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Scene Smoking: Cigarettes, Cinema & the Myth of Cool
Instructor's
Guide for College
Also available in Adobe Acrobat Format (PDF-230K)
A documentary film by Terry Moloney: Smoking in Film and Television—Hollywood
Insiders Speak Out About Artists’ Rights, Social Responsibility, and the First
Amendment
Scene Smoking
From fashion styles to music trends, young people often emulate celebrity
behavior that they see on-screen, including the use of tobacco. In Scene Smoking, a one-hour documentary, professionals from the
entertainment and health fields discuss real-life choices they’ve made and
what they think about the depiction of tobacco on-screen. This film brings
together some of Hollywood’s most powerful voices in a frank discussion of
artists’ rights, social responsibility, and the First Amendment.
The First Amendment protects artists’ rights—yet many artists, once they
leave school and are faced with the realities of earning a living, discover
that several outside factors influence their work. Movie studios demand
edits to ensure a certain rating, television networks issue standards and
practices guidelines dictating language and subject matter, and even
Congress regularly demands ratings that tell parents exactly what’s in a
particular film or TV show.
The video can be used in a number of different subject areas, including
film studies, directing, screen writing, media studies, acting, photography,
communications, journalism, public relations, political science, ethics,
law, public health, and health education. This guide provides college and
university professors with instructional strategies that can be used with
the video.
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Fast Facts About Tobacco and Its Use in the Media
Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in the United
States, accounting for more than 440,000 deaths each year. Although major
strides have been made in reducing tobacco use among U.S. adults, rates of
tobacco use among teens remain high: in 2001, 28.5% of high school students
used some form of tobacco.1 Tobacco
use and addiction usually begin in adolescence.1,
2 Among U.S. adults who ever smoked daily, 82% tried their
first cigarette and 53% became daily smokers before 18 years of age.2,
3 The costs associated with tobacco use total more than $150
billion a year—$75.5 billion per year in medical expenses and $81.9 billion
in lost productivity.4
Although the behaviors and attitudes of family and friends are the main
influences on adolescent decisions to use tobacco, the media—films,
television, and the Internet—also influence these decisions.5-8 According
to recent studies,
- Current movie heroes are three to four times more likely to smoke than
are people in real life.5, 6, 9
- Young people in the United States watch an average of three movies a
week, which contain an average of five smoking episodes each, adding up to
about 15 exposures to smoking a week. Young people may be exposed to more
smoking in movies than in real life.6
- A teen whose favorite star smokes is significantly more likely to be a
smoker.8
- Approximately two-thirds of films seen today show tobacco use,
including films that are rated PG or PG-13 and intended for young
audiences.10
- Films depicting tobacco use are increasing and are reinforcing
misleading perceptions that smoking is a widespread, socially desirable,
and normal behavior, and they fail to convey the long-term consequences of
tobacco use.7
Thumbs Up! Thumbs Down!, a project of the American Lung
Association of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails in which teens reviewed the 500
top domestic box office movies between 1991 and 2001, reported the following
findings in Tobacco Use in the Movies, Annual Report Card 2001:
- Tobacco was used in 75% of all movies reviewed. Most tobacco use took
place in enclosed areas, usually around nonsmokers.
- 43% of the movies showed scenes in which tobacco use could be
interpreted as attractive, with qualities described by teens as sexy,
exciting, powerful, cool, sophisticated, rebellious, and celebratory,
whereas 27% of the movies included some type of anti-tobacco statement.
- Top-billed actors, as defined by the Internet Movie Database, lit up
in 59% of all movies reviewed.
For more information on this study, visit the following Web site:
http://www.saclung.org
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Pre-Viewing Activities
Pretest: Administer
Scene Smoking—Your Opinions to assess students’ knowledge, attitudes, and opinions about artists’
rights, the First Amendment, social responsibility, and tobacco use in films
and on television. Have students discuss their responses.
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Post-Viewing Activities
I. Discussion Questions
- Does the First Amendment protect filmmakers’ and actors’ freedom to
depict anything they choose?
- What might be some constraints on artists’ rights (e.g., Motion
Picture Association of American [MPAA] ratings, Broadcast Standards &
Practices)?
