Can Thank You for Smoking Teach Us About Critical Thinking?

In a brief overview of the movie "Thank You for Smoking", we can pull out many different perspectives about cigarettes and the tobacco industry and how it can be bad for you according to the FDA. On the contrary, an individual can try to listen to a lobbyist, which there is a character in this film named Nick Naylor. This man is the lobbyist for Big Tobacco in the film, who has had a lot of setbacks in his life. For instance, he has a son and comes to career day at his child's school and tells all the kids about his career. Eventually, the kids ask questions about what there parents said about cigarettes being bad and Nick Naylor gets pressured to leave. In addition to the movie, it shows Nick Naylor doing is daily career and life, where he is divorced and wants to be part of his child's life.

Nick Naylor gets to see his son on the weekends and convinces his ex-wife to let him stay with him for a trip, where the son and the viewers of the film can see Nick Naylor's personal values and his excellent ability of being morally flexible as a lobbyist for Big Tobacco to stay in business. In addition, if you were a sales representative, you could take some notes on how to find a "win-win" scenario. More importantly, this film can teach us skills on how to critically think. For example, the film has a focus on where Nick Naylor has to do his job of delivering cash to the Marlboro Man not to talk, while his son is with him. The character of Nick Naylor mentions in the conversation with the Marlboro Man that this is not a bribe but saving face. In addition, Nick also told him you can not take the money and tell them about this in which they will not let you keep the money to help yourself.

However, some can think this is immoral but morality is objective to an individual depending on their experiences in life. Nick Naylor a lobbyist for Big Tobacco also mentions the pros of cigarettes such as preventing or lessoning the symptoms of Parkinson's disease and dementia. He also talks about how there is a law where you have to be eighteen and deemed as a grown adult to purchase them. He makes the point that the parents can teach what they want to their children. When asked of once his son turns 18 are you going to buy him cigarettes. Nick Naylor responded with "If he wants one."

Last thing in the movie that is shown throughout it, it shows the progression of the son's critical thinking, where he asks his dad how he can do his job that causes resentment from a lot of people towards him. His dad (Nick Naylor says, "You don't have to believe in the cause that you represent." and later says, "If you argue correctly, your never wrong." Near the ending of the movie, the son wins a debate competition. To tie in the last sentence of the above paragraph stating "If he wants one", Nick Naylor was teaching his son about critical thinking and thinking for oneself. People who watch this movie can learn a lot about how to critically think and to be more open to try and understand a viewpoint that may contradict yours.