The documentary film Roger and Me, directed by Michael Moore, is an excellent documentary which is meant to portray the closing of a General Motors (GM) factory in Flint, Michigan, and its subsequent effects on the town. Using a wide variety of effective techniques, Moore seeks to elicit sympathy among the viewers of the film as he demonstrates the extreme hardships caused on the town's economics and lifestyle due to the factory's closing.
In the 1980s, American factories were closing at a rapid pace. President Reagan's famous "trickle-down" economics helped large corporations increase profits while at the same time he reduced the power of the union with the firing of over 11,000 Air Traffic Controllers who had gone on strike (Le Blanc 122).
Some of the many factories to be affected by these economic changes were those owned by GM in Flint, Michigan. By first laying off thousands of workers and then closing the plants altogether, GM ultimately eliminated over 30,000 jobs in the city of Flint.
Moore opens the film with a brief description of his childhood years in Flint. This is important as right from the outset we learn of any possible bias that might influence the making of the film: Moore's entire family worked for GM. While Moore attempts to be objective as he creates the film, it is important that the viewer is aware of the bias inherent in the filmmaking.
He does, however, do an excellent job in providing objectivity in the film overall. Moore does a great deal of interviewing in the film and a wide selection of viewpoints presenting both sides are used. Many of the interviews are of former GM employees. Also interviewed by Moore are Tom Kay, GM spokesman; Pat Boone, former Chevrolet endorser a...
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... his possible bias right from the onset of the film which is extremely important.
In making use of extensive interviews, archival footage, and television news clips, as well as actual scenes from inside the factory, the documentary is extremely valid from a historical perspective. In his efforts to demonstrate to Americans outside of Flint what happened in his hometown, Moore's extensive use of irony draws in viewers and creates a documentary which remains compelling throughout its ninety minutes. In bringing the average person to, through the above techniques, truly care about the plight of the citizens of Flint, Moore has clearly shown that he has expertly created the documentary.
Another of his quotes from the DVD commentary accurately sums up the film as a whole: "On the surface it's kind of funny, but you're only laughing because you want to cry."
Immediately after being sworn into office, Reagan implemented the first of many tax cuts. The Economic Recovery Tax Act passed in 1981 took 20% off taxes from top income levels and 25% off taxes from all lower income levels. Additional tax cuts, enforced in 1986, lowered taxes for those with high incomes by another 28% and those with lower incomes by 15%. These cuts were enacted based on the principle that tax breaks for the upper echelon of society would encourage investment and spending, creating new jobs for lower income individuals. Though these acts helped America during an economic low, they had consequences which are still being felt today. During Reagan’s presidency the distribution of wealth shifted unfairly towards individuals...
Just like every Moore movie, it shows people looking stupid to humorous effect and it shows the heroic tales of common people who have suffered tragedy. And Moore blames their plight on the rich and powerful. In his other movies, the presidents of General Motors and the National Rifle Association, for instance, bear the brunt of his blame. In this movie, it's George W.
When President Reagan took office, the U.S. was on the back end of the economic prosperity World War 2 had created. The U.S. was experiencing the highest inflation rates since 1947 (13.6% in 1980), unemployment rates reaching 10% in 1982, and nonexistent increases GDP. To combat the recession the country was experiencing, President Reagan implemented the beginning stages of trickle down economics – which was a short-term solution aimed to stimulate the economy. Taxes in the top bracket dropped from 70% to 28% while GDP recovered. However, this short-term growth only masked the real problem at hand.
...a Rae article that, “moviemakers are in the movie business, not the social change business”. Although they talk about film specifically, any medium of entertainment could still apply to this statement. This cycle of production is unhealthy, but if the process works, why fix it?
From the day that Ronald Reagan was elected President of the United States, in November 1980, he had a huge task ahead of him, to develop an economic plan or policy to implement into the national economy. President Reagan felt that he needed to base his economic program on the basis of supply side economics (Encyclopedia Britannica, Britannica.com, 2000). This theory is a very complex idea that President Reagan developed himself, so many people gave it the name of Reaganomics (Encyclopedia American, gi.grolier.com , 2000). The theory of Reaganomics called for a significant reduction in all forms of taxes and an adequate cutback on governmental spending so there will be more money in the hands of the American citizens. The main goal of the supply s...
Reagan made tax cuts of about 25%, "supply-side economics" which encouraged and supported businesses (Reaganomics). Unemployment went up about 11%.
