Essay for Movie Roger and Me

This documentary is written, directed and produced by Michael Moore and is about the social repercussions of capitalism as well as corporate and government issues that conflict with the basic needs of people and their families. Moore takes a liberal humanistic look at the consequences of General Motors closing down several auto plants in Flint, Michigan in the late 1980's and what can happen when a city is almost completely reliant on a single industry that shuts down or moves away. Moore also looks at the failure of Flint city officials to reverse the effects of the closures with trends like Auto World which had little effect (Moore, 1989).

The movie "Roger and Me" by Michael Moore is a documentary about CEO Roger Smith's takeover of General Motors in the late 1980's that led to the economic decline of Flint, Michigan. Michael Moore being from Flint, Michigan returned to his hometown after a failed job attempt in San Francisco, only to see it decline and wanted to answers. He started on to his interviewing journey with citizens of Flint, lobbyists, hometown celebrities and many others to try and get to the Chairman of GM Roger Smith. In Flint, the automotive industry was the backbone of the economy. After GM hired Roger Smith, they began to lay off up to 30,000 workers in the area. Moore documents the transition from prosperity to poverty in the city of Flint, Michigan. The series of events that happened in Flint, Michigan can be analyzed with sociological theories. The economic decline could have been because of one power decision or it could have been a negative causal relationship. In the film, Moore shortened Roger Smith’s plan: close 11 plants in the U.S and open 11 in Mexico paying workers only .70 cents/hour, use increased money intake to take over high tech firms and weapons manufacturers (where the money was), tell the union you’re broke so they’ll give you billions in wage

It is hard when you are a middle class family, and eventually a good life passes to be a low income family. Not just a Paycheck from Unnatural Causes describes how unemployment, and change on class & income can transform people 's health. The film presents how a middle white family started seen discrepancies among being working class and the rich. In fact, they start to understand what mean being unemployment. Basically, the film briefly explains the reasons why companies have to move to different places not matter the wellbeing of their workers. Thus, what really matter in this industrialized world is profit, and that 's what company holders are seeking at cost of anything. Clearly, companies do not care what is going to be the life of an unemployment because chair holders never have to experience it generally. In reality, the closure of companies directly constitute to a negative impact on the rate of jobs and the stress level on the people who lose their jobs which is connected to the health of the US.

There was an announcement, given by Roger Smith, stating that many of the General Motors factories would be closing down. Hamper describes it as “My beleaguered hometown was like some banged-up middleweight resting its rump on the ropes, covering up its soft belly, hoping to only last out the round” (68). The town of Flint was facing yet another recession, and in the process of becoming the poorest town in Michigan. For Hamper, it was either stay in Flint where there were no jobs, or relocate to Pontiac, Michigan and commute for work. Prior to transferring to Pontiac, he would be laid off for about nine months. Hamper collected unemployment and quickly found that he was getting more money by collecting rather than working. Finally the time came for him to commute to Pontiac. Hamper finishes working in Pontiac and moves back to working for General Motors in

Canada experienced several internal and external changes during the time period of 1945-1982; these changes were political, social and cultural. Firstly, a major internal political change occurred when Prime Minister John Diefenbaker introduced the first Bill of Rights to protect people’s equality before and under the law. A significant external political change occurred when the Canadian government signed the Autopact, which was a Canada-U.S. automotive products agreement that included conditional free-trade, creating a single North American market for automobiles and car parts. This agreement caused a huge shift in car sales and by 1968 40% of cars purchased in Canada were made in the U.S. An additional internal political change of major

Canada, Mexico and the United States were all involved in NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement. This agreement had really helped improve Canada’s economy and raised the standards of living in Canada. NAFTA had also proved itself to be a solid foundation to building Canada’s prosperity which is good for Canada’s independence as well (North, 1). After the free trade agreement, there were many positive effects in the Canadian economy. John F. Kerry, an American politician had once said, “NAFTA recognizes the reality of today's economy - globalization and technology.”(John, 1) This agreement states that Canada is helping in globalizing the economy of not only America but Canada and Mexico as well. In this case, the agreement is improving and benefiting the Canadian economy very well which is great for Canada's independence. It shows that Canada can make its own decisions with other countries to benefit their own country in many ways economic wise as well as independence wise. This also shows that although Canada and America are important trading partners, it doesn't necessarily mean that one country is a step behind the other. It means that if they work together, they can benefit each other and help improve one another's growth as

between the three countries. By the end of the 1900s there were 4,000 factories in

The Great Depression was an economic plunge that consumed the world creating poverty, unemployment and other hardships to almost everyone who lived through the 1930’s. One controversial question that can be asked in Canada is if the government had an adequate response to the hardships that were faced at that time. Based on the points that are provided in my research it is clear that the government responses were not adequate and several hardships could have been prevented if the government had produced better ideas and responses.

