Last night, we were watching television and I caught something as a movie ad was just about to end - the word "tobacco." Fortunately, we have TiVo and I could scroll back and read the reference more closely.
I don't remember the exact wording but it was a disclaimer stretched across the bottom of the standard miniature version of the basic credits and above and in larger type than the normal rating and reason for that rating.
It basically warned potential viewers of the depiction of tobacco use.
That's right. Tobacco use.
Not graphic depictions of horror, overblown violence, incredibly excessive language or sex scenes which leave absolutely nothing to the imagination.
Tobacco use.
I'm a proponent for protecting against the slippery slope, that dangerous point of no return where if you set a precedent, you leave the proverbial barn door open for the activity to continue and then spread to include more things.
Don't get me wrong - I think the steps our culture has taken to limit second-hand smoke are, in large degree, good for us. Yet, this comes at the cost of limiting adults' freedom to use the product, which is still legal in this country.
I think we must be careful as a nation how much personal freedom we restrict and that when we choose to limit it, it must be for good reason.
I think giving general descriptions of why a movie has the rating it does is fine.
However, if don't exercise caution in delivering these warnings, then everything will be bad for us and we won't be able to make any decisions for ourselves without having everything disclaimed.
Then, we'll be puppets and not a collective of independently-thinking citizens.
Sunday, June 08, 2008
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