Irony in Roger & Me

Matt Murray

Throughout the documentary Roger and Me, the creator of the film, Michael Moore used many different forms of irony. Some examples of this is the multiple times Moore pays visits to various high end clubs that Roger Smith was a member of to see if he could speak with him, which displayed irony in that the man that was responsible for putting so many people out of work was busy blowing large amounts of money to partake in leisurely activities that these workless people could never even dream of partaking in. Another form of irony utilized by Moore was how he highlighted that some of the former GM employees who had been laid off decided to take correctional officer positions at the local prisons, and the majority of those who took that job ended up seeing some of their former co-workers in the prison that they were now employed with. The form of irony that Moore used in the film that was the most substantial in my opinion though, was showing the family being evicted from their house on Christmas Eve, while also playing the speech that Roger Smith had been giving at a Christmas party for GM. Here, Moore showed a family that was in a great deal of pain and agony in having to deal with being evicted from their house on Christmas Eve, while the speech Smith had been giving at the same time was one that talked about happiness, hope and positivity that completely contradicted what was occurring between the two scenes. This scene, to me, was Moore's most persuasive presentation of irony throughout the film.

Irony In Roger and Me

Michael Moore's docutmentary Roger and Me has irony seeping everywhere. In every single part of the movie, beginning, middle, end, you can point out things that are sarcastic in the way they are portrayed. One of the things I noticed to be quite ironic was that someone like Ms. America is trained, from the moment they enter beauty pagents, to answer real world questions with a quick answer and genuinly know what it is they're talking about. Ms. America takes pride in being involved in various issues going on around the world to promote "world peace". The irony is that she could probably answer a touchy topic about an issue in another country with much grace on stage, but when it comes to knowing what's going on in her own state, she seems clueless and almost like it's "out of sight, out of mind". The way Moore bombards her is really used to his advantage because it makes her look bad and uneducated on issues she SHOULD care about more than pagents questions.
Another point in time where I found some irony is when Moore and the film crew go to the Great Gatsby party he interviews people attending the party about what they think about all the jobs that have been laid off recently. Here again we see people saying things like it's not as bad as it seems, when we were clearly just shown boarded up, almost demolished homes. Then the women with their husbands start talking about "all" the things Flint, Michigan has to offer, her examples are ballet and hockey that THEIR kids had access to. Not thinking that, that option is not available to everyone, they can afford it, regular people can't even afford their houses, let alone extra activities for their children.

Roger and Me

I think that Moore's use of irony in Roger and me is the post effective tactic used. In many scenes Moore will restate what exactly his point was in that scene. Moore doing so makes his point very clear so that way if maybe you didn't catch the overall point he tells you or reminds you. In many scenes in the film after he speaks to someone in charge Moore has a voice over containing a comment on perhaps a real reason. For example when Moore went to the private club to see if Roger was in there was not a voice over used in the actual scene because everything he got to say inside the question and answer between him and the guy at the front desk. It seems as if Roger is almost in hiding during this documentary because he did not meet up with Moore at the Cafe either. But the way Moore approaches the situatuation and using the irony of his voice over kind of shows that maybe Roger know firing all of the empoloyees at General Motors in Flint was wrong but it could also show that maybe Roger only wants to improve his company by putting General Motors in foreign countries.

Overall I think that Moore's comments and irony throughout out this film are his biggest tactics used to explain and help him make his point throughout the film.

Roger and Me

The irony in Roger and Me is very effective throughout the entire film. Moore uses irony to get the viewers to agree with his point of you. When I think of irony I think of the word opposite. Something either an action or song/statement is telling me something but in reality the exact opposite is happening. One example in the film is when the upper class people in Flint are having the "Great Gatsby" party. The rich people are telling them that you know it may be hard times but there are jobs available and fun things to do like ballet, but then you see the African American people acting as statues. So this is the type of jobs they have created for some people? Thats irony because things are not great and there really are not jobs available. I think that another part is when the four older ladies are golfing. They seem like there is really nothing going on and they just say, "oh go find another job." They even call them lazy and say the are taking the easy way out. Well there is just not enough jobs available right now in Flint. One of the examples I liked most in the film was in AutoWorld. AutoWorld was supposed to be the dream indoor theme park. In in, GM put an auto worker with the thing that replaced him on the line, a machine. There is a song playing and its called, "Me and My Buddy." Well this "buddy" took over the mans job and made him jobless and probably pretty poor. So the songs draws out the irony of the scene. One of the final shots of irony is at the end, when we hear Roger Smith talking about individual dignity and talking about the trees of Christmas. As this speech is going on a woman is being evicted and her Christmas tree got thrown away and she is cursing up a storm. This movie had a ton of irony in it. Overall, I thought it got its message across and was pretty persuasive.

Irony used in Roger and Me

     There were many different descriptions for the definition of irony, all meaning essentially the same thing, but my favorite wording was from grammar.about.com.  The use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning; a statement or situation where the meaning is contradicted by the appearance or presentation of the idea. 
     Michael Moore uses irony masterfully in this film with his voice over editorials throughout the film and with the interview of the couple at the Great Gatsby party focusing on what is supposed to be good about Flint. The interview made them seem really out touch with reality
     It was also very ironic that he was from the town of Flint and he knew what it had been compared to what it had become.  That made it a perfect documentary because it made me the viewer who has never been to Flint, understand what was happening there, or at least Moore's view of what was happening there..
     Moore also used his interview with Ms. Michigan during a parade that looked very depressing in the background with boarded up stores and less than excited attendees compared to her going on and winning the Ms. USA title as a kind of glamor versus depression. I also found it amazing that they put as much money as they did into the vacation and visitors and conventions department as a last ditch effort to get people to come to Flint on vacation or to bring conventions there.
      Another scene that stuck with me was the optimism at the GM Christmas eve party compared to the fact that people were getting evicted from there home and the nonchalant attitude that the CEO had when Moore was finally able to ask him a few questions. Irony was used by playing happy Christmas music while touring the boarded up depressing looking town of Flint at the end of the film.  Moore used the rhetorical device of irony in this film to show the viewer from his opinion that the upper class of people were out of touch with what was going on throughout the film. 
      Dewayne Peterson

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.

irony in Roger and Me

Irony is the use of words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of its literal meaning. In Michael Moore’s documentary Roger and Me, he uses irony as a rhetorical device to show what a bad situation the people and town of Flint, Michigan are in. He actually opens the film with a bit of irony, showing how easy his childhood was and then telling us he desired something more, and wanted to get out of Flint. In showing the viewer how easy his childhood was his actual point is that it wasn’t what he wanted, and to create an ironic contrast of Flint’s beginning with it’s current struggles. He does this again when he shows the black and white television show scene of a mother warmly welcoming her son home. Moore then switches to a scene of his return to Flint after a few years away and we see masses of people losing their jobs at GM. He continually uses this contrast of implied perfection and stark reality through these ironic sequences of scenes, to present the situation Flint is in as a dire one. Further into the film this irony is seen in the only stable job being held by the man responsible for evicting others from their homes, the Sheriff’s Deputy. When GM closes its factory in Flint the workers are celebrating the last car coming off the assembly line, which is ironic because this event is telling of their imminent unemployment. The people of Flint have a parade meant to celebrate the sit down strike that took place there years before, while they are personally losing their jobs. Moore uses irony to show that Flint, Michigan is in a very poor situation, and to evoke sympathy through the contrast and satirical humor used to illustrate this.