|
OF course its annoying. And of course it starts with something 'bad', but it never ends there. I'm reminded of Gandalf's statement that he would take the Ring in order to do good, but that it wouldn't stop there...
If smoking is banned in the movie in case it encourages children & teens to start smoking, what about the books?
Its as if smoking has crossed over from being potentially dangerous to being immoral. I wonder how long smoking in the books will be acceptable? TH is a 'children's' book, but it seems an increasingly non-PC one. There's nothing in the book(s) that implies that smoking is wrong or 'dangerous'. Bilbo smokes & lives to over a hundred, & so do many of the other Hobbits & children read this! I wonder whether there are parents out there who do warn their children about the smoking in the book? I suspect that if TH was offered to a publisher today the smoking would not make it past the editor - it would be a case of 'If you want us to publish this the pipeweed will have to go!'
If smoking is not shown in the movie that's a clear statement about smoking in the book.
To me this is a bigger issue than whether smoking is dangerous & should be discouraged. Its about Hobbits as a people. Hobbits smoke, drink, eat too much & spend a lot of their time doing not very much - like going for long walks. They're a very laid back type of folk - adventures are 'nasty' & inconvenient because they 'make you late for dinner'.
|