NAFTA was established in 1992 and came into effect January 1st 1994. NAFTA was created to eliminate or reduce any tariffs between the three countries. It was formed to uphold greater trade between three countries "the increase in agricultural trade was doubled after the eight- to 12-year 'phase-in' period” (Grant, newswise). It promoted conditions of fair competitions, it also increased investment opportunities. NAFTA shows how free trade increases wealth and competitiveness,delivering real benefits to families, farmers, workers, manufacture and consumers. The impact of NAFTA on trade relations between Canada and the U.S. is more difficult to measure because the two countries had a free trade deal even before. NAFTA has helped boost agriculture flows between the two

Without expressing beliefs or ideas, the thoughts simply exist in the person’s mind with no purpose. Something must be done with these ideas in order to give them meaning. In her piece, Goodbye Columbus, Mac McClelland voices her opinions on the employment and economy of Columbus, Ohio. McClelland writes this piece for the purpose of spreading awareness about the harsh working conditions, underpaying jobs, and unemployment inducing budget cuts in the city of Columbus. By following the story of two of her best friends and their daughter going through tough times, including many other personal experiences, McClelland shows the harmful effect the struggling economy has on many families throughout the city.

In January of 1936, John Steinbeck began writing Of Mice and Men in the middle of the largest economic downturn the United States has ever seen and later referred to as, The Great Depression. “Throughout the country the fall off in international trade had closed thousands of small business enterprises, forced small and large farmers off their properties and brought hundreds of little rural communities to the edge of poverty and beyond”. (O 'Connor, 2014) Attempting to bring the world into a fictional panorama, Steinbeck achieved this goal by following the accounts that have unfortunately taken place in the world with a shocking, yet slightly satisfying twist. Although this story is only fiction, it certainly contains the presentiment and agony that most U.S citizens were facing during this incredibly restless era. Nonetheless, the book itself is still fictional. The historical accounts in John Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men and the verisimilitude in the real world are extremely accurate.

In the film, Casablanca, director Michael Curtiz uses screenplay, cinematography, music and sound, and acting performances to highlight the pitfalls of neutrality in both love and war.

Tom Kay, the spokesman and lobbyist for General Motors shown in Roger and Me, said companies do not have the responsibility to take care of people from the cradle to the grave. This was the expectation in towns like Flint in years past. Now, however, most people are aware they will be employed by many different companies in the course of their working lives. Also, as a result of the slump in the auto industry at that time, Michigan and other states learned

They did not benefit because of how the government did not mention important factors that could make or break this new economy, such as “Reports of Canada’s good economic shape during the recent recession neglected to mention the federal government’s bank bailout, totalling $120 billion in bad mortgages and unsellable financial products” (Peters 16). By neglecting these crucial factors, the government put the middle and lower class citizens in poverty, where they would not be able to receive the jobs they need to support themselves. As said in the article, “Canada’s reliance on natural resource exports and the subsequent rise in currency exchange rate, which has resulted in the decline in manufacturing exports and the loss of good manufacturing jobs” (Peters 17). These continuous problems have only allowed the government to continue to decrease job opportunities, but allow them to increase opportunities for the

Michael Moore used comical tactics as a way to appeal to his audience in this piece of literature. Michael Moore’s argument is that capitalism is destroying the nation’s economy rather than helping to develop it. The poor are suffering, while the richer are getting richer. The arguments that Moore used may not be considered tangible by all, but he definitely did have the evidence to support his argument. Michael Moore purpose was to expose this ground breaking issue of the dominance of corporate America through video. He used the web source as a source to get his message across because he knew the internet would be accessible to many people. Moore in this film used the different elements of reasoning to identify the message he was sending