 |
| Carrie Bradshaw smoking and drinking (Sex and the City) |
Based on the fact that exposure to on screen smoking increases the probability of young people to smoke there have been some initiatives to limit the amount of cigarette product placement. For example movies that include cigarette smoking have to be rated R like movies containing violence or sex.
The Smoke Free Movies campaign began to raise awareness of the issues surrounding portraying smoking in movies in 2001, since then the number of instances of smoking in films and on TV decreased.
To read the full report from CDC click here.
Cigarette product placement is again a double-sided issue. I understand that we should try to prevent young people from starting smoking because it is bad for health. However, certain movies and TV shows need to portray smoking a a part of the story and its authenticity. Forbidding them to portray smoking may have negative influences on the quality of the results. Also forbidding showing or discussing something in the media may be on the boundary of censorship and violation of freedom of expression.
8 comments:
I actually have a similar article about this and was considering putting Sex and the City as an example of cigarettes on the screen. In fact, this show goes way beyond promoting smoking- all the brands they were shown wearing significantly increased sales. And not to mention the movies were total product placement heaven.
Tammy: I understand your concern. I myself can't decide where I stand on this issue. I understand that smoking on the screen results in a bigger number of smokers, which is the opposite of what we have been trying to achieve for the past decade. But on the other hand smoking was a big part of Carrie's personality, which would have been compromised if she did not smoke (in the movies she does not smoke and she is just so much less personable, and less believable - for me anyways. Also due to the fact that Carrie and some of the secondary characters smoked, the creators were able to address this issue many times. Carrie was constantly nagged by her best friends, her personal life was many times negatively affected by her smoking (and drinking) and so on.
But still my biggest concern is, that if we ban smoking in (adult) fictional production, just how believable will it be? Are we still gonna be able to identify with it? Even though we are trying to get rid of smokers, they (we :)) are still there, and a TV show without them is just less realistic.
Hi.
Although I am not totally decided, I believe that smoking should not be restricted in (adult) media production.
The idea of banning depiction of smoking characters seems totally ridiculous to me until we do not ban also showing violence. Smoking is not a healthy habit, but it is not a crime or social evil responsible for destroying families such as alcoholism.
Also we should not forget that TV shows are a form of art and the freedom to express ideas is something very essential to the process of creation. Of course, some messages may be problematic and if it is fair they should be condemned, but I think that the best way to do this is by letting people to choose what they like. Regarding smoking, people should be informed about its potential risks and then be allowed to make their own decision. They often make not exactly healthy choices, but this is something hard to control, and the question is: should it be controlled? Research did not show any significant impact on health if one smokes only moderately and in addition to that, as Milton Friedman said, “drug” user is not an innocent victim.
I hope I illustrated my point well.
Best,
Iva
It is difficult for me as well to decide about this problem. I believe it can increase the number of youngsters becoming smokers, but on the other hand, I think young people are more influenced by other factors anyway. They are influenced for example by their peers who smoke cigarettes or the fact that the number of smokers is quite significant especially here in Europe where smoking is allowed almost everywhere and it is not difficult at all for youngsters under the age of 18 to buy a box of cigarettes.
A lot of movies would not be that authentic if the exposure of smoking would be missing and as Caro already said it would be violation of the freedom of expression.
I think it is parents responsibility to educate their kids about potential risks of smoking, and that there is a lot of information concerning the issue of how unhealthy smoking is.
Iva: I couldn't agree with you more. It is a moral dilemma to a certain extent but I as well think that banning smoking from the screen before banning the actual illegal or immoral activities that are often portrayed (not that they should be banned) is ridiculous. I'm glad you made this comparison to violence and alcoholism because these are much bigger threats to society and they don't seem to be a cause for as much concern as cigarette smoking. Or what about drugs? I see drug usage in film on a daily basis, usually depicted in a negative way but not always. Marijuana smoking for instance (again I have nothing against it) is depicted and often glamorized in movies and on TV and it is still illegal in most places in the world.
I think everyone should have a responsibility for their actions and decisions and be educated enough while not compromising the creative process of movie makers.
that show leftovers is garbage and there is no artistic reason people smoke in it. is that a cigarette ad? If so there should be a law against it.
adidas yeezy boost
uggs outlet
christian louboutin outlet
pandora jewelry
ugg outlet
michael kors outlet online
michael kors outlet
the north face
ugg boots classic
tory burch outlet
chenlina20171122
montre homme
michael kors outlet
guess
air max 2017
nike blazer pas cher
longchamp
nike free
ralph lauren uk
ferragamo
ralph lauren
2018.1.10xukaimin
Post a Comment