Should tobacco usage scene's be deleted?

[Lincsong]

Yes, this is a censorship question many people are contemplating.:rage: Any thoughts?

 

[Tony in Tarzana]

I'm not ready for a ten-minute version of "Casablanca," so no.

 

[LizzieMaine]

This is the most ridiculous thing the MPAA has come up with in a long career of coming up with ridiculous things. If Jack Valenti were still alive, he'd be spinning in his grave...

Fortunately, though, there are no plans to apply these standards retroactively to vintage films getting a theatrical release. Yet.

 

[Jay]

Personally, I'm very against all forms of censorship. It doesn't matter if it's bad. If they started that, how would I even trust a history book. Why stop at smoking, then. Let's just forget about the Indian Wars, the Civil War, slavery, corrupt politicians, WW1, WW2, the Cold War, DDT, asbestos...
It happened already. We cannot and should not change that. We've got the future for that.

 

[TaxMan1]

Political correctness run amuck. I fear for this country.

 

[Smithy]

Absolutely ridiculous. Unfortunately another example of political correctness and the nanny state attitude which seems to be infecting a large amount of countries these days.

 

[Kimberly]

Big brother at it's best. Movies where people are blowing each others brains out are ok and can get a PG 13 but heaven forbid someone light up a cigarette. I don't believe in censorship either and this is plain ridiculous!

 

[vonwotan]

This is truly sad. With all the extremely heavy drinking (scenes of actors draining liter bottles in a few long draws), drug use, all sorts of illegal acts, gory violence and other depraved acts but, because it is PC to villify smokers and smoking the MPAA in all their wisdom have decided this is not suitable for us to see?

 

[Daisy Buchanan]

Big brother at it's best. Movies where people are blowing each others brains out are ok and can get a PG 13 but heaven forbid someone light up a cigarette. I don't believe in censorship either and this is plain ridiculous!

Very well said Kimberly!!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap
I don't go to the movies so much anymore. But from what I can tell, just about anything without actual "sex" scenes can get a PG 13 rating, yet sexual context, sexiness, teens acting sexy, it's thrown in our faces. Yes, smoking is an unhealthy habit to pick up. But nowadays the sexual experimentation that teens are dealing with, often which they pick up online or in the movies, can be just as life altering. Then there is the blowing up, the shooting, all the violence like Kimberly mentioned.
Lets remember folks that movies are for the most part movies. People go to see them to escape from reality. Unfortunately nowadays kids are learning from what is meant to be a form of recreation, again an escape from reality.
Kids are taking things too literally.
This isn't the fault of movies, this is the fault of parents, schools, the smaller circles that are responsible for the teaching of our kids.. Argh, sorry if this isn't coming across too clearly, I'm just a bit annoyed.
I think cutting the smoking scenes out of movies would lead to some seriously short movies! Yes, smoking isn't a great habit to pick up. Are kids learning this from the movies? Possibly. But, I think they're learning a lot of other things as well. First smoking, then what?? Pretty soon the only movies that won't be chopped to bits by the MPAA's need to "watch over" will be cartoons, and even they have underlying connotations that would end up being scrutinized. I see the movie theater of the future, where the only movies that are allowed to be played are government propoganda films on how to lead a completely healthy, smoke free, sex free, violence free, and old movie filled with cigarettes free life!!:eusa_doh: [huh]

 

[Nick D]

There are things people say and publish in various media that I don't agree with, am offended by, or think is stupid, but I'm against censorship and if someone wants to say something, they should be alowed to. I do think the rating system is a little screwy (ala Daisy Buchanan's post).

If people want to censor smoking, where does it stop? What about showing violent crime on TV? So much for Columbo.

People are stupid. :eusa_doh:

 

[HadleyH]

"Anybody got a match?"

....asked a cigarrette-wielding Lauren Bacall in 1944's 'To Have and Have Not', igniting an erotic spark with Humphrey Bogart that even the neutered would have felt...."

(i do not think glamorizing cigarrettes is good i must say, it's just that I want to know ---"what are you going to do with old movies, with people smoking their heads off? are we going to digitally modify the old films?"---)

"...Anybody got a match, indeed..."

 

[Brooksie]

Very well said Kimberly!!:eusa_clap :eusa_clap
I don't go to the movies so much anymore. But from what I can tell, just about anything without actual "sex" scenes can get a PG 13 rating, yet sexual context, sexiness, teens acting sexy, it's thrown in our faces. Yes, smoking is an unhealthy habit to pick up. But nowadays the sexual experimentation that teens are dealing with, often which they pick up online or in the movies, can be just as life altering. Then there is the blowing up, the shooting, all the violence like Kimberly mentioned.
Lets remember folks that movies are for the most part movies. People go to see them to escape from reality. Unfortunately nowadays kids are learning from what is meant to be a form of recreation, again an escape from reality.
Kids are taking things too literally.
This isn't the fault of movies, this is the fault of parents, schools, the smaller circles that are responsible for the teaching of our kids.. Argh, sorry if this isn't coming across too clearly, I'm just a bit annoyed.
I think cutting the smoking scenes out of movies would lead to some seriously short movies! Yes, smoking isn't a great habit to pick up. Are kids learning this from the movies? Possibly. But, I think they're learning a lot of other things as well. First smoking, then what?? Pretty soon the only movies that won't be chopped to bits by the MPAA's need to "watch over" will be cartoons, and even they have underlying connotations that would end up being scrutinized. I see the movie theater of the future, where the only movies that are allowed to be played are government propoganda films on how to lead a completely healthy, smoke free, sex free, violence free, and old movie filled with cigarettes free life!!:eusa_doh: [huh]

