The Aid of a Scientist and the Menace of a Lobbyist

874 Words2 Pages

Scientists and lobbyists share a primary purpose; they both serve to influence the status quo. Both Alfred Kinsey, a scientist, and Nick Naylor, a lobbyist, challenge the boundaries of their society. Whereas Kinsey stimulates the sexual aspect of his society, Naylor pokes at the value of ethics in a cigarette consuming society. The representation of argument is apparent in these films; Kinsey argues for a societal change in the awareness and education of human sexuality whereas Nick Naylor defends the cigarette industry as the Vice-President of the Academy of Tobacco Studies. In the film Thank You for Smoking and Kinsey, the rhetoric of argumentation is represented by two men that share allegiance to their work; however, the motive behind their work differs in galactic proportions.

The protagonists of both films were caught in a time frame when promoting sex and cigarettes was taboo. Alfred Kinsey is driven to educate the men and women in his society of the mysteries of human sexuality in a period of time when sex was secret, whereas the job of Nick Naylor is to promote cigarette smoking in a time when the health effects proved it to be a danger to the public’s health. Both these men share a similar predicament, though their approach to these obstacles differs. Kinsey unveils his argument through substantial research conducted by interviews and uses truth to justify his knowledge in an educational setting. Naylor, however, uses manipulation to reinforce the negative habit of smoking and tries to glamorize it in Hollywood movies. While Kinsey’s argumentation enhances the positive improvement of public knowledge, Naylor’s argumentation degrades the health, education, environment, and stereotype for the individuals in his socie...

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... effects of oral communication play a noteworthy role in the lives of both men. Considerable damage is done to Naylor’s career while major reparation is accounted for the lives of many Americans and individuals around the globe through Kinsey’s research. Sincerity determines the fate of both these men. The lack of moral flexibility shows that Kinsey was able to have a long term affect on his society in spite of the fact that Naylor was tactically superior in winning an argument through the slyest ways just to bring across a message. In the end, these films show a journey of two men who present the depths of an argument in a world in which a majority of people never deemed to question authority. Ultimately, we are able to explore the root of character and commitment of these two, dissimilar men who share a common bond in their dedication to represent an argument.

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