Hello lovely people!
So it may not be the end of the world, but it is the end of this project (which is terribly tragic if you ask me). On the bright side, I'm not quite done with The Emperor of All Maladies yet since my grandfather borrowed the PBS documentary series adaption from the library for me. As I said in my last microblog, he absolutely adores the series and has just started reading the book. Not sure when I'll get around to watching the series since spring break just ended, but I can tell my grandfather's already itching to discuss it with me.
As for my final project, ask me what the highlight of my gifted career is and I'll probably tell you it was the Les Mis unit because it was the first time (and basically only time, lol) that I'd actually felt comfortable enough to actively participate in English class. But aside from that, my commercialism infographic from history is definitely up there. So I figured, why not combine the two? Plus, I recently started Graphic Design I, so I figured I'd try putting my skills to the test. Thus, my final macroblog project was born! And I gotta say, I'm actually kind of proud of it. At the very least I'm loving this minimalist aesthetic + drop shadow thing it's got going on.
This infographic was the product of a ton of indecision. I was originally planning on having this infographic be a more broad summary of the book as a whole, but I realized that was way too much to condense into one infographic. So then I said okay, I'll just summarize 35 or so pages on my favorite topic (the surprisingly interesting rise of tobacco as a carcinogen and its disappearance from the spotlight), but that turned out to be a bit unrealistic too, as I mentioned in my last microblog. In the end I settled on cigarette smoking and tobacco's continued impact today.
Unfortunately, the PDF version is as large as I can make it, but the text is a still bit difficult to read. (Gosh darn you, Blogger). If you want to view a larger, higher definition version, simply click here!
Overall, the infographic is meant to be a wake-up call and awareness-spreader (if that makes sense) about the "tobacco epidemic." Strangely enough, prior to reading The Emperor of All Maladies, I knew smoking was a problem (thanks elementary school guidance lessons!), but I--for whatever reason--didn't see it as that big of a problem. Sure, some people still smoke, and yes, tons of stores still sell cigarettes, but I can't remember the last time I saw an ad for cigarettes and the majority of people I know don't smoke. Even worse, the only anti-smoking campaigns I remember seeing have been ones from Truth, and I haven't seen one of their videos in a while.
Literally these are so good?! Why have they stopped showing these?
It's really easy to look around and say, "Hey, we've definitely improved. At this rate, smoking will eventually just die out on its own. Guess my job's over." And yeah, the tobacco industry might someday die out, but that "someday" doesn't look to be any time soon unless action is taken.
The first chunk of information the infographic tackles involves the Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). Most of it is pretty straightforward, but I want to talk a bit more about how exactly the MSA acts as a safe haven for its cigarette company signers (since there's only so much I could fit on there without it looking like an essay). All of the pros of the MSA that I listed act sort of as cons as well. "By granting relative protection from future legal action, by restricting cigarette advertising, and and by allowing its signatory companies to fix prices," the MSA provides signers with what's basically a monopoly on the industry (273). In addition, small, independent manufacturers of tobacco/cigarettes who aren't part of the MSA don't dare to enter the industry, allowing the big tobacco companies to stay big. So while it takes the tobacco industry as a whole down a notch, the MSA sure as heck doesn't stop it altogether.
As for the global ripple-effect of the loss of markets and profits in the US, this too is another repercussion the MSA helped push forward. Not much money to be found in the US what with all those lawsuits and regulations? Why, you could just take a stab at taking over a different country, especially one that (like Mexico and Uzbekistan were) is itching for money. Speaking of, it's kind of disturbing how easily anyone with enough money can essentially buy out the government for their own intents and purposes. It's kind of sad, too, that the smoking issues we supposedly got rid of were really just passed onto other countries. One last thing on this topic: the quote I used as the title for the political maneuvering in Mexico bit comes from an editorial cited in the book. Just realized I forgot to credit it now. Whoops.
As for the last point, our need to "wake up", it all goes back to the scary idea that I've never really thought about how crazy it is that cigarettes (which are freaking scientifically proven to lead to very, very bad things) are still easily accessible. My guess is that you've probably never thought about it either.
The good news? It's never too late to fix things, and the first step to getting there is being aware that there's even a problem to begin with. So good job, whoever you are, because you're already one step of the way there (wherever there ends up being)!
Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed my blog, regardless of how little or how much of it you've read and hope you have a fantastic rest of your day and that whatever thing you're stressed out about goes okay!
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