Big Vape: Netflix Docuseries Flips the Narrative on Juul
From Filter and Author Helen Redmond:
I was prepared to hate-watch the new Netflix limited docuseries, Big Vape: The Rise and Fall of Juul, directed by R.J. Cutler. The name alone pissed me off because of its implied conflation of Juul, which is not a tobacco company, with “Big Tobacco.” The trailer is a feverish montage of talking heads and voiceover accusing the company of being “wildly irresponsible,” photos of hospitalized patients with bloody chest tubes, and a clip of James Monsees, one of Juul’s founders, being called “a marketer of poison to young people” at a congressional hearing.
So I was happily shocked when I was proven wrong. It was amazing when the first episode, which premieres on Netflix on October 11, showed the journey of how Juul was created and the brilliance of the vape design was celebrated, not demonized.