First it's smoking then you are right violence and cartoons "will" probably be next. At this rate eventually even cartoons could be sensored, especially the one's I grew up watching as a kid. Take a look at road runner ever see how violent that was. If eventually movie theatres only play government propaganda, the movie theatres will probably end up closing down and nobody will even want to rent movies anymore if everything was sensored. How boaring life will become, let's hope this does not happen.

 

[Amy Jeanne]

I think this is a stupidest idea I've heard in a long time. I hate censorship. Not for it.

 

[LizzieMaine]

One important thing to point out -- the MPAA has nothing to do with the government. It's a trade organization for the motion picture industry, established as a self-censorship body, and although most of its high officials going back to the days of Will H. Hays have been drawn from the ranks of government, the organization has no force whatever under the law. The many asininities perpetrated by the organization over the years have been the result of the industry itself knuckling under to various lobbying groups and not due to pressure from Uncle Sam. I think that's an important distinction to draw.

 

[MrPumpernickel]

That's like saying that you shouldn't make movies with guns beacuse it promotes people killing people, or that you shouldn't make movies with anvils because it promotes children trying to kill very fast birds with them.

It's ridiculous if anything and censoring that is basically the last nail in the coffin of freedom of expression I'd say. If you can't express something simply because it may be unhealthy for someone somewhere then you could just as well outright ban all fastfood commercials. If the government is going to look after our health to the degree of banning anything unhealthy, or even like in this case just on-screen signs of it, then we truly have entered a big brother society.

I've seen lobby groups who've worked for not removing such scenes but with digital help replacing the cigarettes with various other things. Though, I have a hard time seeing Jack Nicholson, Peter Fonda and Dennis Hopper sitting around a camp fire getting stoned on party blowers or candy canes. The MPAA may not have anything to do with the government, but they do lobby work trying to change laws and push their own interests, so in that way they are working the government just like many other lobby groups for other industries do.

Apologies for sort of touching politics with this entry, but things like that makes me really freakin' upset.

 

[Elaina]

They already do censor cartoons. Remember Mammy from Tom and Jerry? My son has no idea why I yell "Thooooomas!" at the screen because Mammy was deemed too sterotypical to continue to be shown (which it probably is.)

 

[MrNewportCustom]

There are already Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartoons we cannot see because of censorship.

Spielberg CG'd out all the guns the government agents carried in E.T. and substituted radios.

Censorship is alive and thriving in America. PC is antihumor, antientertainment, antireality. It denies real life. I call the participants of political correctness "Perfect worlders."

Censorship should be completely personal: if you don't like it, don't watch it.


Lee

 

[Lincsong]

What about Cheech and Chong's UP IN SMOKE????

First smoking, then what?? Pretty soon the only movies that won't be chopped to bits by the MPAA's need to "watch over" will be cartoons, and even they have underlying connotations that would end up being scrutinized. I see the movie theater of the future, where the only movies that are allowed to be played are government propoganda films on how to lead a completely healthy, smoke free, sex free, violence free, and old movie filled with cigarettes free life!!:eusa_doh:

Well, I just bought the Complete Droopy Theatrical Series and on the package their is disclaimer saying the contents may not be suitable for children and before the start of the cartoons there is a disclaimer about various pc things that may appear on the discs. Fortunately the cartoons are uncut and unedited, but with a disclaimer I can just envision that soon these cartoons will be banned.:rage:

I recently bought Flower Drum Song on DVD from Amazon and in the review section some lady from Kentucky wrote how offended she was that there were smoking scenes. Lighten up sis, you live in Kentucky where they grow tobacco.:eusa_doh: MORON!

 

[Lincsong]

They already do censor cartoons. Remember Mammy from Tom and Jerry? My son has no idea why I yell "Thooooomas!" at the screen because Mammy was deemed too sterotypical to continue to be shown (which it probably is.)

No child today or even in 1977 would know the stereotype behind Mammy. People today don't even know recent history let alone 150 years ago.[huh]

 

[Doh!]

Didn't George Bailey smoke in It's a Wonderful Life? Horrors!! Children should not be allowed to see such things!

I know, I know, the rule doesn't apply to old movies but that might be a way to fight this if it passes: if multiplexes devote one of their screens to old movies (or even not so "old" fare like Superman -- The Movie [Lois Lane smoked]) to demonstrate that smoking in movies CAN be appropriate for all ages, maybe the MPAA will see the silliness of it all.

Not very realistic, I realize.