Merchants of Doubt (film)
| Merchants of Doubt | |
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theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | Robert Kenner |
| Produced by | Robert Kenner Melissa Robledo |
| Written by | Robert Kenner Kim Roberts |
| Based on |
Merchants of Doubt by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway |
| Music by | Mark Adler |
| Cinematography | Don Lenzer Barry Berona Jay Redmond |
| Edited by | Kim Roberts |
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Production
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| Distributed by | Mongrel Media, Sony Pictures Classics |
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Release date
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Running time
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96 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $192,400 (USA) |
Merchants of Doubt is a 2014 American documentary film directed by Robert Kenner and inspired by the 2010 book of the same name by Naomi Oreskes and Erik M. Conway. The film traces the use of public relations tactics that were originally developed by the tobacco industry to protect their business from research indicating health risks from smoking. The most prominent of these tactics is the cultivation of scientists and others who successfully cast doubt on the scientific results. Using a professional magician, the film explores the analogy between these tactics and the methods used by magicians to distract their audiences from observing how illusions are performed. For the tobacco industry, the tactics successfully delayed government regulation until long after the establishment of scientific consensus about the health risks from smoking. As its second example, the film describes how manufacturers of flame retardants worked to protect their sales after toxic effects of the retardants were discovered. The central concern of the film is the ongoing use of these tactics to forestall governmental action to regulate greenhouse gas emissions in response to the risk of global climate change.
The filmmakers interviewed more than a dozen individuals who have been involved in a series of conflicts ranging from the regulation of tobacco products due to the health risks to global climate change. In the sequence in which they appear in the film, they are:
The film embeds commentary and performances by magician Jamy Ian Swiss. The premise of these interludes is that there is an analogy between the techniques of professional magicians and the tactics of public relation organizations. Magicians learn how to distract their audiences from noticing the deceptions that underlie their tricks and illusions. The organizations distract the public from the risks associated with products. These tactics were systematically developed by the tobacco industry in the 1950s in response to scientific research showing that smoking was a significant health risk; the research was a significant threat to tobacco sales. The principal distraction tactic has been the use of convincing personalities who claim that the uncertainties in the risks militate against taking action.
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