what's with the smoking?
Thu, 08/06/2009 - 20:04
I'm on book 2, and I really like it. But what is up with all the smoke scenes? We can't go through an episode without spending a minute talking about lighting cigarettes.
Sat, 08/08/2009 - 07:19
#1
As a heavy smoker who has not
As a heavy smoker who has not had a cigarette for 18 years I find the cigarettes help with the mood.
It is so politically correct to not smoke a bit of smoking is great anti social behaviour.
Sat, 08/08/2009 - 08:19
#2
Consider the genre
Think about movies like Pulp Fiction or Reservoir Dogs, or old hardboiled stories, and everybody is smoking pretty much 24/7. That's one of those characteristic things of the crime/pulp/hardboiled genre.
One of the big reasons for that is it does a great job of adding sensory elements to the story. As soon as you read "Jack lit up a smoke", you can smell it, you can hear the lighter spark, if they're inside, everything seems a little hazy from the smoke... as bad as smoking is in real life, it's fantastic for writing :)
Sat, 08/08/2009 - 11:33
#3
in the old black and whites...
Yeah, man. In those old black and whites, nobody STOPS smoking!
;-)
I kind of love that in the movies. My favorite examples are Le Samorai and, though some have put a smackdown on this film, the Eliot Gould version of The Long Goodbye is great to me, IF ONLY because Eliot Gould does his best to smoke his way through EVERY scene!
Love that, for what it's worth.
Sat, 08/08/2009 - 16:04
#4
Heh
Contrary to what grown ups told you as a kid, people on tv really do look cool when they're smoking.
Of course, people on tv look cool when they're shooting and kicking each other's asses, too.
Sat, 08/08/2009 - 17:17
#5
smokin!
Yeah, but when they're smoking? Damn, they look cool.
Try it: go back and watch a black and white where they smoke the whole time and see if it doesn't make you wanna light one up for a minute.
(not that I do... anymore.)
Sat, 08/08/2009 - 18:31
#6
Oh man
I completely 100% quit a little less than a year ago, and watching or reading about people smoking makes me want one so bad (until I walk by a smoker, then it all goes away).
Sun, 08/09/2009 - 16:22
#7
I agree with the comments below in the affirmative
it just fits the genre, the idea of who these people are on the fringe of society. having to stand outside to have a cig while everyone else just sits comfy in their chair and have their drink.
Thu, 08/13/2009 - 18:36
#8
You're required by law to
You're required by law to smoke in noir. Look it up.
Thu, 08/13/2009 - 19:21
#9
Too true.
That's it: too true.
Thu, 08/13/2009 - 21:21
#10
Nothing like it
There's nothing like somebody taking a really pissed off last drag, then crushing out their smoke. It's like slamming down an old phone when you hang up on somebody.
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