Smoking In Movies Is Irrelevant

Every few years, an activist group will decide that the most evil thing in the world is the image of celebrities smoking in movies

. It all started with TV, and the first "victory" for these activists was banning television cigarette ads. Gone are the days where you can turn on Saturday morning cartoons and watch Joe Camel chill out and smoke a cigarette. Then the groups went after smoking on TV and nowadays, it's hard to catch a Prime Time TV character lighting one up. On TV, it makes sense because those images are blasted through living rooms every night across America. But it starts to make less sense when you take that fight to the silver screen.

The irony is that I hate cigarettes. More than that, I hate cigarette smoke and the person smoking near me. When I say "hate", maybe I'm being too kind. I genuinely despise cigarettes and I'd be fine if they were illegal and I never had to see someone smoking one in public. But the fact remains that they, like a lot of things that are bad for you, are perfectly legal. However, the issue at hand here is not whether or not cigarettes are bad for you because we all know they are. The issue is whether or not they should be banned in the movies, or if their inclusion in a film constitutes an "R" rating.

The dilemma with this is that if you're making a movie that takes place before 1985 (or so), then you're going to have to show someone smoking. In the 50's, almost everyone smoked and having a movie take place in that time, especially if you have "bad" characters, you have to show someone smoking. Not every movie is set on having every little detail exact, but for those directors and producers that want to create a realistic film, they're going to have to have people smoking.

I, like many of you, get frustrated with the politically correct world we live in. It's hard to know what you can say and what you can do without offending people. Heck, offended groups can't even be consistent so what you say or do today can be acceptable now and offensive tomorrow. But I think the whole issue of smoking has gotten out of hand. We know smoking is bad, but don't rely on Hollywood to further your message. Hollywood is not responsible for raising kids or informing the world of the dangers that people may face.

by: Brad Sturdivant

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