Thank You for Smoking
In the movie Thank You for Smoking, Nick Naylor is a handsome man, smooth talking tobacco lobbyist and the vice-president of a tobacco lobby called the “Academy of Tobacco Studies”. Naylor’s job consists mainly of reporting the questionable research of the company to the public and defending Big Tobacco on television programs by questioning health claims and advocating their personal choice about cigarette. While Nick Naylor’s morals maybe questionable, he has the talent for whipping up an argument in his favor as he believes and tells his young son in his own words “if you argue correctly, you’re never wrong.” Nick Naylor throughout the movie is trying to demolish the senator’s idea of having images of skulls and crossbones on every pack of cigarettes and the poison sign. Nick Naylor’s duty is to fight for his company in the worst and most hazardous times. His son Joey Naylor accompanies his father on every business trip. The reason why Naylor does that is so he can understand the intricacies of his job better and also trains his son to follow in his footsteps to learn about the art of molding the truth in personal favor. The big question is whether Nick Naylor has evolved morally at the end of the movie. From this question, there arises a set of central issues in the movie: does Nick Naylor’s ’s ability to spin control spin his moral compass in the right direction, and do his professional skills effect the evolution of his relationship with his son? Nick Naylor’s character in the movie embodies the art of spin control. Spin control is the act of manipulating the way an event is interpreted by others. Nick Naylor does that quite well. He never seems to be at a loss for words and always has an intelligent rebuttal on hand, even when he seems he is finished for good. He is a man who has the power of rhetoric and can argue any point of an issue even when it conflicts with what is generally accepted to be true. Hence, the ability to do this represents his art of