Smoking Glamorized on Screen

High Impact
1 Trope 1 Movie
Table Of Contents

Conservative Trope Examples

  • Thank You for Smoking (2005)
    The entire movie glamorizes smoking and ends with the conservative message conceding that smoking is bad for you, but that favors individual choice which includes education from parents over regulations against tobacco companies. As summarized by Nick Naylor in a speech before congress, "It's called education. It doesn't come off the side of a cigarette carton. It comes from our teachers -- and more importantly -- our parents. It is the job of every parent to warn their children of all the dangers of the world including cigarettes so that one day when they get older, they can choose for themselves."
    Staff Aside
    The movie is satire and Nick Naylor quits his job as a tobacco lobbyist at the end. But the movie only "concedes" the message that smoking is bad for you which everyone already knows. And the conservative message of trusting individuals to make the right choice wrt smoking is promoted. And the movies was funded\backed by Libertarians.

Conservative Biases

  • Conservatives have stood against liberal efforts to curtail cigarette smoking for decades
  • California's restaurant smoking ban went into effect in 1998. Can you image a country where smoking in restaurants or bars is prevalent as it was then? Who wants to sit at a bar or dinner table with someone smoking?

Impact of Trope: High

Severity: Very High   Prevalence: Average
The severe impact the glamorization of smoking in movies and tv shows in the past cannot be understated. Even today, smoking is still more common on screen than in real life and shows still normalize its use.