Change Your Image
melaniedbui
Reviews
Merchants of Doubt (2014)
A persuasive lie!
Merchants of Doubt is a tale of how the various industries have slighted the American public by putting out propaganda that is amazingly deceptive and oftentimes just plain false. The film opens up with a magician saying that it is his job to tell people lies – but at least he is honest about telling them lies. In contrast, the documentary goes on to prove that not all is what it seems especially when money and politics are involved. Indeed, the attacks and defense come from all fronts and in various methods, from unproved hypotheses, word-spinning, white lies, and just plain falsities being announced from the ground up to those in positions of power.
Tobacco has long been proved to have negative effects on health. There are those that acknowledge it clearly and choose to smoke, others that vehemently deny the research and claim it as heresy, and the vast majority that has yet to come to any decisive conclusion. This was particularly true in the past. Clearly the tobacco manufacturers stand to lose a lot of money if the scientific results were made widespread to the public, so they used the resources at their disposal – the marketing budget and political power of these huge corporations dwarfs those of the scientific journals – to effectively stomp out the idea that tobacco would harm its users.
The same goes for global warming. They claimed that most scientists in fact did not agree that global warming was happening, even the preposterous idea that the world was actually getting cooler. Afterwards, there were claims that over 30,000 American scientists did not agree with that finding – these "scientists" were later found to be either dead, made-up, or not truly scientists at all. After that, they admitted that global warming was happening – but that mankind was not the cause. Then they claimed that the effects were caused by man, but that curbing the production whose byproducts harmed the atmosphere would not outweigh the benefits that they output. The purpose of this propaganda and flip- flopping was to buy time to delay the skeptics in order to allow them to keep their profits even longer until the next make-believe story.
What is scary is that these battles aren't always waged on the outside. There are methods that companies use in order to get on the inside of their "enemies," many of which are supposed to be neutral. There are such methods as death threats, both public and private, some dispatched by companies while others are victims of fanaticism. Still yet are the moles that hide behind titles and sneak in to the root of their problems. For example, one think tank institute's president ended up being a registered lobbyist for a cause he had a conflict of interest in. To even imagine how this preposterous situation could come up naturally is baffling to say the least, but it is quite difficult to believe that it is a coincidence. This is not the only case – three of the major producers of flame retardants were have found to be the sole supporters of a Citizens for Fire Safety organization. Further lies were found in a doctor's inconsistent testimony that three infant patients of his that never existed died from pillows that weren't flameproof, all for the support of flame retardant products. The same magician that was introduced at the beginning of the movie later says that those in his profession often tell smaller lies just to cover up for larger lies. Even the relationship between global warming and oil is littered with lies told to increase opportunities. While this clearly crosses the lines of morality, it is in a way admirable in terms of the analytical skills and methodical approach taken to effectively persuade their audiences. One must be an effective communicator, like a magician, in order to sway the mind and perspective of your audience. We can take the opportunity to learn from how they apply these methods in argumentation and persuasion. If you have the motivation to make whoever you are addressing to believe something else, to persuade or argue with them towards another opinion, you would have to do some research and change up your methods in order to increase your chances of success. We have learned from Merchants of Doubt that there are many ways to do this. Although you cannot fool everyone, if you have an idea of what doubts are being brought to the table, you can potentially eliminate them from being brought up in the first place. Alternatively, you could just tell a smaller lie in order to cover up the truth. Even furthermore, you could also just bring up the reputation of other "dependable" sources to "prove" your point, regardless if what you claim is true or not. There will always be skeptics, but that doesn't mean that you cannot persuade them. Even if someone doesn't believe what you say, you can always take a step in his or her direction. If someone tells you that eating vegetables is good for you and you argue that they are not, maybe you can make progress by saying something like "well, maybe vegetables aren't bad for you," or "eating vegetables is good for you, but choosing not to eat vegetables will not necessarily adversely affect your health." Going a step further, you could make the argument that the health benefits provided by eating vegetables do not outweigh the taste that you must endure while eating. You might even draw up claims that the researchers for the FDA support your conclusion whether they do or not. The point is that there are many ways to persuade people to believe or offer alternative perspectives regarding what you want them to. Even magic cannot be entirely eliminated as an option.
