The protagonists of the films Kinsey by Bill Condon and Thank You for Smoking by Jason Reitman are two men of very different clothing styles. In Kinsey, the titular character uses logical discourse and gathers statistics in an attempt to remove the shackles of moral prudence from the topic of human sexuality for the betterment of humanity. On the other hand, the central character of Thank You for Smoking is a tobacco industry lobbyist who uses logical fallacies and rhetoric to obscure the health risks of tobacco use because he is extraordinarily good at it, and also gets paid handsomely. However divergent their intentions, these two men both display a passionate ability to assert their claims against stiff opposition. Furthermore, both characters' argumentative styles reveal their mutual understanding of the power that morality and rhetoric hold in shaping public opinion. To be sure, Alfred Kinsey and Nick Naylor are different men with different intentions, yet both possess, albeit for different reasons, a driving passion to work towards their ambitions. In one of the first scenes of the film Kinsey, we glimpse some of the reasons for Professor Kinsey's passion. We see a young Kinsey witness one of his tyrannical father's sermons on the evils of lust. His father exaggerates the connection between common objects and sexual deviance, even going so far as to condemn the zipper as providing "quick access to moral oblivion" (Kinsey). Alfred Kinsey wants to make the sexual world a less shameful place for people. In contrast, the foundations on which Nick Naylor's ardor is based are not so noble or complex, as he unapologetically tells us in the first 10 minutes of the film. Naylor works at…half of paper…and bureaucracy, I have cheered their victories and been saddened by their setbacks despite their personalities or career choices. I believe that rooting for the underdog is part of my American cultural heritage. There is something delightful about watching a person fight against the opposition to change the minds and hearts of the masses, even if I don't believe in their cause. I think we as a culture love it because by looking at characters like Alfred Kinsey and Nick Naylor, we are reminded that with passion, skill, and a thorough understanding of what we face we can change the world, or at least talk about it. to agree with us. Works Cited Kinsey. Director Bill Condon. Perf. Liam Neeson and Laura Linney. Fox Searchlight, 2004. Online. Thanks for smoking. Director Jason Reitmann. Perf. Aaron Eckhart and Maria BelloRoom 9 Entertainment, 2006. Online