following Tropes Are:
* {{Biopic}}: The first part of the documentary is about Moore's own life, from his childhood in Flint, to his work as a journalist, and his firing from Mother Jones magazine. The purpose of this is to show the role GM played in the wealth of Flint, and underscore how much was lost with the layoffs.
* CorruptCorporateExecutive: Roger Smith, who caused the decline of Flint with his downsizing. In RealLife his policies led to GM's continued decline in market share (as well as quality of the cars), and he was named History's 5th worst auto chief by [[http://money.cnn.com/gallery/autos/2013/04/03/worst-auto-ceos.fortune/6.html Fortune]] in 2013. He even threatened to pull advertising funds from any TV station that gave Michael Moore inteviews.
--> '''Moore''' ''(narrating)'':(Roger Smith) appeared to have a brilliant plan: First, close 11 factories in the U.S, then open 11 in Mexico where you pay the workers 70 cents an hour. Then, use the money you've saved by building cars in Mexico to take over other companies, preferably high-tech firms and weapons manufacturers. Next, tell the union you're broke and they happily agree to give back a couple billion dollars in wage cuts. You then take that money from the workers, and eliminate their jobs by building more foreign factories. Roger Smith was [[SarcasmMode a true genius.]]
* DocumentaryOfLies: The main source of the film's criticisms. But as RogerEbert [[http://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/attacks-on-roger-and-me-completely-miss-point-of-film pointed out]], it's not about facts, it's about making a statement about corporate greed, which Ebert argues is what made the movie so good. So sensationalism trumps fact, as always.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Michael Moore fails to bring Roger Smith to Flint, which is entrenched in decline. Retroactively it is also this , with Flint's continued decline and further layoffs into the 21st century, highlighted in Michael Moore's later documentaries, culminating in GM's bankruptcy in 2009, which is mentioned in [[Film/CapitalismALoveStory ''Capitalism:A Love Story'']] ]]
* EndOfAnEra: The film highlights the end of the age company towns and the businesses that were ingrained in them, in favor of the greed driven, globalized world.
--> '''Moore''': As we neared the end of the twentieth century, the rich were richer, the poor, poorer. [[ItMakesSenseInContext And people everywhere now had a lot less lint, thanks to the lint rollers made in my hometown.]] It was truly the dawn of a new era.
* FamilyUnfriendlyViolence: The infamous "Pets or Meat" scene, with a woman ''beating a rabbit to death'' and skinning it . The scene may have given the movie its' R-Rating.
* {{Irony}}: Depending on who you ask, Tom Kay, the spokesperson the General Motors that Moore interviews, says job security cannot be achieved in a free enterprise system. Than we can an interesting subtitle after his defense of GM.
-->[[spoiler: Tom Kay laid off, office closed.]]
* OldShame: What this film and the events depicted therein are to the city of Flint. The Sloan Museum in Flint, which documents the city's history, makes absolutely no mention of ''Roger and Me'', Autoworld, or any of the other major events that took place in the 1980s that this film documents.
** As one writer put it, "The Sloan Museum having an Autoworld exhibit would be like The Henry Ford Museum having an exhibit about The International Jew."

* RonaldReagan: Ronald Reagan is presented as inviting some unemployed autoworkers to a pizzeria. He doesn't offer much hope, and later that day, the pizzeria's cash register turned up missing.
* SoundtrackDissonance: In-universe, an autoworker and later journalist named Ben Hamper remarked that he had been listening to "Wouldn't It Be Nice" by the Beach Boys during a ''nervous breakdown''. Afterward, the song is later played over footage of Flint's continued decline, as well as a news report about the rat population of Flint exceeding the human population with all the abandoned buildings.
* UpperClassTwit: The wealthy residents of Flint are portrayed as out of touch with the suffering, but they help some unemployed auto workers, by giving them jobs as ''human statues'' for their parties.

* Irony: Depending on who you ask, Tom Kay, the spokesperson the General Motors that Moore interviews, says job security cannot be achieved in a free enterprise system. Than we can an interesting subtitle after his defense of GM.

* HilariousInHindsight/HarsherInHindsight: Depending on who you ask, Tom Kay, the spokesperson the General Motors that Moore interviews, says job security cannot be achieved in a free enterprise system. Than we can an interesting subtitle after his defense of GM.

* DocumentaryOfLies: The main source of the film's criticisms. But as RogerEbert [[http://www.rogerebert.com/rogers-journal/attacks-on-roger-and-me-completely-miss-point-of-film pointed out]], it's not about facts, it's about making a statement about corporate greed, which Ebert argues is what made the movie so good.

Roger and Me is a 1989 documentary, as well as the film as well as [[Creator/MichaelMoore Michael Moore's]] first film. Michael Moore explores the deterioration of his hometown of Flint, Michigan following the shutdown of the General Motors factories, as well as his own attempts to find and track down Roger Smith, General Motors CEO, to get him to come to Flint. Though it's accuracy is dubious (and lets leave it at that) the film became legend for its acerbic, poetic attacks on Big Corporations.

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Michael Moore fails to bring Roger Smith to Flint, which is entrenched in decline. Retroactively it is also this , with Flint's continued decline and further layoffs into the 21st century, highlighted in Michael Moore's later documentaries, culminating in GM's bankruptcy in 2009, which is mentioned in ''Film/Capitalism: A Love Story.'']]

* DownerEnding: [[spoiler: Michael Moore fails to bring Roger Smith to Flint, which is entrenched in decline. Retroactively it is also this , with Flint's continued decline and further layoffs into the 21st century, which is highlighted in Michael Moore's later documentaries, culminating in GM's bankruptcy in 2009, which is brought up in ''Capitalism: A Love Story.'']]

* UpperClassTwit: The wealthy residents of Flint are portrayed as out of touch with the suffering, but they help some unemployed auto workers, by giving them jobs as ''human statues'' for their parties.

Roger and Me is a 1989 documentary, as well as the film as well as Michael Moore's first film. Michael Moore explores the deterioration of his hometown of Flint, Michigan following the shutdown of the General Motors factories, as well as his own attempts to find and track down Roger Smith, General Motors CEO, to get him to come to Flint. Though it's accuracy is dubious (and lets leave it at that) the film became legend for its acerbic, poetic attacks on Big Corporations.