Last week, the New York Times posted the following article about smoking in film. They singled out Remember Me as a film that is "an example of a youth-friendly film that showed its dreamy lead character with a cigarette in hand".
NY Times.com 'Step Forward’ in Limiting Smoking Scenes in Films
Do you think that smoking is glamorized in Remember Me? Is there an anti-smoking message in the film also?
Regards sur le film Remember Me
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7 comments:
Okay, I read the NY Times article. First off, again they use the "PG-13 Romance" as RM's designation, then, in the next paragraph, switch to talking about "top-grossing" films, which we know RM was not. Given poor marketing though, RM did seem to be aimed at young people.
I think they picked out RM because of the 'dreamy actor'. It is very true that Pattinson made smoking sexy, cool. (A boyfriend I had did that too; I didn't pick up the habit but I watched him look sexy lighting up, dragging, the whole thing.) So, they have a point. And it is a hard habit to break, if young people take it up wanting to emulate Robert's habit, (which we all know he has, apart from his role in the film).
Much as I love this film, and much as I think it is sexy to see him smoking, I agree that I think it would have a negative impact on impressionable youth.
RM actually talked about Tyler's bad habit a number of times. Obviously people around Tyler were trying to get him to stop; he mentions at least twice that I remember, 'it's my last one' or something. 'It's a non-smoking statue'. 'I can't believe he smokes around you'.
I saw the smoking as another signpost that said "this film is not present day!!!". Smoking in a cab, even thinking about smoking in an office building, smoking in a bar....these are places that people do not even think about smoking being permitted today.
And there are also anti-smoking messages tied with people trying to get Tyler to stop smoking and even Caroline saying "I'm no that impressionable."
I am not sure that they actually watched the film, but were reacting to the marketing and the allegedly "teen audience film", which it really wasn't.
Rob is just a walking ciggarete ad! Lord knows he makes it look good. But that is so annoying that the only time the press recognizes this amazing film is to talk about smoking?! the media has an irrational hate towards Rob & they are just looking for reasons to knock the guy in everything he does. It's obvious the movie sends an anti smoking message & the idiots would know that if they had actualy watched the movie.
Kat, I agree with you. On the whole I found the article pretty boring anyway and not very useful. RM is, as you say, a film about another period in time when smoking was not looked upon as it is now. Anti-smoking reactions also seem stronger in America, people in France just don't care so much. I'm not sure anyone really noticed, actually. Once, they had to remove a poster of a film here about Coco Chanel because it showed the actress smoking, and people just laughed at that decision when they learned about it. You can't eliminate smoking from every movie in which it which it turns up.
They may have a point because smoking tends to be glamorized in the movies, particularly if the lead is dreamy. But it's just a prop, really. And I think the tendency is to make believe that the "young people" are more impressionable that they really are. Just because they will see a film in which the lead is smoking does not mean that they will take up smoking, it's silly really. They know the difference between fact and fiction. And they're exposed to far worst things when they watch the news. Honestly. So I would tend to say that this article is rather hypocritical and a bit shallow... and that they probably have not watched the film at all anyway, as you say. They must have googled it - lol.
I don`t agree with this label "an example of a youth-friendly film that showed its dreamy lead character with a cigarette in hand". I respect their point of view but I would like to say two things: 1. I don`t think smoking is glamorized in Remember Me. It looks natural to me to seeing Tyler smoking, it is part of the character, he smokes like many people of his age smokes; 2. What the filmmakers have to do? Do they have to banish cigarettes of their films? Do they have to pretend that people do not smoke anymore? Only the bad guys in films can smoke, if any? I don`t think so. Films are pieces of art, they have a compromise with the truth of their stories and characters and they don`t have the obligation or compromise to give moral lessons or good examples to people.
Even so, in Remember Me Fetters and Coulter show that Tyler had the intention to quit smoking and that he was encouraged by his little sister to stop. Everything happens in the film very naturally, without being didactic or seeming boring.
I never thought that the smoking in the movie Remember me was an advertisement to smoke or glamorize the character. Tyler was a young college age kid who like his peers enjoying smoking at home, in bars and in public places even walking down the street cigarette in hand this is how it was then and this is the way it is even today except many places don’t allow smoking in public places any longer.
Caroline told Tyler he promised to quit smoking. He was told not to smoke in his Father’s office. Caroline told the family she was going to draw a picture of Tyler with his favorite cigarette. He told Ally “Now he was pissed” when his cigarettes got wet. He also told her did she think Cigarettes were bad for him after she told him he should quit. She mentioned how they did the Heimlich Maneuver when she started choking on her first and only cigarette. When Ally walked out of his Mother’s house after Caroline’s hair incident he told her “I swear this is the last one ever.” So I think in reality they showed Tyler who enjoyed smoking and how he finally gave them up. I don't think the cigarettes dimished his role or influenced anyone to smoke at all.
ok Tyler smoked.... as a kid I smoked too.I think at one point or another most of us have or have tried smoking but it certainly wasn't a movie or an actor that made me do it. It was my parents smoking around me probably and peer pressure. I don't smoke and my husband doesn't smoke.Two out of my 3 kids don't, one does. He knows he shouldn't and he quits on and off but it certainly isn't because Rob or any other actor or movie made him do it. That's just ridiculous. There was an anti smoking message in the movie.If anyone bothered to really watch and see this movie they would have gotten that and a lot more out of it. More than Oh it's a Twilight kid movie. Makes me furious!!!!
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