Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Irony in Roger and Me

In Michael Moore's documentary Roger and Me Moore uses irony to help show his point in the film. One case of irony is when Moore is filming all of the abandoned houses in Flint and while he is doing that he is playing the soundtrack Wouldn't it be nice by the Beatles. This is ironic because most people would associate that song with being positive and happy but the scene is sad and disappointing because all of the abandoned houses that are empty and run down. Showing these houses catches the viewers attention and when they hear the music they start to think more about the meaning of it. Another bit of irony is when the last truck is coming off the assembly line. As this happens all the employees are cheering and celebrating that last truck but in reality like the one man said they are cheering that they just lost their job. The viewer at first thinks this is a happy occasion and something good but having the one man point out they are celebrating the end of their jobs brings the audience back to reality that life isn't good in Flint.

1 comment:

  1. Irony is using words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning. Michael Moore uses irony as a persuasive technique in many scenes in his "Roger & Me". He uses irony to evoke humor and make the viewer realize how ironic the entire situation he was documenting actually was. He begins the movie with a bit of ironic information; GM built Flint's economy, and his families wealth, but it is the same company which causes Flint's downfall. He uses irony again when he is interviewing Flint native Bob Eubanks, who claims that he is a wholesome man, but then precedes to make racist jokes and joke about the size of a contestants breast size on his television show. This is just one example of an interviewer stating information which is inconsistent with their actions. When interviewing a pretty girl who later goes on to win Miss America, she says she supports business in Michigan but then goes on to say that she is neutral and cares more about the Miss America competition than the economy in her home state. Moore uses irony again at the end of the film when he switches between the president of GM giving an inspiring speech about Christmas and a family being evicted on Christmas eve, who lost their jobs and their home due to the same man shutting down factories in Flint. The use of irony in the film is meant to make the viewer realize the hypocrisy of the GM company and make the viewer question the ethics of the company. He uses it effectively, because after watching the film, I realize the irony of the entire situation he was documenting and understand that GM's selfishness is largely responsible for the downfall of a once great industrial town.

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