Cigarette smoking is increasingly drawing ire from activists who want an R-rating slapped on any film with characters puffing as a child protection measure.
A “New York Times” article by A.O. Scott said smoking seems to be the enduring controversy from 20th Century Fox’s “Avatar”—the blockbuster in which viewers claim to see all kinds of other messages. In the PG-13 film, Sigourney Weaver (who portrays a crusty scientist) says at one point, “Where’s my damn cigarette?”
Notes the article: “Since 2007, [major studio trade group] the M.P.A.A. has considered smoking when it makes its judgments, and one studio, Disney, has since then made all its family films smoke free… Does it matter that [Weaver’s] smoking, according to [‘Avatar’ director James] Cameron, is meant to emphasize the less attractive aspects of her temperament.”
The rationale is kids will imitate what they see on the screen, but the Scott article takes issue with that.
“Social scientists doggedly pursue evidence of correlations between on- and off-screen behavior, while some commentators insist that no such connections could possibly exist,” says the article. “The rest of us know perfectly well that we don’t play with anvils and dynamite just because we see Wile E. Coyote do it, though perhaps those Looney Tunes are cautionary tales.”
The interesting article goes on to note that determining audience classification ratings is subjective. Uplifting teen-coming-of-age drama “Billy Elliot” received a restrictive rating because of some coarse language that isn’t so controversial in Britain, where the film was made.
Romantic comedy “It’s Complicated” received an R-rated despite no steamy sex. That rating is entire due to one passage of mild drug use with no adverse consequences on the characters.
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