I remember when I was in NYC this past March, there were huge amounts of anti-smoking ads every where I looked. They were on cab cars, billboards, and buildings – just to name a few. When I saw all of these “signs” I wondered – “wow people are starting to really fight this.”
I’m not saying that I think smoking is entirely bad, and that I am anti-cigarettes. I believe that the main focus of these campaigns should be about keeping children away from smoking, not every person on this planet needs to stop smoking - that will never happen. The advertising companies need to try to protect children until at least the age of 18 years of age, then it really doesn’t matter after that what they do because technically they are "adults," who can see "R" rated movies.
The reason I bring this up is because the MPAA, Motion Picture Association of America, has decided that the amount of smoking in movies will affect the way a movie is rated.
"An R-rated film may include strong language, violence, nudity, drug abuse, other elements, or a combination of the above, so parents are counseled in advance to take this advisory rating very seriously," says the MPAA. Smoking will now be added to this list.
As an adult (the people who can see "R" rated movies), smoking shouldn’t affect their senses as much, since smoking was probably introduced to them a long time ago - it is part of our culture. So with this change it should help - minorly - yeild the children from a popular smoking culture.
The MPAA should put such harsh ratings on movies, even though it’s the parent's or guardian's job to check out what their children are watching, though sometimes they don't. MPAA, needs to help be the nanny, you could say.
But as our culture grows, there will always be problems with what other people do, more regulations thrown on movies, and more laws on prohibiting certain people to see them.
So the next time you’re around a child and watching a movie, remember to shield their eyes when a cigarette pops up on the screen.