In the book Grandin talks about President Jimmy Carter's Federal Reserve Chair, Paul Volcker. Grandin states that, "Paul didn't take his foot off the brakes until 1982 when Mexico defaulted on their international loans. " Before Reagan was elected the American economy was experiencing a decade long recession; with rising unemployment rates and a steady inflation ( stagflation ). Everyone was feeling a relieved when Reagan won the presidency campaign because somehow everyone knew that he would be different and that his policy reforms would make a change for the better. The 30 years before he was in office income for the top 1 percent of the nation had been reduced in half from 16 to 8 percent. Later on this subsided when he reduced the taxes and increased the defense budget allowing permanent budget shortfalls and draining the Great Society and New Deal programs developed by Lyndon B. Johnson and FDR.
Finally, LTC Moore’s bravery is one to marvel at in the movie but his leadership character is an excellent example of how a leader should conduct his/herself. This character can also be applied in the business world also. Assessment, preparation, and research should always be analyzed to see how a leader could better improve a firm. Honesty and flexibility allow for mistakes to easily identified and corrected. Company leaders could get some real situational value from implying LTC Moore’s example of leadership to their management of employees.
In conclusion, Moore provides many facts that tend to show that President George W. Bush utilizes the Power Elite Theory. We feel that Bush is proven guilty in many ways of exemplifying the Power Elite Theory. We think he feels that the power that goes along with the elite class is of great importance, and that he uses this power in ways that seem unfair to the public eye. An example of this is the “convenient” involvement’s that the Carlyle Group and the Halliburton Corporation have in the war in Iraq. Overall, Moore shows in the film how easily a greater power, when abused, can take advantage of the United States’ citizens.
Even though this movie has been cited on Youtube, I concur that the information presented is accurate. While I have come across this movie by other means, I was only able to watch it from the Youtube website. None the less, this is a real production documentary that includes Graham Greene himself presenting information.
As promised during his campaign, the first thing Ronald Reagan completed after taking office was ending the price control on gasoline and oil which had been in effect for ten years. The price controls were promoted as a response to the energy crisis instead they accelerated it by interfering with the market forces of supply and demand. Reagan then abolished the Council on Wage and Price Stability against the oppositions will. "Not many people knew it at the time, but with two strokes of his pen, Reagan had ended the energy crises." (D'Souza 89) Reagan predicted the oil p...
Even though Moore is a known activist, this does not mean he knows nor has any experience of what it takes to run a country. Some obvious information in nature does hold true and there are many other ways which can handle these situations, and it is not coincidence that politicians end up with a lot of fancy lifestyles by the choices they are currently making. And, this would not be the same if money was poured correctly elsewhere, but, that doesn’t mean Moore’s ideas would reverse all issues haunting the nation.
During this course, I had the opportunity to watch several documentaries that enlightened men on different perspectives of cultural diversity. These documentaries contained a variety of different methods used to examine several cultural diversity issues within America. Racism, sexism, ageism, and social class were the main topics that were examined in these videos and documentaries. As part of the process, researchers creatively designed experiments that uncovered how people instinctively respond when it is not apparent that they are being watched. Reports such as these must be carefully crafted and presented in an objective manner. If critical steps are overlooked, this kind of research tactic can easily been interpreted as intrusive, dishonest, bias, or unethical. That might ultimately defeat the purpose and distract the viewer from understanding, and that may become counter-productive to the message the researcher is attempting to convey. All documentaries presented were necessary for us to gain a true consideration of the cultural diversity issues this country faces. Some documentaries contained the element of surprise by using hidden camera tactics. It is no secret that cameras have a tendency to change individuals’ attitudes, if they are conscious of the fact that they are being filmed. Though all of the video and documentaries were impactful, the two documentaries that had the most impact on my learning were:
Roger and Me is the story of Michael Moore’s quest to right the wrong done to Flint, Michigan by Roger Smith, CEO of General Motors. GM factories closed down in Flint, resulting in unemployment for of thousands of workers. These laid off auto workers are products of generations of auto workers. GM has been a Flint way of life since the factories first opened. But, finding that operation and labor costs were substantially less in Mexico, Roger Smith filled for bankruptcy and closed the plants down. The consequences of this shut-down were devastating to Flint. The rat population exceeded that of humans, houses were abandoned, and families who couldn’t afford the rent were evicted. The citizens who remained in Flint were now residents of the city with the highest crime rate in all of America. These are just a few of the issues which spurred Michael Moore’s pursuit for the illusive Roger Smith.
This report will analyse the leadership style of two main characters, Bud Fox and Gordon Gekko. This movie shows corporate America and the ethical behaviour in the workplace at the Wall Street. Bud Fox a smart, yound and very motivated stock broker has the desier to become the highes salesperson in his company. His main target is centered on big share trading account like Gordon Gekko. He says, “Just once I would like to be on that side” he dreaming of the day when he will be big corporate shot controlling the flow of millions of dollars like his hero Gordon.