CinEcon: Beyond the Smoke Screen

The CinEcon Event is an interdisciplinary experience that uses the satirical film Thank You for Smoking as a primary case study to challenge students to move beyond traditional profit-driven logic and grapple with the moral complexities of corporate persuasion, lobbying, and industry leadership.
The event’s primary significance lies in its exploration of spin and the ethical weight of business tactics. Participants are tasked with deconstructing how aggressive strategic decisions interact with social ethics and public health. It serves as a critical forum for students to analyze the real-world impact of corporate maneuvering on society at large.
The day is organized into four distinct phases: Phase 1: Engagement & Creative Competition: The event kicks off at the Humanities Plaza with registration and a catered lunch. This phase also involves a "Talent Show" Grand Finale, where students enrolled in my ECON 140 Spring class present creative strategic pitches for peer evaluation and voting during the event. This Grand Finale is the culmination of a curriculum starting in Week 6 where students compete by delivering creative 3-minute pitches that apply economic concepts to controversial industries such as Big Food, Pharma, or Gambling. By blending academic rigor with performance art (song, dance, or drama), students demonstrate how classroom theories manifest in real-world tactics. While preliminary rounds offer extra credit, the Grand Finale on the day of CinEcon Event rewards the top three teams with exclusive UCI prizes for successfully engaging a multidisciplinary audience;
Phase 2: The Screening: Attendees move to McCormick Hall for a screening of the film, providing the necessary context for the afternoon’s debate;
Phase 3: Recognition & Faculty Debate: After announcing the top three winners of the talent competition, the event transitions to a moderated 45-minute discussion. This debate features a panel of faculty members from outside Economics to ensure a diverse range of perspectives on ethical responsibility;
Phase 4: Conclusion and Dismissal: A final wrap-up.
While the event is open to the entire UCI community, it is strictly limited to 89 participants due to the screening room capacity. To maintain the interdisciplinary mission, specific enrollment caps are placed on Economics and Business students (since phase 1 is linked to activities held in my ECON 140 class this spring) to ensure a broad representation of majors. Because seats are allocated on a first-come, first-served basis, early registration and arrival are essential for those wishing to participate in this high-impact dialogue.

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