Posted on 03/09/2004 2:21:37 PM PST by In_25_words_or_less
LOS ANGELES - If Nicolas Cage (news) lights a cigarette in a movie, Hollywood's ratings board should respond as if he used a profanity, according to authors of a new study that criticizes glamorous images of smoking in movies rated for children under 17.
Nearly 80 percent of movies rated PG-13 feature some form of tobacco use, while 50 percent of G and PG rated films depict smoking, said Stanton Glantz, co-author of the study, which examined 775 U.S. movies over the past five years.
"No one is saying there should never be any smoking in the movies," Glantz, a professor of medicine at the University of California, San Francisco, said Tuesday at a press conference at Hollywood High School. "What we're simply asking for is that smoking be treated by Hollywood as seriously as it treats offensive language."
He'd like to see more PG-13 movies that feature smoking like "Matchstick Men," "Seabiscuit" and the Oscar-winning "Chicago" get slapped with an R rating.
Since R-rated films typically earn less money because they are not open to most teenagers, Glantz said he hoped such a policy would discourage filmmakers from depicting unnecessary smoking, such as the nicotine-addicted worm aliens in "Men in Black."
The proposal includes an exception for historical figures who actually smoked as part of their public life, Glantz added. "For example, if they wanted to make a movie about Winston Churchill, they could show him with a cigar without triggering an R-rating, but the number of movies where that actually happens is very small."
The study was funded by the charitable foundation The Richard and Rhoda Goldman Fund and the National Cancer Institute (news - web sites).
Glantz singled out The Walt Disney Co. for smoking in the PG-rated "Holes" and G-rated "102 Dalmatians," Time Warner for its PG "Secondhand Lions" and "What a Girl Wants" and Sony Pictures Entertainment for its PG "Master of Disguise."
The Motion Picture Association of America, which rates films, did not immediately return calls for comment on the study or the ratings proposal.
Then the same standard should apply to homosexuality.
http://cc.ucsf.edu/people/glantz_stanton.html
Good idea.
You're kidding.
Just damn.
If you want on the list, FReepmail me. This IS a high-volume PING list...
Unless otherwise noted, grantees are located in California.
Arts
San Francisco Opera
San Francisco
$125,000
To underwrite the production of Verdis Il Trovatore in the 2003 season.
Children and Youth
Community Network for Youth Development
San Francisco
125,000
To create and test a series of program assessment and improvement tools that will allow youth serving organizations to demonstrate the impact of their work.
Democracy and Civil Society
Voting Counts
San Francisco
30,000
To increase voter registration and turnout among 18 to 24 year olds.
United Religions Initiative
San Francisco
75,000
To promote interfaith cooperation and to end religiously motivated violence.
Environment
California Alliance for Transportation Choices
Sacramento
25,000
For a statewide coalition to promote sustainable transportation through state policy protection and reform.
Childrens Museum of Washington
Washington, D.C.
20,000
To help bring the Rolling Rainforest exhibit to the Bay Area.
Forest Service Employees for Environmental Ethics
Eugene, OR
25,000
For an on-going whistleblower advocacy program to protect national forests from illegal, environmentally destructive activities, and protect whistleblowers from retaliation.
Land Trust for Santa Clara County
Gilroy
25,000
To preserve open space and agricultural lands.
Health
University of California, San Francisco Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education
San Francisco
30,000
For the SmokeFreeMovies project.
Jewish Affairs
Hillel of Silicon Valley
San Jose
60,000
To create the Puentes Entre Judios y Latinos program to open communication and forge relationships between Jewish and Latino students at four college campuses in Silicon Valley.
Population
Advocates for Youth
Washington, D.C.
60,000
For a public policy campaign to protect comprehensive sexuality education for Americas youth from censorship at the federal, state and local levels.
American Civil Liberties Union Foundation
New York, NY
75,000
For the Reproductive Freedom Project to protect womens reproductive rights at the federal, state and local levels.
Ipas
Chapel Hill, NC
50,000
To increase access to abortion in the United States by improving health facilities, providers and technology.
Social Services
La Cocina
San Francisco
100,000
For a small food business incubator for low-income food service entrepreneurs.
Womens Economic Agenda Project
Oakland
50,000
For computer and telecommunications skills training for very low-income women.
Violence Prevention
Peaceful Streets
San Francisco
30,000
For a program that provides instruction to San Francisco and Oakland elementary students on the dangers of guns.
It looks like a mix of good intentions and leftist icons.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.