Mike & the city: Michael Moore's psychogeography in Roger & Me, Fahrenheit 9/11 and Sicko

My basic assumption in this work is grounded in the notion of psychogeography and it is referred to some films by Michael Moore. This world famous film director is normally approached as a politically committed artist working on some specific issues that are developed an articulated through a very ironic style. Nevertheless my position is that the basic operation in which Moore’s films are grounded consists in portraying urban spaces that are walked through and reported on through emotions and feelings.
In the first chapter I introduce an overlook on psychogeography, the theoretical tool I used to analyze Moore’s works. I also included references to the documentaries concerning the city and the technical frame which is needed to produce this movie genre.
In the second chapter, I developed a concise biography of Michael Moore, underlining his multifaceted nature as an artist and an intellectual. In a 20-year career Moore not only directed movies, but he also produced TV shows and video clips and wrote many books about the American society.
In the third chapter, I analyzed Moore’s first movie Roger & Me, in which the most important element is the relationship between the director and his hometown, Flint. Furthermore I introduced a short profile of the documentary connected with the social and political issues which can be considered Moore’s specific field.
The main subject of the fourth chapter is Moore’s most successful documentary, Fahrenheit 9/11. In this movie, the director represents New York after the devastating terroristic attack which hit the city on September 11, 2001. In the second part of the chapter I draw a parallel with two artistic works on this tragic event: a movie, World Trade Center, directed by Oliver Stone and a novel Extremely Loud And Incredibly Close written by Jonathan Safron Foer.
The fifth chapter is about Sicko, a movie in which Moore analyzes the American healthcare system and compares it with the European ones. In this movie, Moore focuses on the cross-cultural differences. Indeed, the director’s intention is to posit a comparison with the US, which is his homeland, and Great Britain and France, that in this case represent the otherness.
This work is aimed at underlining the relevance of the city in Moore’s movies not only an ideal cinematographic set but it is also a fundamental element of narration for the director.