Smoking Guns: Lessons about Parenting from "Rango"

A group of parents we know were startled when they took their kindergarten through second-grade children to see the animated movie, “Rango,” and discovered that there are a number of scenes where the characters are smoking.

The decision to include smoking in the movie, which in general has received rave reviews for its quality and creativity, is particularly surprising, because in general, there has been a move away from showing characters smoking in movies – even in those made for adults.

The prevalence of smoking in movies actually has been on the decline for at least the past six years, with the sharpest decline coming in 2010, according to information from Breathe California.

In Rango, a Western-style movie, there are more than 60 scenes depicting smoking – that is a lot of smoking!

It is tempting, of course, to focus on how shocking and disappointing it is that smoking is so prominent in a current day children’s movie, when we know the dangers of to our health and the health of our children.

But I hope parents, grandparents, mentors and others who care about kids also will view this as a reminder that we – not Hollywood – must take responsibility for monitoring the movies, TV shows, video games and music that the young people in our lives listen to.

We need to be responsible for doing our own research and coming to decisions about what works for our children and families.

And in those cases where children, perhaps, are exposed to messages, images and words that we would prefer they know nothing about, we need to step up and have insightful, two-way conversations with them about what they have seen, why it matters and how they can make sense of it within their own minds.

In the case of “Rango,” for example, here are some questions that might be worth asking to start a discussion:

• Why do you think the characters were smoking?
• Did they pay any consequences for their smoking in the movie? What consequences might there be for smoking in real life?
• What do we know about the effects of smoking?
• When people choose to smoke, what does that say about how they feel about themselves and their bodies?
• Have you ever been pressured to smoke? Do you know anyone among your peers who has? What was the response? If you are pressured in the future, how might you respond? What words would you use to resist peer pressure?

It is one thing to blame Hollywood for the choices that they make. But we need to remember that ultimately, we, not Hollywood, should have the most influence on the lives of our young people!