Smoking Normalized on Screen
Normalization Bias
Table Of Contents
Conservative Trope Examples
Hutch (Bob Odenkirk) casually smokes a cigarette inside an interrogation room during the opening credits while the Animals "Don't let me be Misunderstood" plays in the background. Later in the movie we are taken back to the same interrogation room and Hutch continues to smoke his cigarette while officers unsuccessfully try to get information from him.
My Best Friends Girl (2008) Tank (Dane Cook) smokes a number of cigarettes both indoors and out despite the fact that smoking indoors was outlawed years earlier in Massachusetts, the city the film takes place.
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.
Bridget Jones The Edge of Reason (2004) Bridget (Renée Zellweger) and all of her close friends smoke cigarettes in multiple scenes throughout the movie. Whether they are at a bar, outside, or at one of their residences, cigarette smoking is a constant even though Bridget claims she's trying to quit.
Vince Vaughn smokes a cigarette while performing an exercise on the still rings during a gymnastics competition. He starts coughing and loses his cigarette, but proudly yells "I'm still holdings! Still holding!" as everyone applauds.
Staff Aside
It's funny because smoking and gymnastics don't go hand in hand.
Central Perk manager Gunther (James Michael Tyler) dramatically inhales and slowly exhales a cigarette and says "oh, dark mother. Once again I suckle at your smoky teat."
Mia (Uma Thurman) asks Vincent (John Travolta) if he would "roll me one of those, cowboy?" and he responds "you can have this one, cowgirl," handing her a pre-rolled cigarette. Vincent rolls one for himself and then they slowly smoke their entire cigarettes while conversing before their dinner arrives.
7 Tropes
6 Movies
1 TV Show