Role of Media in Promoting Smoking & Tobacco Use

A new 685 page report from the National Cancer Institute (NCI) backs the claim that smoking in movies influences children to smoke. The report is called “The role of the Media in Promoting and Reducing Tabacco Use”.

The NCI found that tabacco advertising and marketing is causally linked to increased tobacco use. It also states that smoking depicted in films and movies are causally related to smoking initiation among youth. There are very few movies out there where smoking isn’t shown as a normal part of life. Smoking is done so casually on TV and movie programs that it simply seems like something anyone would normally do. This is most likely old news for most people, but the rate in which smoking scenes are appearing in movies may catch you slightly off guard.

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Bias of American Media – Influence of Media Money

As almost everyone would agree, media has a huge influence on our thought patterns and the way we perceive the world. With the presidential candidates starting to gain more press, the bias found in different networks and media groups starts to become more visible. The bias of the media is always influencing us daily, it just happens to be more noticed this time of year especially networks like CNN or ABC (left) versus networks like FOX (right). The way we make decisions about who we vote for to how we live our lives to what is right and wrong is built upon what we see and hear.

Back in September 2007, Gallup surveyed the American voters and found that 45% said the media is too liberal while 18% said the media is too conservative. I fall into the 45% category so there is my personal bias! The sad thing is most of it goes unnoticed because we get so used to it that our standards of what is liberal and conservative shifts over time.

One way of determining the bias of media is to look at the people who make up those companies and publishes the material and their contributions to the political parties. The following are total 2008 PAC contribution figures and where the majority of that contribution went. I’ve noted the more well known companies. [Facts provided by opensecrets.org].

Media Industries
Books, Magazines & Paper – $12 Million [78% to Democrats]
Motion Picture Industry – $8.9 Million [89% to Democrats]
Cable & Satellite TV – $6.3 Million [63% to Democrats]
Music Recording Industry – $3 Million [79% to Democrats]
Television Production / Distribution – $2.3 Million [86% to Democrats]

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There is Media, then there is Reality – Abortion

On one side, we see life through the lens of media. We see love stories, we see excitement, we see happy endings. Then there is reality where there are life scarring break ups, daily boredom that drives you mad, and people who are not very happy with where there life is going. We watch, see what we want, expect our lives to be pan out in a similar way and when it doesn’t.. we can easily become discontent with what we have now. Why don’t I have this? Why don’t I live like that?

Last week I wrote a blog post on media’s affect on sexual freedom and how media glorifies the promiscuous, carefree lifestyle and how it has impacted our views on the merits of abstinence. Well on the other side of this lifestyle is the dark realities that go often unspoken. Scarred hearts, ruined lives, loss of trust in people after being hurt, and the big ones such as STDS and Abortion. The real life consequences that for some reason TV shows don’t like to highlight and if it does, the problem somehow wraps up in 30 minutes or an hour and all is good at the end.

There is a site called “abortionchangesyou.com” that has stories of real people and their real experience dealing with the emotional consequences of abortion. Some speak for themselves, others for a loved one. Either way its a stark reality check that life isn’t as simple as the fictional stories we see on our tv screens or movie theaters. It also gives a moment of pause for those battling between pro choice and pro life that amidst all the fighting and arguing, there are real people out there that we should be sensitive to especially as it has become such a prominent political issue.

Think: At current abortion rates, 1 in 3 women in the US will have an abortion by age 45.

My Child would have been 22 this year
As a teenager, I assumed legalized abortion was necessary for women to attain their educational and career goals. So it’s not surprising that when I became pregnant at 18, I had an abortion. 

I was completely unprepared for the emotional fallout after the abortion.

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Reacting to Religion Based Movies

No one would argue that movies and TV shows have tremendous impact on our culture and our worldview. Where do you get your concept of courage? How about what an ideal friendship should be like? An ideal spouse? What is acceptable when it comes to violence or any moral decisions? What is culturally normal and not normal when it comes to how we treat different circumstances, especially circumstances we’ve never experienced but may experience in the future? Would you know how guns work, or how two lovers engage in love? Where did you (or your parents who told you) get the idea of “if you put your mind to it, you can accomplish anything”? (Which I would argue goes against the grain of reality, though really nice to cling onto).

It has always been interesting to see how nonchalant viewers are to all the culture defining messages found in film. Either they don’t see it, or they don’t care. However when it comes to a faith themed movie, there seem to always be strong reaction. It is treated differently. Below are some excerpt from Breakpoint which describes this situation. Though the article itself is directed more towards Christian I found it to be an interesting read. 

When the Christian film Facing the Giants came out in 2006, far more interesting than the movie itself were the reactions to it. Mainstream critics were almost universally dismissive—it “feels like an overly earnest church sketch of the type many evangelical congregations use as a teaching tool on Sunday between the worship music and pastor’s message,”

And yet some enthusiastic viewers unwittingly gave the impression that they had enjoyed the film because it was their duty to do so. That impression was perhaps best summed up by Ted Slater of Boundless, who wrote, “Let’s not knock a movie that encourages faith in God.”

