Opinions on "Roger and Me"

[TSIAS]

I finally got a chance to see the film tonight. First and foremost, I was impressed with the sacrifices Moore made to create the film. I've read that he had to put everything, even his house, on the line.

I thought it was better than Bowling for Columbine. The unifying theme at the end was very good. Moore did a good job of showing how the rich got richer and the poor got poorer in America. Near the end, he did great work by cutting from Roger Smith's speech to the family getting evicted on Christmas Eve.

I'm wondering how most DU'ers compare this work to his later productions like Bowling and The Big One.

[Fenris]

1. It's his best one

It's a truly radical film. He basically had no money and wagered everything he had on this documentary. It's his best work. So far.

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

8. Yep*.

*pending a viewing of the current offering.

[AP]

23. I think each movie is better than the previous one. He's constantly

improving his skills.

[Pithlet]

2. I agree

I thought it was better than Bowling for Columbine, too. I was born and raised in Flint, and saw a lot of what that movie was about first hand. That Roger Smith/family getting evicted scene had me in tears because I knew so many who were affected by what GM did to that city. He captured the whole situation brilliantly.

[Lindsey]

4. I saw it three times...

once with friends when it first came out, then twice in two separate classes in college. I thought it was great but I still liked Bowling for Columbine better.

[TSIAS]

9. It depends on what you like

For the record, I found both to be excellent. It's hard to choose between any of Michael Moore's works.

Bowling for Columbine was the more entertaining of these projects. Roger & Me was more depressing than anything else. Revealing, but very sad.

[69KV]

3. Good movie

Michael Moore's best

[TheFarseer]

5. we watched it in a college class

I wish I would have been paying more attention. Is Roger and Me ever on TV?

[TSIAS]

6. I've never seen it on TV

In fact, I had to special order it from a video store. Recently, it's become more accessible and has even been released on DVD.

[Kipepeo]

7. Loved it

Especially the interview with the Miss America contestant. Dear God.

[morningglory]

10. The ladies slaughtering rabbits was priceless. The eviction was

brilliant.

[eridani]

27. MM's comment on the bunny bludgeoning

http://www.konformist.com/2002/moore-whitey.htm

I believe we've become so used to this image of the black man as predator that we are forever ruined by this brainwashing. In my first film, Roger & Me, a white woman on social security clubs a rabbit to death so that she can sell him as "meat" instead of as a pet. I wish I had a nickel for every time in the past 10 years that someone has come up to me and told me how "horrified" they were when they saw that "poor little cute bunny" bonked on the head. The scene, they say, made them physically sick. The Motion Picture Association of America gave Roger & Me an R <18> rating in response to that rabbit killing. Teachers write to me and say they have to edit that part out of the film, if they want to show it to their students.

But less than two minutes after the bunny lady does her deed, I included footage of a scene in which police in Flint, Michigan, shot a black man who was wearing a Superman cape and holding a plastic toy gun. Not once - not ever - has anyone said to me, "I can't believe you showed a black man being shot in your movie! How horrible! How disgusting! I couldn't sleep for weeks." After all, he was just a black man, not a cute, cuddly bunny. The ratings board saw absolutely nothing wrong with that scene. Why? Because it's normal, natural. We've become so accustomed to seeing black men killed - in the movies and on the evening news - that we now accept it as standard operating procedure. No big deal! That's what blacks do - kill and die. Ho-hum. Pass the butter.

[Tsiyu]

11. The Best Parts of the Film

to me were the scenes with :the woman raising rabbits for meat, and the party at the auto exec's house where ex-auto-employees were hired to be "statues." Whenever I think about the arrogance, greed and indifference of Rich White Folk toward their fellow Americans, I picture that scene of affluent, superior-feeling whites nibbling on finger sandwiches while the workers they discarded stand perfectly still- inhuman and mute. It sends cold chills down my spine because these types have virtually kidnapped American political and corporate life.

[VolcanoJen]

16. Welcome to DU!

:D Welcome, buddyhollysghost! :D

[Tsiyu]

26. Thanks for the Warm Welcome!

:)

[newyawker99]

29. Hi buddyhollysghost!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[disinfo_guy]

12. greatest modern documentary ever?

100% better than Bowling for Columbine. And I LOVED Canadian Bacon, and I'm not ashamed to say it either!

[ClassWarrior]

13. The charming thing about Roger & Me...

...was the fact that his schtick hadn't become his schtick yet. Don't get me wrong. I'll always be a big fan. But it's entertaining watching him kinda figure it all out on camera in that first one.

[VolcanoJen]

14. Pets or Meat

"Roger and Me" is one of my favorite films ever, and I've been a sucker for Moore's charms ever since.

Still my favorite Moore film. I honestly preferred "The Big One" to "Bowling for Columbine," even.

[minkyboodle]

15. his best IMO

One of my favorite films of all time. Roger and Me played a vital role in the formation of my political and social views.

[Mizmoon]

17. I never saw "pets or meat"

anyone have any thoughts on that one? Is it worth tracking down?

[VolcanoJen]

18. "Pets or Meat" is a line/segment from "Roger & Me."

It's not a film.

[Mizmoon]

19. No, it's a sequel

Pets or Meat: The Return to Flint
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0105134/

[minkyboodle]

22. never seen it but have heard a story about it

I hear there is a terrible bunny vs dog accidental interaction when they go visit the pets or meat lady. Can't confirm but my high school govt teacher told it to me in graphic detail one day after class.

[VolcanoJen]

25. Oh, yeh... I have seen that

I had completely forgotten about it... it was on PBS years ago!

When I think "Pets or Meat" I still envision the "Roger & Me" scenes with that woman, stroking her pet bunny shortly before clubbing it upside the head.

[Hamlette]

20. Roger and Me is brilliant

I heard when Roger and Me was first released Moore insisted that a seat in the front row have a "reserved for Roger Moore" sign on it in case Roger would go see it. True?

What was all the controversy about Columbine? Inaccurate?

(I gave my husband a party when he accepted a job with GM years ago. He was leaving a high profile state job so we had some "important" people there (mayor, legislators).

I rented Roger and Me, set up a TV in the living room and showed it continuously throughout the night.

It was pretty funny.)

[0rganism]

24. Similar thing happened for "The Big One"

> Moore insisted that a seat in the front row have a "reserved for Roger Moore" (did you mean Roger SMITH?) sign on it

His attempts to get Phil Knight to come to screenings of The Big One is the stuff of legend, he really tries to involve the subjects of his muckraking in the overall event.

> What was all the controversy about Columbine? Inaccurate?

Not so much "inaccurate" as "edited for effect". The rightwingers tried to pretend he was all about getting guns banned, presumably to scare people away from the movie who might otherwise have been nudged into thinking about American fear. Also, he's been rightly criticized for cherry picking numbers and certain events (e.g., the "open door" tradition in Canada isn't as widespread as you might think).

Of course, editing isn't new to documentaries.

If you liked "Roger & Me", you would probably also enjoy "The Awful Truth" TV series, which is available on DVD now.

[genius]

21. I was bored and I barely remember it.

I loved "Bowling for Columbine."

[Kinkistyle]

28. I as still a winger when I saw Roger and Me

I had no idea who Michael Moore was, and I watched it because I heard good things about it. It was genuinely interesting, for a big city guy like me, and it helped open my eyes to the very real problems that plagues this country when it comes to corporatism.