Insider Essays (1022 words) - Brown Williamson, Films, The Insider

Insider The Insider A dramatization of 1995 events in which the tobacco industry allegedly covered up proof that nicotine is addictive and harmful. When Brown and Williamson executive Jeffrey Wigand (Crowe) tries to expose the industry's cover-up, he is threatened into silence. He eventually gets his story to 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman (AL Pacino), but CBS decides against airing it due to political and economic pressures, and the threat of lawsuit from Brown and Williamson. Before we start, I think it's important that you know a little thing about me, and where I'm coming from. I do smoke. But I believe that most of the lawsuits filed against the tobacco industry are unfounded, desperate attempts for people to put the blame on anyone but themselves. I think social security is a safety net for the financially irresponsible. I thought The Insider was a great movie from a strictly entertainment perspective (don't get ahead of me on this one!), and I enjoyed it very much. Russell Crowe is Jeffrey Wigand, a Brown and Williamson VP of Research and Development whose conscience compels him to blow the whistle on the industry. He claims that Big Tobacco has been covering up scientific research that proves nicotine is addictive and harmful. The writing puts a lot of energy into making sure that Wigand is a sufficiently complicated character, and one that we sympathize with. To be sure, he's not entirely one-dimensional. Initially, he does what most of us would do in his position: he takes the money and benefits that the company offers him in return for silence. After all, the guy has a family to look out for. But then Wigand is tortured over his passiveness, wondering if he should take a more aggressive stance with his potentially damaging knowledge. 60 Minutes producer Lowell Bergman, sensing a big story in the works, tries to coax Wigand into talking. An energetic Al Pacino, who fights to get the story on the air, only to have it snuffed by CBS, plays Bergman here. Allegedly, the television network was possibly up for sale around the time of this story, and airing it might have damaged their image with controversy, making it less appealing to potential suitors. This, coupled with the threat of lawsuit from Brown and Williamson, made CBS refuse to air the story. The Insider portrays these events as a crusade on the part of Bergman and Wigand to get the truth out there, against the will of Big Business and Bigger Tobacco. And while Bergman is never portrayed as much more than a journalist with an uncharacteristic amount of integrity, Wigand is a great character to follow as he tries to balance out everything around him. Tortured and sleepless, his reactions are what you would expect from someone forced to choose between the safety of his family with the gravity of what he knows. Most of it makes for edge of your suit viewing. Suspense abounds, and AL Pacino's confrontations with the evil corporate executives, censors, and whatnot are the centerpiece of the movie. He gets to climb up on the soapbox and belt out a few speeches about truth and justice and freedom and right and wrong and all that other fun stuff. It's tense, and it's really quite fascinating, actually. From a dramatic standpoint, this movie couldn't have asked for better performances. Gina Gershon makes an appearance in the movie as a tough, icy corporate attorney for CBS. As a standard caricature of faceless law more interested in money than people, she's fabulous. The Insider runs at over two and half hours, but always remains interesting and never drags. The biggest issue I have with this movie is how it so comfortably passes itself off as an unbiased, historical representation of what happened between real life executive Jeffrey Wigand, real life producer Lowell Bergman, and real life corporation Brown and Williamson. The problem is that the movie is so well crafted and so interesting that it's very easy to accept it as 100% Grade A Truth. However, this is clearly Wigand's story, and closer inspection would reveal that the main characters here are just a little too perfect to be real. Did Bergman really storm into the offices of CBS and rant

The Proper Approach to Writing a Rhetorical Examination

The Proper Approach to Writing a Rhetorical ExaminationAn outstanding rhetorical examination is the outcome that a student desires when they are taking the test. They want to achieve the most impressive result for the kind of essay they choose to write and for the subject matter that they choose to cover. Knowing the correct rhetorical assessment technique can help them accomplish this goal.Before one starts thinking about writing a rhetorical examination, they should first determine what topic they would like to study on. The question of the essay should be relevant to the topic that they choose. For example, if they choose to write an essay on travel, they should determine how they will travel around by using the questions in a rhetorical examination sample essay.The approach that a student uses for writing a rhetorical examination must also be consistent with their objectives for the assignment. For example, if the student wants to learn how to do research, they should ask questio ns about the things that they would like to learn when they go on vacation. They could use questions like: 'How do you make a successful visit to a foreign country?' or 'What are some tips to make the experience more fun?'Also, there are some questions that can be used to form logical parts of the essay. One may ask questions like: 'What is the best way to spend a day on vacation?' or 'What will you remember about the trip?' They could also ask questions about whether to go to a certain destination or if they should visit another part of the country.Next, a student must choose a passage that he or she believes will stand out to other students. To do this, they must think about how the passage can stand out. Some examples of passages include:The passage should be something that will draw the reader's attention to it and to the main idea of the essay. Then, the questions that were asked should relate to the passage.In writing the essay, the reader should have an idea as to what the es say is all about. If it is a survey essay, they should be able to figure out the purpose of the essay fairly quickly. Also, it is helpful to read a variety of essays before the essay is due so that the student has an idea as to how each essay will be structured.When writing the passage, the writer should ask questions about the passage. This can help them to better understand the content of the essay. Also, the writer should be able to see what the main ideas of the essay are.