- What role does social responsibility play in tobacco use depiction in
films? Censorship?
- What is accurate, appropriate depiction of tobacco use; what is
inaccurate, inappropriate depiction of tobacco use?
- Would on-screen tobacco use create any health issues on the set?
- If a tobacco company offered funding for a film project that you were
working on, would you take the money offered? Why?
- In general, if smoking were removed from a scene in a movie, would the
scene be the same or different? If different, how? Give an example.
- What is your opinion of actors being paid to use a particular brand of
cigarette in a film?
- What characteristics does smoking create on-screen? What other ways
could they be shown?
II. Situations to Consider
- In My Best Friend’s Wedding, Julia Roberts portrays a food critic who
chain-smokes throughout the film. The film is a PG-rated family comedy.
Discuss other choices the actress could have made to demonstrate tension.
Is smoking a necessary choice in this film? Does the actress have the
right to make this choice despite the intended audience?
- Director Michael Bay consistently makes blockbuster films that have no
tobacco portrayals. Pearl Harbor was widely criticized for having no
smoking in it despite the era featured. However, smoking rates were lower
before the United States entered WWII than they are today. Discuss the
director’s right to make such choices and the need for accurate research
when depicting tobacco historically.
- In the film Volcano, John Carol Lynch decided NOT to smoke even though
his character was written as a smoker. Discuss the acting choice to resist
smoking rather than to light up and the benefits and downfalls associated
with such a choice.
III. Follow-up Evalution
Administer Scene Smoking—Your Opinions again during a later class
session. Have students discuss how their opinions, knowledge, and attitudes
changed after viewing the documentary.
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Teaching Notes
Viewing Objectives
- Discuss the rights and freedoms defined in the First Amendment of the
U.S. Constitution and their influences on the production of film.
- Differentiate between censorship and social responsibility.
- Distinguish between normalization, glamorization, and responsible and
irresponsible use of tobacco in the media.
- Describe how social responsibility relates to
artistic freedom and the depiction of tobacco use in the media.
Terminology
- Artistic Freedom: Artistic expression that is protected by the
First Amendment.
- Censorship: The removal or suppression by a government or other ruling
body of what is considered objectionable in books, films, and other
material.
- First Amendment: Prohibits the government from passing laws
that restrict the freedom of speech and protects the public’s right to
receive a variety of information free from government censorship.
- Glamorization: Presenting tobacco use as glamorous and
conveying desirable qualities such as popularity, success, and
attractiveness.
- Media Literacy: The ability to use critical thinking skills in
accessing, analyzing, evaluating, and creating media.
- Normalization: Presenting tobacco use as a routine, natural,
and acceptable part of everyday activities.
- Product Placement: An arrangement between tobacco and film-production
companies to have a specific brand of tobacco used in a film or by an
actor. Tobacco product placement is prohibited by the 1998 Master
Settlement Agreement between the tobacco industry and 46 states.
- Social Responsibility: Going beyond one’s obligations to obey
the law; having a desire to do the right thing and being prepared to give
good reasons to justify one’s actions.
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References
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Trends in cigarette
smoking among high school students—United States, 2001. MMWR
2002;51(19):409–412.
- Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010. With
Understanding and Improving Health and Objectives for Improving Health, Vol 2. 2nd ed. Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office; 2000:27-3.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tobacco Information and
Prevention Source. Overview. Retrieved on December 1, 2001, from
http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/issue.htm.
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Annual
smoking-attributable mortality, years of potential life lost, and economic
costs—United States, 1995–1999. MMWR 2002;51(14):300–303.
- Sargent JD, Beach ML, Dalton MA, Mott LA, Tickle JJ, Ahrens MB,
Heatherton TF. Effect of seeing tobacco use in films on trying smoking
among adolescents: cross sectional study. British Medical Journal
2001;323:1394–1397.
- Smith M. Movies breed teen smokers. WebMDHealth. Retrieved on December
15, 2001, from http://my.webmd.com/condition_center_content/smk/article/3606.1076.
- Thompson KM, Yokota F. Depiction of alcohol, tobacco, and other
substances in G-rated animated feature films. Pediatrics
2001;107(6):1369–1374.