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Media’s Impact on Sexual Freedom

Has anyone noticed that all media articles regarding teen sex, condoms and abstinence always emphasize and focus on the spread of STDs and nothing else? Editorials and commentaries used to make the case of abstinence as a moral stance or a wholesome alternative to the sexually active world we live in. It also focused on the emotional risk involved with premarital sex. Now our culture has bent so far into the realm of sexual promiscuity that the only way people could even suggest abstinence is by fear of STDs. If you are going to raise the sexual freedom flag, why is abstinence ridiculed while ones who “score” or get “laid” considered cool or great?

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Themes of Wall-E

All about the Themes

Wall-E was definitely a Pixar quality film. I learned never to doubt Pixar no matter how peculiar or odd the trailers may be. I once questioned how good a movie could be about a talking fish. I was immediately blown away by Finding Nemo. In the same way, when I saw the trailer for some animated super hero movie I thought, could they really pull this off? It was incredible (that’s right i said it). So when a movie about talking cars came out I said, forget it I trust Pixar, it’ll be great. It was. When Wall-E’s trailer first came out about some small robot that barely talks.. I was game. As expected of Pixar, the story was well written, the CG animation was truly amazing especially in the way they humanize these robots, but what made this film special was its themes. No I am not talking about the romantic aspect of it (in fact I thought it was a bit too much) – but the themes of loneliness, relationships, comfort and materialism. Without giving away any of the story, the movie really highlights where our society is headed. Perhaps the extremity of what we see in the movie will never quite come true, but it does highlight the comfort driven mentality that all of us has. In fact in a span of 700 years (which the movie depicts), who knows, perhaps its very possible.Comfort is what drives us to do much of what we do. We study hard and try to beat everyone else in school so we could graduate with top honors. Why? So we could work hard and get a great job so we could live in comfort. It is common in our society to leave family or friends behind to go to a new school or a job. Parents may be sad, and friends upset but ultimately it is almost a given that leaving relationships like this is the right thing to do because hey, you have to earn a great living right? Perhaps it is due to technology and the ease of travel and communication, but honestly does it have to be this way? Is it really wrong for us to forgo a going to a good college or pursuing a great job because we value our relationships just that much more?

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Ironman and Prince Caspian – Clean Cut or Not?

 

Ironman

Honestly this movie didn’t peak my interest when I first saw the trailer. In fact the trailer wasn’t that great and looked like it would turn out to be a mindless action film with a poor plot. However after seeing stellar reviews across the board including a 93% rating in rotten tomatoes and A- rating in Yahoo, I went to watch this film. It ended up being a very well made movie. The plot was good story of redemption, the acting was great, the pace and mood was well controlled and the film work was well done. I also left thinking that it was a relatively clean movie opposed to all the movies that have come out these days. Violence was somewhat tame and sexual scenes very minimal. However that really got me thinking.

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Transformers – Why Writers Why?

 

Transformers was a visual treat. The CGI was stunning and the action was packed and suspenseful. I caught myself literally on the edge of my seat!

 

I enjoyed it because I did not go in expecting an awesome story or some grand epic. I expected entertainment and action and Michael Bay nailed that down pat as he always does in his action films. However I was disappointed that in what seems to be a movie for the entire family there was so much shameless effort to throw in sexual innuendoes (disrespectful body camera shots, note about Sam’s pheromones suggesting he wants to mate with the female) and unneccessary effort to throw in inappropriate jokes to create laughter (mother accidently believes son was masturbating, Autobot spraying oil from his groin area). Some of these are very quick and hard to catch – “hey dad, do you want me to be the 40-year old virgin’. Also there is a general overlying disrespect of authority figures. Did anyone notice every adult in the movie is shown to be dumb and clueless?

 

Why does this bother me?

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Spiderman 3 – Window to Human Condition?

Spiderman 3 is full of awesome effects and great fun as expected, but what has been getting some press is the insight of the human condition depicted in the character development of the characters.

 

Everyone loves Spiderman. People tell me it is because unlike most ‘superheroes’, Spiderman is a real human being with real human struggle. He wanted money to buy that fancy car to impress the girl. He takes pictures of himself bc he wants to do well as a photographer. He gets mad at his uncle for being a little intrusive. Who can blame him? We all can relate in some way.

 

The evolution of the Spiderman seems all too realistic. Spiderman 1 Peter was just trying to understand his power and its responsibilities. Spiderman 2 was about Peter struggling to accept the role of being a ‘hero’. Spiderman 3, peter has accepted his superhero status and is slowly becoming proud as the fame gets to his head.

 

We know this to be true to life.

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