Comments for Karousel

Comment on AMC’s “Mad Men” is Glamorizing Cigarette Smoking by miran

miran — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 02:02:25 +0000

I agree. In “Mad Men” everybody was smoking at every imaginable occasion. Really. When I thought “if this was sponsored by a cigarette company they could let these three guys smoke now”, and wow, they did. And that happened in every room and at every occasion I could think of. I’m not a smoker, but I was curious how they would handle the topic about the side effects of smoking and so on.
BUT, think about it. It is the best way to get people smoking. They can’t put their advertising on TV or in Sports anymore, they can’t put in movies. But what does that matter, TV Series are far more efficient. The episodes are cheaper to produce. You get many people to watch them. They run regular for months and over years. The people won’t stop watching, because they want to know how the story goes on or because they love the dialogues or the setting. A movie would be seen maybe once or twice, an ad would be seen once, then you ignore it. But a TV Series will be seen every week, or more often, for over 40 minutes. Even people like me, who try to stay critically add to their benefit. Because we think about cigarettes and smoking, which we wouldn’t have if we hadn’t watched the series in the first place. And while doing that we only consider their arguments (pro and contra). I didn’t think this all would affect me when I was only analyzing the series, but actually, it did. I started to think I should smoke a cigarette while watching this. That it would be the appropriate thing to do and it would add to the flair. That was the point where I decided not to go on watching “Mad Men”. If it doesn’t affect you, then that’s good for you, but I believe this case is pretty rare.

Comment on AMC’s “Mad Men” is Glamorizing Cigarette Smoking by Kirk

Kirk — Wed, 04 Apr 2012 21:44:40 +0000

I hate people like you. I don’t even care about the time this show is set in. People should have a right to put whatever they want in their shows. I believe in freedom.

Who cares if some idiots start smoking just because of a TV show? Those people are idiots. Just let them die.

Besides, smoking is one of the least bad things in television these days. Why don’t you people ever worry about sex or violence?

And for God’s sake, Don was only 40 when you wrote this article. I know smokers much older than that who have not been diagnosed with lung cancer. And wasn’t Roger diagnosed with lung cancer a little while ago?

Matthew Weiner and his writers are entitled to portray whatever they want in their shows. Stop caring about all of America’s wonderful idiots dying and stop impairing freedom of expression, you un-American cretin.

Comment on AMC’s “Mad Men” is Glamorizing Cigarette Smoking by Berj

Berj — Fri, 23 Mar 2012 07:33:45 +0000

Well said Sienna, well said indeed.

Comment on Fair Fares on the MBTA? by Jen

Jen — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 20:41:54 +0000

So happy that I can commute by bike!

Comment on To Friendship by Kathleen

Kathleen — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 15:06:14 +0000

Umm….why haven’t I seen you wear any of these? Stop denying the world their beauty. Cute

Comment on To Friendship by Mu Mu Oddwala

Mu Mu Oddwala — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 01:19:02 +0000

I LOVE SUSY JONES!

Comment on AMC’s “Mad Men” is Glamorizing Cigarette Smoking by Sienna

Sienna — Fri, 27 May 2011 17:02:08 +0000

So you are implying that we are all idiots who do everything through televised influence – monkey see monkey do style. What ever happened to self control and will power I wonder… I love the show, but I never took up drinking or smoking during or after an episode because it looks cool to do so in the show. (not a smoker or a drinker to begin with.) Nor did I start dressing like it’s the 60′s just because it “looks cool”.
Do you pick up a mop and start mopping your kitchen uncontrollably every time you see a Swiffer commercial? The entire television/entertainment industry is one big ad campaign for corporations that want to sell merchandise. It’s not a conspiracy. It’s reality. Do you feel like taking it down to the streets and start shooting people every time you see a film that glamorizes gangsters and street thugs? Do you feel like buying the entire Chanel store after you watch a runway show? Do you do what others tell you all the time? If you do, you might want to consult a psychiatrist for your condition.
Cigarettes are not popular because of this one television show or any other show for that matter. The government allows tobacco companies to manufacture the cancer sticks because tobacco companies are one of the top 3 biggest lobbyists/financial political contributors in Washington DC (along with pharma and defense contractors). People smoke because governments across the globe allow tobacco companies to produce the deathly merchandise.
Entertainment does not need to set positive examples, nor do celebrities. If you are unable to decide for yourself matters that concern your life/health/choices, maybe you shouldn’t watch television, or read newspapers or talk to other people…

Comment on reCAPTCHA Exploits the Masses by Dion

Dion — Wed, 11 May 2011 10:15:57 +0000

1. I am sure that the admins would prefer to spend their time checking your response to articles to make sure that you are human. You of course would expect this for free or would you be willing to pay for it?

2. I am sure that you would be happy to spend hours sift through websites riddled with SPAM rather than spend a few seconds using your brain.

3. Please make sure that the programmer who made the open source CAPTCHA code at the bottom of the article available to you in this blog is compensated. No? Then using your logic, you are exploiting the programmer.

4. Please make sure you pay for all the bandwidth you use on every part of the web that you travel. No? Then you are exploiting those that provide it. You most certainly did not ask them.

5. You have my email with this submission. Please make sure I get paid for this submission. You don’t want to exploit me and my time. While you are at it, please pay me for my time to read this misguided drivel.

6. The sites that use reCaptcha do it by choice. They can continue to use Captcha or they could actually write their own. Instead they chose to “exploit” a piece of code written by someone else to do this work for them.

7. The sidewalk that you walk on using your logic came from other peoples tax dollars – not yours. Many were probably laid before you were born… get over it dude… seriously…
5.

Comment on Mount Vernon: well guarded by the citizens of Somerville by Adele McKeon

Adele McKeon — Tue, 03 May 2011 22:00:24 +0000

Hmm…”some loud mouth in the crowd yells, “you’re not from Somerville” with a thick local accent. This reminds me of a ‘villian I know!

Comment on AMC’s “Mad Men” is Glamorizing Cigarette Smoking by Claire

Claire — Tue, 03 May 2011 18:55:09 +0000

I’m a big fan of Mad Men and have a different perspective on the smoking issue by virtue of living outside the US, in France where smoking is much more widespread at all age levels. I get the impression that the main audience for MM is an adult one whereas it’s in the teen years that most people start smoking. We sent our sixteen year old daughter to live with my brother in the US and go to high school for reasons not related to smoking, but one good side effect of her being here is that she has been able to quit because hardly any teens here smoke cigarettes. (Alcohol and pot is another matter.) It was not TV characters who got her started on cigarettes in the first place. All her friends in France smoke, and when she wanted to quit she found it impossible. I can’t imagine that more than a minuscule minority of adults who have never smoked would take it up as a result of watching Mad Men. I don’t believe it’s right to “blame” Mad Men for any former smokers who have succumbed anymore than MM can be held responsible for any recovering alcoholics who fell off the wagon on account of watching it.

As for the suggestion they should have used a fictitious cigarette brand, wouldn’t *that* be a glaring anomaly in a show with such a focus on historical accuracy!