Smoking cigarettes in movies causes much outrage among people. Parents are upset because they believe that teens watching movies will be tempted to mimic the stars, and develop the unhealthy habit. As a teen, I must say that this worry is unfounded.
First of all, my generation has had the benefit of knowledge and education about the subject of smoking. Students learn about the harmful effects of tobacco use as early as elementary school. Seeing a character in a movie smoke will not counteract the knowledge of how bad it is to smoke.
Many factors contribute to a teen’s decision of whether or not to smoke. Some include parental example and opinion, peer pressure, facts about the effects of smoking, tobacco advertisements, and the laws prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to teens. In my opinion, all of these factors weigh more heavily than following the example of a smoking movie star. As a teenager I am insulted that people believe I will be influenced so easily.
Statistics seem to support my view that smoking in Hollywood has little impact on teens. Since 1982, the occurrence of smoking in movies has doubled, but statistics show that the smoking rates of teens have decreased by 40% since 1997 (Source: American Lung Association). Following the example of fictional characters in movies doesn’t seem to be happening.
The focus of this issue has been how smoking in movies affects teenagers; but what about how it relates to movie makers? Hollywood gets made out to be the evil force in this issue. This simply does not make sense! Completely eliminating smoking from movies would make the films an unrealistic portrayal of actual society. In real life, people do smoke. Pretending that the problem doesn’t exist will not help. Sometimes smoking really does add to characterization, plot or setting. Imagine watching a movie set in 1950 without any reference to smoking. It would be unrealistic. It’s not fair to take away the freedom of expression of movie makers on the premise that taking smoking out of movies might keep teens from smoking. There are more relevant issues to attack to keep new smokers from emerging.
There is no doubt that tobacco related diseases are a huge problem in this country. It is important to keep young people away from smoking and the problems it brings. People must focus on more effective ways of keeping kids educated and away from tobacco than removing it completely from films. Perhaps a preview in movie theaters about the harmful effects of smoking would be helpful. The key idea is that knowledge about the harmful effects be available to kids, not that smoking is unrealistically removed from the media.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
Perhaps you've been listening to the anti-smoking ads on 102.7 that feature outraged teens criticizing Hollywood for featuring smoking in its movies.
Personally, I remember during the 1980's when Sonny Crockett, the Miami Vice cop played by Don Johnson, made smoking look cool. With his three-day old stubble, pastel suits, and well-timed drags on a cigarette dangling from the corner of his mouth, he seemed like one cool dude. However, despite how cool he looked at the time, it certainly didn't make me want to start smoking.
I agree with your argument. Environmental factors such as whether one's peers smoke or one's parents smoke contribute to whether a teen is more likely to smoke.
Many young adults became smokers after trying an experimental cigarette while socializing with friends at the bar. For some, it seemed natural to smoke, talk, and drink. Today, however, smokers must go outside to have their cigarettes, and when it's 20 degrees out or raining, it seems more like an inconvenience than something glamorous. Smokers are also reduced to being outcasts by having to go outside for a “hit.”
The Hollywood portrayal of smoking isn’t always glamorous anyway. The malevolent character “Cigarette Smoking Man” on the X-files had lung cancer and was dying. Nevertheless, he continued to smoke. His character certainly did not glamorize smoking.
The news that smoking has decreased among teens is encouraging. It also illustrates that youths are not so easily influenced by the media.
Post a Comment