Michael Moore Responds

[Wojtek Sokolowski]

At 02:15 PM 5/27/98 -0400, Doug Henwood wrote, inter alia:
>Michael, I think you're a very talented guy. So all my criticisms are in a
>context of admiration. When I say your politics are "underdeveloped" and
>"ad hoc," I mean that, in the GM instance, it's not "Roger Smith" who shut
>plants and fired thousands, it's capitalism. But you can't make movies
>about "capitalism," or at least movies that more than a few geeks would go
>see. So I understand where the pressure comes from to personalize things,
>to put faces on abstract forces. But somehow the point has to be made that
>there are a thousand potential other Roger Smith's out there who could have
>done the same thing. 

Arguably, _Roger & Me_ makes such a point, albeit very subtly.  At the very
end, when the credits appear on the screen, the narrator's voice tells the
viewer what happened to various characters shown in the picture.  When it
comes to the GM spokesman (I forgot his name) who staunchly defended
Smith's decisions as consistent with the market forces, we learn that he
was sacked as well when his utility for the company expired.  So personal
attitudes do not matter, whether friend or foe, you will be terminated by
the very force you oppose or defend.

Regards,

Wojtek Sokolowski