Roger & Me (Michael Moore) -1989

This is the documentary that started it all for Michael Moore.  After publishing an underground newspaper for ten, Moore suddenly decided to make a movie with no experience and little funding.  The object of his ire was General Motors and its leader, Roger Smith (1925-2007) who devastated Moore's home city of Flint, Michigan when he closed factories and moved the jobs to Mexico.  Moore tells this story with accuracy and creative film editing that quickly established him as the premiere documentarian in the country.  The message of the movie is as relevant today as it was in 1989.  Ruthless corporations continue to take advantage of cheap foreign labor and relaxed regulations with little regard for the effect of their actions on U.S. workers who are also the intended consumers of manufactured goods.  Although General Motors has not returned to Flint, the documentary was the likely cause of Mr. Smith's retirement in 1990.  [JAM 10/14/2011]