• I broke up with my ashtray

    Posted on July 30th, 2007 by and currently 9 commenting.

    Last week Walt Disney Co. took a fairly bold step, Disney will ban cigarettes in its family films, and discourage it in others” like the adult film divisions: Touchstone and Miramax.

    Actors and actresses have been puffing away in movies and in television since the 50′s. I can see this being a real hard sell for Disney with the Miramax writers and directors. It’s cool to see a character smoke, it’s artistic and it says things about a character that chewing a piece of gum can’t.

    I do find myself asking many times why did they put smoking in that scene. I did so last night watching Entourage. And I still remember a ‘King of Queens’ episode when Carrie went outside and smoked a cigarette, it was just random.

    One thing I do know from first hand experience working with Rage Against The Haze and the whole smoking in the movies issue. Teens are very aware of smoking in the movies and they have used this as a point to argue with RAGEers many times. Teenagers use many things rational or not to validate their behaviors. And seeing a cool character smoke, makes it a little easier to walk right out of that theater and light up.

    The latest Dartmouth study found that 38 out of 100 who tried smoking do so because of exposure to smoking in movies. I don’t think we will ever see smoking removed from all movies but I do think smoking in certain roles should be questioned. Did the aliens in Men In Black need to be seen packing cigarettes as they were leaving earth? I don’t think so.

  • http://www.brainsonfire.com Mr. Steve

    In the interest of full disclosure, I am typically the one driving the Disney Bandwagon around these parts. But I am also very intrigued by this story from an artistic standpoint.

    As an actor and director, I am always fascinated by the amount of smoking in plays and movies. Why? Because smoking is usually a cop-out. It is the easiest way to set someone up as a bad guy or rebel. Easy. VERY easy. And I hate easy. It leaves the audience longing for talent and character development.

    Someone who contributes to one of the Disney related blogs out there made the comment that Cruella DeVil smoked…but she didn’t have to for us to believe she was evil. I think that pretty much sums up the argument to keep smoking out of films and videos and tv that is marketed to teens and younger. Let the character and the script do the work they are supposed to do. I’m tired of the smoking, tattooed, beer drinking bad guy…heck, until recently, all of those things applied to me.

    Simply put, do your job well, and you won’t have to rely on cheap tricks to convey your message.

  • http://www.interwoventhreads.com/blog Andy Woolard

    Good post and nice job balancing the artistic and health views. Maybe what we need, as well, are some more scenes of social alienation, poor health and the struggles of quitting. Little dose of reality. Keep up the great work with Rage, too.

  • http://www.trajectory4brands.com eric brody

    I applaud the Disney brand for taking this step. Any which way you look at it, it can only help thwart this killer habit. However, I wish they would have “more than discouraged” their siblings — Touchstone and Miramax — from showing cigarette smoking on the big screen. Given the increasing transparency of organizational brands (and the brands that comprise their portfolios), I think some will question why Disney didn’t push harder with their other brands. I know I do. Nevertheless, good first step.

  • Jennifer R.

    The purist in me, however, balks at the thought that they will be “revising” future releases of classic films. I don’t believe we should rewrite history when we march into the future. Rather, I would prefer a disclaimer at the beginning of the presentation, much like Leonard Maltin does in the Chronological Donald DVD series when a cartoon from the 1930s that would be construed as insensitive today is included.

  • http://www.brainsonfire.com Mr. Steve

    Jennifer – They did try to remove smoking from previous releases already…if you bought the new version of Melody Time, they have digitally removed Pecos Bill’s cigarette…which does lead to some very strange gestures and facial expressions. After that, most of the management have decided to keep the classics the way they are, and simply work on what they will do in the future. It is a company that knows the hazards of smoking…Walt Disney died from lung cancer after being a chain smoker most of his life. So it appears as though this decision is to change the future, not rewrite the past.

  • Jennifer R.

    Don’t get me wrong, I applaud this move with every bit of me. Walt’s death to lung cancer was a tragedy–who knows what more he could have accomplished? I read an article on a Disney site that mentioned revising new releases of the classics as well, but if you have information contrary, I’m glad to know it as I prefer films that were already made in another era not to be touched.

    I should have been more clear in my previous comment that I applaud Disney’s stance greatly!

  • http://www.brainsonfire.com Mr. Steve

    Jennifer – I apologize…I may have been too eager to defend a company I am passionate about. After I posted about Disney execs not touching the classics, I decided to poke around, and see if I could prove that. And I can’t. Iger’s press release says that tobacco use is “off-limits” in it’s family-oriented Disney brand. So while I like to think that the classics are sacred, I may be wrong. Just another example of someone loving a brand so much, that they think they know more than they really do.

  • Jennifer R.

    Believe me, I share your passion, no offense was taken. I’m usually the first person my friends come to when planning a Disney trip! LOL

    And I believe we share the “classics are sacred” viewpoint. :-)

  • http://brainsonfire.com Geno

    Another thought on this is the generational angle. Disney’s stance will prove health beneficial for the future generations. I grew up seeing smoking on television and of course commericials.