In the documentary Roger & Me, Micheal Moore investigates the the relationship between a big multi-millionare coporation and everyday average people. He uses his hometown of Flint, Michegan to show this relationship by making a documentary about the effects of the closing of General Motor's factories had on the the city, people, and economy in Flint.
One major way Moore uses logos in his documentary is by establishing a "cause and effect" relationship. The cause in this relationship is the closing of the GM plants in Flint and the lost jobs of over 30,000 auto workers. There are many effects in this relationship such as higher unemployment rate, increase in crime, drop in economy, evictions, decrease in population, etc. Majority of this "cause and effect" relationship is implied. Moore never really tells that the many effects occurred because of the plant closing and people losing their jobs. The audience is expected to come to the conclusion that this and that happened because the plants closed. One example of this infered relationship is that many bunnies had to die because the plants closed. Another way Moore uses logos is by getting expert testimony on the whole situation. He interviews various people that were directly affected with the closing of the plants, which was basically the whole entire town of Flint in exception to the rich. He also interviews various employees of the GM organization.
A big belief that is shown by Moore throughout this movies is that the GM company is in debt to the people and town of Flint. Moore believes that since Flint is the hometown of the automobile company then GM owes the town and its people. That was the whole reason why this documentary was made. He felt it was his responsibility or duty to the town and people to bring Roger Smith, the chairman of GM, to Flint and get what was owed to the them. I don't think that Moore's belief is very logical. Of course, some companies like GM would have been more that happy to help the town and people if they were in the same situation. But that is not the main purpose of a company. Just like Tom Kay, a representative for GM, said a company main purpose is to make a profit and not honor its hometown. This is so true. It may be harsh for GM to close its factories and put thousands of people out of work. But they do what they do so they can make a profit. It may not seem right, but that is just reality.
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
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2 comments:
Good post. I agree with you that corporations are built to make a profit. Unfortunately, it ended up effecting thousands of people in this situation. I also thought it was irrational of Mooore to believe he could get the C.E.O. of GM to participate in his tour of Flint when he already knew exactly what was happening there. I also like how you pointed out that most of Moore's ideas are implied and must be inferred by the audience.
I like how you spit up your blog into three paragraphs explaining and giving examples for each paragraph. You did a great job going into detail in your second paragraph. I think you touched on an important content, and that is the "cause and effect" relationship. I think this was a very important aspect of the movie that not many people captured. Also, you were right by saying another way of using logos was through expert testimony. Overall you did a awesome job analyzing "Roger & Me!"
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