>...Near the beginning of _Roger & Me_, Moore gets an easy laugh by his
>comparison of 'blue-collar' Flint and 'yuppie' San Francisco, by showing a
>waitress reciting a variety of coffee drinks--espresso, cappucino, cafe
>mocha, blah, blah. In that scene, the waitress--who is a worker, whether
>Moore likes it or not--gets somehow used as a butt of a joke, identified by
>Moore with yuppies she serves but not with autoworkers.
I think this interpretation is off the mark. I remember another scene from Roger and Me, where Moore - not exactly your well-groomed and narcissist Mr. Universe candidate - patronizes a newly established beauty parlor in the devastated city of Flint. The proprietor very earnestly takes on "color analysis" of Moore to decide whether he is a "spring", "summer", "autumn" or "winter" type. Of course the effect is tragicomical. This scene _may_ of course be interpreted such that Moore makes fun of the poor bugger desperately trying to succeed as "an entrepreneur in the service sector" by going into the beauty business after Flint has collapsed, i.e. Moore mocks the underdog.
I didn't interpret it like that. I saw it simply as a demonstration of the sort of cruel absurdities capitalism forces people into, with a hilarious humourous twist, and thus very effective.
I think the scene with the waitress should be interpreted the same way.
Cheers,
Trond Andresen