Thanks but no thanks
A night at the theatre, I was reminded once again why I wouldn’t watch a Hollywood movie, definitely not pay for it!
Watching in the wee hours of the morning a movie titled-‘Thank you for smoking’, I wondered what people took back other than the few good laughs(due credits to the screenplay). It was almost easy to miss the propaganda of America, writ large in the persuasive, glamorous, oh-so-adorably human portrayal of Nick Neylor-the lobbyist. But forget that for a moment, even if I were to discount the Hollywood-American dream love affair, I was alarmed by the logic of-who cares if you are right, if the person in front of you isn’t. What about all the other stands that do not include a yes and a no? Why does everything have to be pro or against something? And most importantly, why do we simply issues to for and against?!
Leaving the arguments alone, the movie managed to glamorize the defense of a not-so defenseless clan of MNCs. As ridiculous as it sounds, the sheer wit of the movie made it sound almost like the rescue of a poor lost kid. My issue is with precisely this power of the mass media, this almost unconscious brain-washing that dilutes the issues underlying the powerful multi-national corporations. While defending the tobacco companies Nick does not mention how these companies leverage their power and sustain their profits, or how the companies ensure their status by paying peanuts to the tobacco farmers in some poor country elsewhere? This will lead to a larger argument which I am sure everyone has heard about sometime, about globalization, and free trade and the like.
Coming back to the questions raised in my mind, I was wondering when issues began to be simplified, maybe it’s a purely political thing- of wanting people to choose who they support. If social issues serve no more than a bargaining chip for political power, where are we headed really, I do not know.
In any case, the movie may be worth its money but somehow to me it was a sour reminder of all things that were going wrong, or just a wee bit unbalanced.
Watching in the wee hours of the morning a movie titled-‘Thank you for smoking’, I wondered what people took back other than the few good laughs(due credits to the screenplay). It was almost easy to miss the propaganda of America, writ large in the persuasive, glamorous, oh-so-adorably human portrayal of Nick Neylor-the lobbyist. But forget that for a moment, even if I were to discount the Hollywood-American dream love affair, I was alarmed by the logic of-who cares if you are right, if the person in front of you isn’t. What about all the other stands that do not include a yes and a no? Why does everything have to be pro or against something? And most importantly, why do we simply issues to for and against?!
Leaving the arguments alone, the movie managed to glamorize the defense of a not-so defenseless clan of MNCs. As ridiculous as it sounds, the sheer wit of the movie made it sound almost like the rescue of a poor lost kid. My issue is with precisely this power of the mass media, this almost unconscious brain-washing that dilutes the issues underlying the powerful multi-national corporations. While defending the tobacco companies Nick does not mention how these companies leverage their power and sustain their profits, or how the companies ensure their status by paying peanuts to the tobacco farmers in some poor country elsewhere? This will lead to a larger argument which I am sure everyone has heard about sometime, about globalization, and free trade and the like.
Coming back to the questions raised in my mind, I was wondering when issues began to be simplified, maybe it’s a purely political thing- of wanting people to choose who they support. If social issues serve no more than a bargaining chip for political power, where are we headed really, I do not know.
In any case, the movie may be worth its money but somehow to me it was a sour reminder of all things that were going wrong, or just a wee bit unbalanced.
posted by Usha @ 12:35 PM
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