Nick Naylor's Cinematic Elements In Thank You For Smoking
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Few people are universally despised as Nick Naylor (Aaron Eckhart). However, when one works as the chief spokesman, and the Vice President of the Academy of Tobacco Studies, it is quite an easy task. He uses his superhuman spin skills and fallacious logic to defend cigarettes while trying to be a role model and father to his twelve-year old son, Joey (Cameron Bright). After disclosing private information to a reporter, Naylor shows us all just how good he is at what he does for the mortgage. Thank You for Smoking uses an arsenal of cinematic elements to push the satirical nature of the movie; some of these elements are executed quite well, while others just fall flat. One of the many elements that make this film so morbid, but yet humorous is the dialogue. The dialogue in the film either makes an audience cringe or laugh out loud with its tongue-in-cheek stance on political and moral issues. For example, Polly Bailey (Maria Bello) wittily says to Bobby Jay Bliss (David Koechner) during one of the meetings of the MOD Squad, “Well, maybe we should change our slogan to ‘If you must drink and drive, suck charcoal.’” This film is littered with this sort of caustic quips and wisecracks. Another example is…show more content… One example is Bobby Jay Bliss’s choice of dessert, a piece of Apple pie topped with American cheese and a tiny American flag. After Bobby Jay receives his dessert, Nick says “That's disgusting”, but Bobby Jay quickly responds with “It's American.” After seeing this patriotic pastry, one can only laugh. Another example of symbolism also is found in the corner booth where the MOD Squad meets. The décor surrounding them is nationalistic to say the least. There are signs claiming America’s superiority, and photos of previous presidents on the wall. The use of symbolism in the film as a whole is rather ironic, but that is what makes it so