Kenner, Robert (Producer, Director) & Robledo, Melissa (Producer). (2014). Merchants of Doubt (Documentary). United States: Sony Pictures Classics.
Insidious: Chapter 3 (2015)
Insidious 3
Quinn Brenner (Stefanie Scott) enters the movie as your not-so-average girl seeking what might remain of her mother in the mortal world. She appears at the door of Elise Rainier, played by Lin Shaye, in her own way a tattered soul. The meeting of these two sparks the beginning of a journey of what turns into a clash of desire versus reason, and of your typical good versus evil. Overall however, "Insidious Chapter 3" seems to be more about control, and about how much we can lose ourselves emotionally, and in Quinn's case, physically when we are overcome with grief or what life's impact has on us – though the same can be said for both Elise and Quinn's father, Sean Brenner (Dermot Mulroney). After Elise refuses to help Quinn due to her troubled past, Quinn goes about trying to solve her own difficult life, starting from her relationship to her father who himself has been overwhelmed by the duties of a single father, to her bratty brother Alex (Tate Berney), and to what she believes are her failed dreams to become a successful actress. To add to that, she becomes involved in a terrible car accident that cripples her, a foreshadowing of her misfortune to come, which leaves her on the edge of plummeting into despair. With all of this devastating Quinn and with her losing control of both her emotions and her body, she turns to the one thing she believes she has left – her deceased mother. This yearning becomes a call, a summoning to the dead, leaving her open to the villain, a masked man covered in black goo who cannot breathe, and to the source of our fears. It is through these ordeals that Sean and Quinn reach out to Elise again, begging her to help them rid their lives of this terror. Elise then realizes that she herself has lost control of her own life, and that she must fight for those that cannot protect themselves. Enlisting the help of Specs (Director Leigh Wannel himself) and Tucker (Angus Sampson), a duo of reality-TV styled demons that provide comic relief, they go about fighting these demons in the alternate dimension, or the underworld. This transition to this new world leaves the viewers entrenched in the atmosphere of the movie, drawing them into a place beyond reality. This new dimension becomes the battleground where not only for control of one's emotions takes place, but also the fight for control of both Quinn and Elise's destiny is decided. While the story does not necessarily add to the formula of the typical horror movie genre, it does deliver what it promises – scares. For moviegoers unfamiliar with the first and second chapters, rest assured that you will not just be going for the same ride again, though it may help you understand more about the characters. Director Leigh Wannell has assured viewers that there will of course be screams, goosebumps, and jumps to all but the most avid of horror movie-goers because even though you may have seen the scene where the camera pans out from the window for the nth time, or the room suddenly goes silent - even though you know that the "surprise" is coming, it won't necessarily stop you from squealing with fright. However, just because the movie does offer what most people want going into the movie doesn't mean it can't improve on things such as the story. The characters and plot are not particularly groundbreaking, and all of them but the supposed "villain" have a personality that is not far-fetched. While this adds realism to the movie, which captivates the viewer to absorb themselves, the formula seems to be a bit boring and there aren't many strong emotions in the movie – there is very little happiness, laughter, love, sadness, and everything between to be found at all, which leaves us less empathetic to the characters. Overall, the movie does have a place among the genre, though it won't win any awards for doing something too out of the ordinary. While this in itself may appeal to its designated audience, there should be something that involves the audience and allows them to feel more involved with the characters and story. A large portion of the movie is dedicated to build up to several climaxes where the promised scary scenes are delivered, but the active creation of an environment, weaving of the story, and development of the characters, both good and bad, can go a long way in setting up something that is more than a typical horror movie. With that being said, seeing this installment in the series doesn't make me any less interested in what Wan and Wannel have up their sleeves in Insidious Chapter 4, as it is Chapter 3 is more than sufficient for its entertainment and thrill value.
Wan, James(Producer), & Wannel, Leigh (Director). (2015). Insidious Chapter 3 (Motion picture). United States: Automatik Entertainment, Blumhouse Productions, Entertainment One.