Thank You For Smoking

Let it be known that while I was watching this movie, I smoked a cigarette.

Of course the title is ironic. The whole movie was about how cigarettes are bad for you, and cigarette companies represent themselves in a way to mediate and therefore continue sales of their product. Duh. Who doesn't know, or at least suspect, this?

I thought it was a great movie, though. The main character, Nick Naylor, was a lobbyist for "Tobacco One," I think it was called. He defined the term 'lobbyist' as someone who 'mediates between two sects of society.' Something like that. Between smokers and anti-smokers. It's more like damage control, really. Everyone can readily agree now that smoke is bad for you. So many things are, but they have to be on the market for people to decide whether or not they choose cigarettes as their path to a faster death.

So he had a kid, Joey Naylor. He really looked up to his father. He traveled with him on business trips, and respected his words, took to heart what his father taught him. Good relationship. That's constant throughout the plot, so no suspense there.

There's this group of people called 'MOD,' aka Merchants of Death. Clever, I think. The group consisted of representatives originally of alcohol, guns, and cigarettes, and later adding oil, fast food and toxicity (I'm assuming. There were symbols above the latter additions.). They had pretty interesting conversations. They talk about how many people their 'products' were recorded to have killed, and how they can best provide damage control and encourage people that no, these things aren't as bad as you might make them out to be, and hell, we're not sure how bad for you they really are.

The movie was great. It plugged information to make all these things seem as bad as they really might be, but at the same time, albeit in a humorous and bubbly-sarcastic kind of way, how it's up to the user to choose for his or her self. And of course some sentimentality. Gotta leave somethin' for the kids, right? Regardless, I believe in the right to choose. Wanna drink? Drink! Smoke? Smoke! Eat? Eat everything in sight! Just don't blame it on the producers. They release commercials. They do their job. You are your very own responsibility, and if you have kids, until their hormones kick in, they're your responsibility, too. Don't presume to be so righteous.

Of course, by making a direct statement like that, I realize I'm being generous in my 'ideals,' too. Well, your choice on how much you care to listen to me. I say what I want, as do you.

Now, bring on the toxins!