Tom & Jerry - A bad indfluence

[Lippy]

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/9859/20060821123109990001lo6.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

LONDON (Aug. 21) - Turner Broadcasting is scouring more than 1,500 classic Hanna-Barbera cartoons, including old favorites Tom and Jerry, The Flintstones and Scooby-Doo, to edit out scenes that glamorize smoking.



The question: Would you, or any other person for that matter, start smoking because a cat and a mouse did?

A company called Turner in Europe seem to think so.

In one episode, named "Texas Tom" Tom attempts to impress a feeline cat by rolling up a cigar, and smoking it with one hand, it does not impress her, of course, does this glamorize smoking? The answer: No.

And In an Episode called Tennis Chumps, Tom's tennis chump smokes, although in most episodes of Tom and Jerry this other character is mostly disliked.

An online poll with over 30000 votes, has these results:

When should scenes of smoking be cut from old cartoons?
Never 71%
In every instance 15%
When it glamorizes it 14%
Total Votes: 30,898

Over 21000 people out of 30000 people seem to think that deleting the smoking images is a total waste of time.

In most cartoons, one or two characters run through walls, leaving a hole the shape of their body, do you see many children attempting to run through walls?

Or imagine sombody asking a smoker why they started smoking, do you think they would say, because the characters on Tom & Jerry smoked?

Or even, when Tom attempts to squash Jerry with a frying pan, do you see many children whacking others with a frying pan?

The answer to all of these questions: No.

[AngryPaul]

I lol'd when I heard about this on the news. Its total bullshit in all honesty. These cartoons have been around for generations and they have been deemed ok, yet we hit a PC age and bang, its suddenly bad for us. Even though it shows that smoking does not get your girls, people see someone trying to use to impress, therefore its the devil.

Very well said.

[Thomp]

I read this in the paper last night, and it is indeed complete bullshit. If they're going to remove every smoking scene from Tom and Jerry, then surely that means that they must remove the violence.

Why? Because IMO the violence does a hell of a lot more damage to someone than smoking. You can stop smoking, and still get ten years of your life back. If your hit over the head with a tonne of metal, then you die. Simple as.

So let's see... Ofcom removes the violence too, and hey presto! No cartoon whatsoever! ¬¬

Grow up you fags*. Seriously.

*=No pun intended.

[queenofself]

i personally blame patty & selma

[kikumbob]

I'm quite neutral on this topic. Yes, we don't expect children to so damn as to think that what a cat and a mouse does on the screen is actually quite a nice idea to do in reality. But in an age where we are constantly realising that smoking is slowly killing about a quarter of the populationg off all the time its a good idea not to take the risk in the first place.

Whats more, you can't relate this to something totally unreal like running through a wall or being squashed by a frying pan. Those things are just silly and kids laugh at the stupidity of it (I know I did, I remember watching an episode where Tom repeatedly hit Jerry with an iron pipe and only resulted in the pipe bending into the shape of Jerry's head - ears and all.) But the cigarrete is real and, god forbid, men probably do try to impress womem with it.

Heres a thought. If Tom had managed to impress this lady cat with the cigarette, would it then become serious?

[Lippy]

Yes it would become serious in that one episode, there is no reason to edit every other episode which pictures smoking.

The point is, children are not by any means going to start smoking because Tom and Jerry did, they are going to start smoking because of peer preasure, for experimental reasons, or even to look cool.

[antster1983]

This is really becoming such a nanny state if they have to edit scenes from Tom and Jerry cartoons - made in the 40s and 50s - because a cat died from smoke inhalation... probably.

I bet soon they'll be banning Roadrunner cartoons because a child might fall off a cliff trying to push an anvil on to someone's head from far up, or try and outrun a train. It's ridiculous!

[adcoolguy]

Tom and Jerry were the best... How can these people (who probably watched the program as kids) delete it?

They should make a poll for smokers asking why they smoked.
The results would be something like this :
-mate offered me one-64%
-to make me look macho like a mafia boss or something- 36%
-to make me look macho like Tom the cat- 0%

[v!Ew`]

Tom and Jerry were the best... How can these people (who probably watched the program as kids) delete it?

They should make a poll for smokers asking why they smoked.
The results would be something like this :
-mate offered me one-64%
-to make me look macho like a mafia boss or something- 36%
-to make me look macho like Tom the cat- 0%

this is bull, i totaly agree mate !

[UMIST_For_Ever]

This is poop, they'll attack Itchy and Scratchy next...

:rolleyes:

[ray]

Or even, when Tom attempts to squash Jerry with a frying pan, do you see many children whacking others with a frying pan?


i whack children with frying pans all the time

[detdandman]

1% started smoking because thier friends did
0.5% started because it made them look cool
98.5% would like to kick everyone at Turner Broadcasting square in the nuts for even proposing this idea