This isn't as surprising as you might think. Roger and Me isn't a documentary, it's an editorial. It's actually used in film classes as an example of creative editing to make a point. I'm not saying that Flint isn't bad, but Moore did pretty much everything he could to make it look as bad as possible.

The feeling of most folks from Flint I've spoken to is that Moore made a disingenuous "documentary" about Flint not to raise awareness, but to make a buck. It's understandable he's not lauded as a hero.

I also think it's unfair to characterize the reaction of some residents of Michigan to a controversial figure at best as "Michigans backwardness".