Up in Smoke Rebuttal

Michael Stonely

Dr. Wakeman

Composition 1101

3 November 2015

Why Making Movies with Tobacco Automatically Rated R is Meaningless

Humans are terrible at taking care of themselves. Day by day, medical discoveries are made and we figure out another way of treating our bodies better. We live as if we have no knowledge of how to take care of our bodies properly. Often our unhealthy habits are caused by being influenced in one way or another. David Edelstein wrote “Up in Smoke: Give movies with Tobacco an Automatic ‘R” to bring an idea to reduce smoking. While tobacco companies are no longer allowed to produce advertisements on television and sponsor sports teams, there is no restriction on characters in shows and movies smoking. His argument is that movies with tobacco should be rated R in order to keep children from being exposed to smoking at a young age and to prevent them from starting. In reality, giving ‘R’ ratings to movies with tobacco has a minimal effect.

Giving ‘R’ ratings to upcoming movies will do no effect in keeping children from being exposed to smoking by viewing movies. Some movies become classics and are shown to people of all ages for generations. I cannot remember how many times I watched 101 Dalmatians while I was growing up. The excitement of the Dalmatians escaping and the comedy provided by the pursuit by villains, Cruella De Vil, Horace, and Jasper made it one of my childhood favorite movies. Given that it is a classic Disney film from the 60’s, many people have seen the movie or at the least heard of it. Arguably the most famous character from the film is Cruella De Vil. Her key characteristics are, of course, her voluptuous fur coat, wild driving, and constant smoking. Cruella never lets go of her cigarette throughout the entire story. It’s not just this film that involves tobacco. Many other classics such as Peter Pan, Flintstones, Tom and Jerry, Bugs Bunny, and countless others are seen smoking a cigar or cigarette. While it is not...