Pubdate: Fri, 16 May 2008
Source: Christian Science Monitor (US)
Copyright: 2008 The Christian Science Publishing Society
Contact: http://www.csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/encryptmail.pl?ID=CFF0C5E4
Website: http://www.csmonitor.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/83
Author: Stephen Humphries, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

HAZY SCREENS: IS HOLLYWOOD PUSHING MARIJUANA?

A Raft of Films Has Some Observers Citing a Generational Shift Among 
Filmmakers.

Call it cinema's stoned age. Films featuring characters using 
marijuana have mushroomed.

"Harold and Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay," the second movie to 
feature the titular pot-smoking characters, grossed nearly $15 
million on its opening weekend, which might portend a big opening for 
August's "Pineapple Express," a Judd Apatow-produced comedy about a 
pot smoker and his supplier on the run. Also rolling out: "The 
Wackness," with Ben Kingsley as a bong-using psychiatrist; "Humboldt 
County," in which a medical student spends a summer in a 
marijuana-farming town; and "Super High Me," with comedian Doug 
Benson using the drug for 30 days.

Antidrug campaigners and proponents of marijuana decriminalization 
disagree about whether such films represent a change in societal 
attitudes. But the movies, most written by people under 40, seem to 
represent a shift in Hollywood.

"There seem to be movies that are produced by a younger generation 
than the baby boomers, [by people] who seem to have had a lot of 
experience with marijuana," says Jacob Sullum, senior editor at 
Reason magazine and author of "Saying Yes: In Defense of Drug Use."

Tom Hedrick, spokesperson for Partnership for a Drug Free America, 
says he worries that the uptick in such depictions makes the behavior 
appear too normal, creating bad role models.

But a spike in cannabis use on-screen doesn't appear to mirror any 
social trend. If government statistics which rely on self-reporting 
and other surveys are accurate, marijuana use has declined modestly 
in recent years, especially among teens.

One consequence of those statistics: The media by and large hasn't 
focused on drug stories over the past five years, maintains Mr. 
Hedrick. "Interest in the issue wanes and then you start to see a 
rebounding in the sense that this is something that is OK to do."

Prior to now, only a few stoner movies, such as "Up in Smoke" (1978) 
and "Dude, Where's My Car?" (2000), made money during their 
theatrical run, thanks largely to low budgets. Others, such as 
"Half-Baked," "Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back," and "The Big 
Lebowski," were underachievers much like their characters. But these 
initial flops scored big on home video, which explains why producers 
continue to invest in fare such as a "Harold and Kumar" sequel and 
November's little-seen "Smiley Face." Lately, though, a generation of 
comedy filmmakers who grew up watching Sean Penn's Jeff Spicoli in 
"Fast Times at Ridgemont High" has incorporated tropes from stoner 
movies into frat-humor films targeted at a broader audience. Movies 
such as "Old School," "The 40-Year-Old Virgin," and "Forgetting Sarah 
Marshall" have also featured characters who smoke marijuana.

"I think movies have a weird line to walk," says Wesley Morris, a 
film critic at The Boston Globe. "They derive a lot of entertainment 
from drug use and yet, at the same time, they go only so far in 
endorsing it. 'Harold and Kumar' ... doesn't have anything to say 
negatively about drug use, but, at the same time, there is a stigma 
attached." In "Knocked Up," a lead character has to stop smoking 
marijuana because it gets in the way of him becoming a good father.

Producers can land financing for stoner films if they depict the 
users as out-of-it slackers for comedic effect, some observers say. 
"If they were to portray it in any other light, they would likely not 
get the financing; they would get nothing but grief from rating 
boards and other entities," says Allen St. Pierre, executive director 
of The National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws 
(NORML). "It is safe."

Legalization advocates argue that signs of societal tolerance, 
including decriminalization of possession of small amounts of 
marijuana, hint that casual pot use is widespread something 
filmmakers are increasingly less afraid to portray.

"I have to take responsibility for the 'Cheech and Chong' image ... 
but the truth is that marijuana is used in every block of society," 
says Tommy Chong, who was jailed for nine months for selling drug 
paraphernalia in 2003. He points to Michael Douglas's role as a 
pot-smoking college professor in 2000's "Wonder Boys" as one example. 
Recreational pot use by professional types has popped up in films as 
disparate as "Eyes Wide Shut" and "Charlie Wilson's War."

But antidrug campaigners say it's time for Hollywood to tighten up.

"Is this the beginning of a major new reflection and glamorization in 
popular culture?" asks Hedrick. "I think it's too early to tell, but 
it worries us because it tends to portend, potentially, a return to 
attitudes that lead to more kids trying, and more kids using." 
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