Anthropology of humor - Movie Review Example

English 10 March Anthropology of Humor in Thank You For Smoking “Few people on this planet know what it is to be truly despised.Can you blame them? I earn a living fronting an organization that kills 1,200 human beings a day… I mean there’s Attila, Genghis and me.” This is the opening line delivered by the main character in this picture. Essentially, the entire film is riddled with witty dialogues and sharp discourses, which make it stand out on its own. A film starring Aaron Eckhart, Thank You For Smoking is a movie which tackles the dangers of smoking but presents it by way of a parody or satire.

Satire is amusing because it is based on some element or kernel of truth (Brown & Paul, “Thank You For Smoking: Learning About Politics”). This motion picture may be aptly labeled a multi-layered caricature of the American modern society because it portrays the career-focused Nick Naylor, a ‘lobbyist’ divorcee as the main character, as well as the milieu where he moves in. Indeed, there couldn’t have been any other better actor to portray the role of a smooth talker, loving father, passionate career-person, depressed ex-employee, enlightened parent and glib-expert on the rebound.

Furthermore, the plot doesn’t just work along the lines of smoking, career, family and divorce. The story has other sub-plots which make it a unique and amusing film in its own right, touching on topics of sex, manipulation, business, power and contemporary politics among other things. Being a travesty of sorts, the title Thank You For Smoking is used to emphasize Nick’s perspective of being a great speaker who can always hold his audience to empathize with his cause. Speaking on behalf of the tobacco industry is, in itself, already a cause that is not justifiable since it is open knowledge that cigarettes and tobacco are directly linked to lung cancer.

What’s worse – and even bordering on the offensive – is that Nick even passes on his skill at manipulating words to his son, Joey, as he helps the latter with his schoolwork. One of the movie’s most memorable lines is when Nick emphasizes to Joey: “That’s the beauty of argument. It’s because if you argue correctly, you are never wrong.” This paternally bequeathed skill is one which Joey gets to practice later on with his mother, and even later on at school as he wins the school’s debating championship award.

What’s also worth noting is that despite the main character’s being a staunch advocate for the tobacco industry, not one scene in the entire movie shows Nick, or any character for that matter, holding a cigarette or actually smoking a cigarette. The obvious pro- stance of Nick cannot be discounted since he consistently argued for the cause of the tobacco industry business for the most part of the film. It is the story of a man merely trying to make a decent living using public relations by presenting a negative message in a positive light.

In this case, Nick defended the tobacco industry by: “disputing government data on the health effects of smoking, defending its right to advertise by invoking the First Amendment, and framing the right to smoke in terms of individual liberty” (Brown & Paul). Based on this contention, it can be deduced that the film actually capitalizes on irony for its plot, and regardless of the product, the film could have made use of any other merchandise to get its message across. It could as well have been “thank you for drinking” or “thank you for shooting” or “thank you for eating fast food”, etc.

, and with a slight adjustment to the plot, it wouldn’t have mattered much. There are a lot of products in the American market today which have been wreaking havoc on the health of most Americans – and most people worldwide too – and yet the scapegoat has always been pointed at the most obvious culprits which are the liquor and tobacco industries. Heart disease - the top cause of death in the US - has always been linked to high cholesterol in the diet; yet look at how fast food chains continue to flourish on a global scale.

Awareness is not the problem here since the education sector, the media and other social groups have been actively campaigning about these grave concerns. But if people will adhere to the thrust as set by the likes of Nick Naylor in this film, then eventually, it will be a downhill battle for the most part with the majority of the citizenry at the losing end. Works Cited Brown, Clyde & Paul, David. “Thank You For Smoking: Learning About Politics” Academic Exchange Quarterly, Winter 2006. Vol.

10, Issue 4: n. pag. Web. 10 March 2011. Thank You For Smoking. Dir. Jason Reitman. Perf. Aaron Eckhart, Cameron Bright, Katie Holmes, Maria Bello. Fox Searchlight Pictures. 2005. Film.