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| the truth is not hidden, it is filtered. |
I hardly ever watch a movie in full. When I have the chance to do it, – when there
is a gap between working, studying and raising two kids, and sleeping of course-
I take advantage of time and really enjoy watching a good film. Last week I saw
Thank You for Smoking (2006), the story of a spokesman who works for a tobacco
company in the United States. Nick describes himself as a lobbyist, with a
moral flexibility.
The motto of the film comprises the overall idea of
the function Nick fulfils: “he doesn’t hide the truth...He just filters it.” As
a lobbyist and vice president of the Academy of Tobacco Studies, he has to
stand up for and defend the cigarette industry in the hardest and bizarre situations.
His talent consists in using argument, not negotiation. He really enjoys his occupation,
and although he officially says he does it to pay the mortgage – “a legal
agreement by which a bank lends you money to buy a house”, according to the
Oxford dictionary – he confesses that his real motivation is population
control.
After watching the film my mind started wondering. To
what extent can truth be manipulated to lobby some companies’ interests, and
more specifically, some people’s personal benefit? How many times have we felt
that something is not entirely true, as regards some candidate campaign, in the
run for a political position during election time? We have come to regard what
is said in the media as natural and logical, without realizing that we can
doubt and even disagree with what we are told. Are we part of the population
that people like Nick seek to control?
I strongly advise you to see this film!
Movie trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBELC_vxqhI
Hello!! Your comment on the film is quite interesting!! I couldn´t agree more!!
ResponderBorrarYou know? There is another movie that tackles the same issue of the media manipulating news that later on they serve on a stray to us as the truth: This movie is called "Wag the dog", and it is protagonized by Dustin Hoffman. In the movie, a journalist is hired by the president in order to improve the Government´s image. Thus, the main character comes across with the idea of "creating a cause for war". He literally writes the script and then films a movie in order to demonstrate that the E.U. had been attacked and had to deffend themselves. All the people just believe in what is reflected in that "documentary", and the war starts. The war is also fake. More "documentaries" are filmed and shown to the public, who is able to live the war through television. Of course, the image of the president rises to the top !! It is a terrible movie, but nowadays the thesis sounds quite plausible. Don´t you think so?
Yes you're right! I've seen that one! quite interesting nd thought provoking... We sometimes do not realized how the media controls what is considered true and what is not.
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ResponderBorrarI love people who are bright at words (not for encouraging people to smoke, in this case)...
ResponderBorrarI admire a lot people who are able to pursue and convince other people just by using their creative minds and reflecting that creativity in their words. With this, I'm not saying I like to be manipulated, but I love when people try to do it...ha ha...and I like it better when they think they´ve got it..
If a person has this ability of speaking, eloquence, he/she should use it for a better purpose, don't you think? For me, it is very difficult to speak as I don't have this abilty of expressing exactly what I want, I admire him!
ResponderBorrarI agree with Wan Shu. I think it is absolutely great that some people could have this ability and eloquence to convince people to such an extent that we believe every single word of they say. But instead of using that gift in order to promote bad habits, they should use it with other purposes.
ResponderBorrarI liked your reflection Fernanda. I think, and I agree with the girls, that it is an admirable thing to be able to use words in order to convince people to do things. The problem is: do those people use their ability for good reasons or mistaken reasons?
ResponderBorrarIn relation to politics, as you mentioned, I hardly believe in any of them since I think that they have an easy way of speaking and saying what people want to hear but, they are not that good at acting and doing what they promised they would.
If they could use their abilities to convince people about something, shouldn't they try to use that ability not just to speak but to actually do something good for the population?