- Tickle JJ, Sargent JD, Dalton MA, Beach ML, Heatherton TF. Favorite
movie stars, their tobacco use in contemporary movies, and its association
with adolescent smoking. Tobacco Control 2001;10:16–22.
- Meyer C. Rising up from the ashtrays: cigarettes return to films in a
big way. San Francisco Chronicle, December 27, 2001.
- STARS, American Lung Association. A Dialogue on Artists’ Rights,
Social Responsibility, and Tobacco Depiction in Movies & TV: Tobacco, a
Prop Young People Can Live Without. Los Angeles: American Lung
Association.
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Scene Smoking Your Opinions
Directions: Circle the best answer and be prepared to defend your choice.
- What is your perception of tobacco use in film?
- The amount of smoking realistically reflects smoking in society.
- Smoking is minimal in films and is only used for necessary dramatic
effect.
- Depiction of smoking in films happens more frequently than smoking
in the general public.
- No opinion.
- Product placement of cigarettes, which is the process of arranging for
an actor to use a particular brand of cigarettes in a film, was banned in
1998. Since that time, do you think that smoking in films has
- Increased?
- Decreased?
- Stayed the same?
- Do you think tobacco companies have used films to market their
products over the past 10 years?
- Yes.
- No.
- The film industry’s depiction of tobacco in the last decade has been
- Responsible.
- Irresponsible.
- No opinion.
- How do you feel about the tobacco industry’s influence in Hollywood?
- I’m against it.
- I’m not bothered by it.
- I’ve never thought about it.
- They have the right to advertise their product just as any other
industry does.
- I don’t think they have any influence in Hollywood.
- Do you believe that what people see in film affects their knowledge?
- Yes.
- No.
- Do you believe that what people see in film affects their attitudes,
opinions, beliefs, and values?
- Yes.
- No.
- Do you believe that what people see in film affects their behavior?
- Yes.
- No.
- Do actors who smoke in films influence young people’s smoking
behavior?
- Yes.
- No.
- It depends on the situation.
- 10. When an actor smokes on-screen, it is most often because
- The director thinks it’s a good idea.
- The writer put it in the script.
- The actor thinks it fits the character and situation.
- The actor smokes in real life.
- Who do you think should have the final say of whether or not a film
should show smoking? (Circle one)
- Producers/Studios.
- Actors.
- Parents.
- Directors/Writers.
- Advertisers.
- Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).
- Government.
- In your opinion, should production sets have a policy concerning
smoking on the set?
- Yes.
- No.
- Which one of the following best defines social responsibility?
- The protection of free speech.
- To have an inclination to do the right thing.
- The right to receive and provide information free of censorship.
- It is a synonym for the First Amendment.
- Which one of the following best defines artistic freedom?
- A form of expression that is protected by the First Amendment.
- Portrayal in a realistic manner.
- I know it when I see it.
- An absolute right to freedom from government intrusion.
- In your opinion, which of the following people or groups play a role
in making recommendations on what should or should not be in films?
(Please circle all appropriate answers.)
- Producers/Studios.
- Actors.
- Parents.
- Directors/Writers.
- Advertisers.
- MPAA.
- Government.
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Acknowledgements
Two of the people in this documentary should be especially noted for
their contributions:
Dr Jeffery Wigand is the highest-ranking executive in the tobacco
industry to come forward with important public health information that was
withheld by the tobacco industry. His story is told in the movie The
Insider. Find out more about him on http://www.jeffreywigand.com.
Jack Klugman, an actor well known for his television roles as a medical
examiner in the television drama Quincy, M.E. and as a slovenly sportswriter
in the comedy series The Odd Couple, now has difficulty speaking. Part of
his larynx has been removed because he has had throat cancer caused by years
of smoking.
The video accompanying this curriculum was produced by the American Lung
Association of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails under a grant provided by the
California Department of Health Services Tobacco Control Section. All rights
to the video are wholly owned by the California Department of Health
Services, Tobacco Control Section.
Susan Giarratano Russel, EdD, MSPH, CHES is the major contributor to
these guides.
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Scene Smoking: Cigarettes, Cinema & the
Myth of Cool
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