Disney bans smoking!

[Wizard272002]

Disney bans smoking in films!?! (http://movies.yahoo.com/mv/news/va/20070725/118539394400.html)

[Shalot]

I didn't read the link, but I can remember being a teenager, watching a movie where the character smokes a cigarette and thinking that I needed a cigarette too. It didn't matter what kind of character it was most of the time - it's like you see it and you think you want it. I quit smoking over a year ago and I will occasionally want a cigarette. It's addictive and terrible and I can't speak for everyone, but if seeing characters smoke in a movie has even a subtle influence and causes impressionable people to want cigarettes then I think there should be limits on how cigarettes are portrayed in movies.

But then you get into censorship, which I don't agree with either. It's kind of like pornography vs. art - I know it when I see it.

Also, there is a an alchoholic's anonymous type billboard on the interstate and it shows the most appealing looking cold, amber, full-bodied bear in a pilsner and it makes me want to drink a beer so bad, and it's funny because the people that are supposed to see that ad and go get help are all probably thinking how much they'd like to drink a beer like that. They finally changed the picture on that ad to something more appropriate.

So if Disney is going to or has banned cigarettes then good since they mainly make movies for children.

[Video Drone]

I guess it's OK in the case of Disney, but it is really censorship and I don't like censorship. Many movies need cigarettes to represent the reality. I hope they leave the R-rated movies alone.

[kiobe]

I didn't read the link, but I can remember being a teenager, watching a movie where the character smokes a cigarette and thinking that I needed a cigarette too. It didn't matter what kind of character it was most of the time - it's like you see it and you think you want it. I quit smoking over a year ago and I will occasionally want a cigarette. It's addictive and terrible and I can't speak for everyone, but if seeing characters smoke in a movie has even a subtle influence and causes impressionable people to want cigarettes then I think there should be limits on how cigarettes are portrayed in movies.

But then you get into censorship, which I don't agree with either. It's kind of like pornography vs. art - I know it when I see it.

Also, there is a an alchoholic's anonymous type billboard on the interstate and it shows the most appealing looking cold, amber, full-bodied bear in a pilsner and it makes me want to drink a beer so bad, and it's funny because the people that are supposed to see that ad and go get help are all probably thinking how much they'd like to drink a beer like that. They finally changed the picture on that ad to something more appropriate.

So if Disney is going to or has banned cigarettes then good since they mainly make movies for children.

Is that some kind of political move? Seems odd to me. I grew up in a time when there was smoking everywhere, in the movies, cartoons, at home, in the supermarket, in offices, the post office, on busses, at the airport.....never made me want a cig. If Disney removes all smokers from thier films they are removing a percentage of the 'real' population, what service does that provide? when the kids leave the theatre and go home with thier mom or dad, that may well be smokers, what have they learned?

[kiobe]

Many movies need cigarettes to represent the reality.

I agree.

[Shalot]

Is that some kind of political move? Seems odd to me. I grew up in a time when there was smoking everywhere, in the movies, cartoons, at home, in the supermarket, in offices, the post office, on busses, at the airport.....never made me want a cig. If Disney removes all smokers from thier films they are removing a percentage of the 'real' population, what service does that provide? when the kids leave the theatre and go home with thier mom or dad, that may well be smokers, what have they learned?

yeah, I see your point - removing the cigarettes from the movies doesn't serve a real purpose I don't guess. But movies aren't real - sometimes you will see a movie based on real events, but so many movies are about escape, Disney movies especially.

The clothes the characters wear and the houses they live in don't match up with that character's earning capacity in the real world. The haircuts alone cost more than I make in a week, they wear designer clothes as costume, the furniture or an art piece might be borrowed for the set, which is sometimes real, sometimes not. And then you have soft drinks and pretzels being eaten, and the viewer sees those. And to top it all off, these characters in these make-believe worlds smoke cigarettes. Trends and products are often promoted through movies, sometimes unplanned, sometimes not, and cigarettes get a lot of free advertising through the movies in this way.

When Top Gun came out, Ray Bans became very popular at my elementary school. Why do 11 year olds need sunglasses that cost $100? (that was expensive for sunglasses in my day)

It does depend on the type of movie -- if you're watching a movie about junkies, the presence of cigarettes is expected, but I still can't see why cigarettes are needed in a Disney film.

On a side note, why were cigarettes even created (I am talking about Marlboros and Newports with those filters)? Do they need to have all that tar? Is it just me or is rolling tobacco in a paper less disgusting/stinky than smoking a Marlboro Red? It smells so BAD! I don't care about lung cancer - it's gross!

I am thinking that the main reason I wanted to quit smoking was the stink factor.

[kiobe]

yeah, I see your point - removing the cigarettes from the movies doesn't serve a real purpose I don't guess. But movies aren't real - sometimes you will see a movie based on real events, but so many movies are about escape, Disney movies especially.

The clothes the characters wear and the houses they live in don't match up with that character's earning capacity in the real world. The haircuts alone cost more than I make in a week, they wear designer clothes as costume, the furniture or an art piece might be borrowed for the set, which is sometimes real, sometimes not. And then you have soft drinks and pretzels being eaten, and the viewer sees those. And to top it all off, these characters in these make-believe worlds smoke cigarettes. Trends and products are often promoted through movies, sometimes unplanned, sometimes not, and cigarettes get a lot of free advertising through the movies in this way.

When Top Gun came out, Ray Bans became very popular at my elementary school. Why do 11 year olds need sunglasses that cost $100? (that was expensive for sunglasses in my day)

It does depend on the type of movie -- if you're watching a movie about junkies, the presence of cigarettes is expected, but I still can't see why cigarettes are needed in a Disney film.

On a side note, why were cigarettes even created (I am talking about Marlboros and Newports with those filters)? Do they need to have all that tar? Is it just me or is rolling tobacco in a paper less disgusting/stinky than smoking a Marlboro Red? It smells so BAD! I don't care about lung cancer - it's gross!

I am thinking that the main reason I wanted to quit smoking was the stink factor.

The Hollywood hype machine........keep your fingers and toes out of the gears. I really made it a point to teach my son as he was growing up to understand that TV and movies are either entertainment or real and it was interesting to see that it took him quite a while to get to the point the he knew the real from the unreal, entertainment from documentary. Commercials are another trap that kids fall into very easily. I'm still working on that one.