In a likewise manner, take Taxi Driver, starring Robert De Niro. Society must change first, then films will follow suit. De Niro plays the part of a Vietnam veteran sickened by society. The semiotics of smoking suggests several traits within a single character, this much is true, yet it is so ingrained within Western culture to see a character who smokes as being cool and having a shed load of attitude that this overrides all else. I once went to a screening of The Exorcist and fell asleep.And are teenagers, whose screen idols smoke, more likely to smoke themselves? Im more inclined, as others are, to go along with the idea of peer pressure, of influences closer to home.He had with him Lou Reeds Take No Prisoners. Not the other way around. Jack Nicholsons character in The Shining doesnt reach for a cigarette despite suffering from what we can only describe politely as a mild bout of depression and paranoia. (Not that many years ago then Holmes, surely
) I settled down with a friend to listen to a record he had brought round to my place one evening.
But that aside, I do PE Foam wall sticker have some films I will watch time and time again and one of these films happens to be Casablanca. If ever a character needs to relax with and spark one up, its our friend Travis Bickle, yet, no, he decides to relax by doing some DIY that involves a pistol secreted up his arm and a mirror into which he can imagine conversations. The man is at the threshold to emotional hell, no, is in hell and as such, has scant regard for his cardiovascular system. Through a haze of smoke, he contemplates on what has been, in all honesty, a bit of a balls up of a life. During one of many rants during this particular performance, Lou Reed lights up a cigarette, then turns to the audience and says, and Ill never forget this: You cant have attitude without a cigarette. Recent research at the University of California has shown that stars smoking in films is back to the levels of the 1950s. The record is a bootleg recording, fairly rare to get hold of, and is of Lou Reed live. If a character is stressed out, he or she are still unlikely to reach for a Geri Haliwell yoga video.. Art reflects life. Now, health issues aside, role modeling aside, how in Gods name am I to find Bogarts portrayal of Rick half as enthralling if he doesnt chain-smoke his way through a breakdown? Sipping a mineral water and shrugging Cest la vie is not going to happen. Its not a genre of the arts I find particularly engrossing.
And whilst were at it, I dont want to see Clint Eastwood riding into town, sipping delicately from a bottle of Evian. He also looks cool. Hollywood isnt that powerful, nor should we ever let it become so. I am an awful watcher of films, I tend to fidget. This is causing worries amongst many health experts because it has been found that many teenagers, whose screen idols smoke, are likely to 3d foam wallpaper smoke themselves
