In today’s society this image would be seen as normal or common. Cigarette smoking has been accepted by many Americans and others around the world. In some countries, smoking is part of their custom. Some might look at this picture and just think it is just some woman smoking a cigarette. In this image the artist puts emphasis on the cigarette while the woman’s face and fingers blend in with the background, being that both are neutral.
The Cancer Stick : Cigarette smoking accounts for at least 30% of all cancer deaths.
Now that we know these facts and have read this caption about cigarettes, they do not look so appealing or so harmless anymore. With text added to this picture, it is more than just a woman smoking. Smoking is now associated with negative effects such as death, health problems and cancer. Cigarette ads in magazines, commercials, and movies have made smoking a style that is suppose to portray an image of coolness. For example, in the movie “Grease” directed by Randal Kleiser, Sandy, the leading female actress, was a sweet and innocent girl from Australia who liked this cool kid of the school named Danny. At the end of the movie, Sandy changes her whole persona to being sexy, cool, and bad. This is represented in the beginning of the last scene when she is wearing all black and smoking a cigarette. If you do not smoke then you are not “in”; well at least in Grease you weren’t. Tobacco companies use a technique called form or what Barthes (French philosopher) calls writing. Form manipulates the conventions of style for a desired effect. (Barthes) This is true, especially when it comes to tobacco industries. Tobacco industries want their commercials to have the effect of coolness so that people will want to buy them. They use such things as sexuality, celebrities, or any trends that are in at that point of time.
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