.:My 2 Yen:.
TUESDAY, JUNE 22, 2004
Fans to Miyazaki: Stop Smoking
Famed anime director Hayao Miyazaki came in fifth, preceded by singer and actress Akiko Wada, actor Takuya Kimura, comedian Sanma Akashiya and actor/director/comedian Beat Takeshi.
Some of you may be wondering when Beat Takeshi was a comedian. It's quite a frightening thought, isn't it? I wonder what he does to hecklers.
Actually, he did stage comedy long before he was a film actor or director. For a good bio sketch of the man, check out the entry on him in Mark Schilling's Encyclopedia of Japanese Pop Culture.
He was in a comedy duo with another guy called 'Two Beats', which is where he gets the name 'Beat' Takeshi.
I'm surprised the Japanese care about smoking at all. And Takahata's the one who matters, since he's younger than Miyazaki anyway. Or maybe I just feel sorrier for him because he looks more like a salary man and not a celebrity.
Still, it's not really good to always be smoking on camera, and trying to be a good example for the kids as well. Though it's an addiction, it's still unhealthy, and kids should be brought up knowing so.
And for those celebrities we care about, we'd also want them to stop smoking so they don't dig an early grave.
I think that's a good way to put it.
But I don't really care if people are worried about the children as long as they don't try to slap smoking in movies with an R-rating like certain fascist organizations seem to want right now.
I don't like ideologues getting in the way of reason.
Smoking is such a minor vice. It doesn't warrant an R rating. If fans want to ask celebrities to stop smoking, that is one thing, but I think it's going a bit to far to start telling people that they can't watch a movie because of it.
As for the Japanese jumping on the anti-smoking bandwagon, I don't find it hard to believe. It's just another in a long list of cultural exports from the US to Japan.
So why are they labeling those types of movies with stuff like Contains Drug/Smoking Reference?
Soon, Surgeon General Warnings will be displayed on prior to the start of films along with the FBI warning.