Hackademy Awards Give Thumbs Up! For ‘The Fault in Our Stars,’ Thumbs Down! For Latest ‘X-Men’ Movie

This just out from our colleagues at Breathe California:
 
SACRAMENTO, Calif. Feb. 21, 2015 — A California movie awards show this weekend brought out the stars who highlight the issue that Hollywood can still hook kids on tobacco, but along with the bad news also came some good news at the 20th annual Hackademy Awards in Sacramento.
 
The stars at this Feb. 21 red-carpet gala were more than 40 teen volunteers at the 20th Annual Hackademy Awards, produced by Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails through its Thumbs Up! Thumbs Down! program. Reviewers analyzed 128 movies during 2014 for portrayals, if any, of tobacco use. About half were PG and PG-13 movies. And some, such as Thumbs Up! Winner “The Fault in Our Stars,” accurately depicted tobacco use as a deadly health threat.
 
Reviewers found more tobacco-free movies compared to 2013, when 45 percent of reviewed movies didn’t include smoking or cigar use. That number  rose to 57 percent in 2014. But where there was smoking, there was a lot more of it. For example, scenes featuring actors smoking jumped from an average of nearly seven to more than 10 per hour for PG-13 movies with tobacco use.
 
Movie scenes that feature tobacco use, especially by stars popular among young people, essentially double as endorsements for smoking. Past studies that document this link include one by Dartmouth College, which found that 44 percent of young adults who try smoking do so because of exposure to tobacco use through movies. An example is the winner of the dubious Thumbs Down! Hackademy Award, “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” where Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine character smokes a cigar, continuing the stale myth of smoking as cool.
 
“X-Men movies are really big movies with teens and adults alike, and Hugh Jackman is influential. It’s a good example of what we’re trying to discourage,” said reviewer Melissa T, from Davis Senior High School. “It’s about time one of the X-Men movies gets called out for smoking.”
 
On the other end of the spectrum, the Thumbs Up! Award winning “The Fault in Our Stars” featured actor Ansel Elgort’s character, who has cancer, using an unlit cigarette as a metaphor for his ability to fight back.
 
“The entire message in that movie is that the cigarette is death,” added Melissa T.
 
Reflecting how “The Fault in Our Stars” accurately depicts tobacco, co-star Shailene Woodley was named the 2014 Thumbs Up! Actress. In other actor categories:
 

• Logan Lerman for Thumbs Up! Actor. His character in the World War II action movie “Fury” identifies himself as a non-smoker;
• Rosamund Pike as Thumbs Down! Actress, for smoking as a lead character in “Gone Girl”; and
• A resounding Thumbs Down! Actor award for Bill Murray in “St. Vincent” by unanimous vote.

 
“Bill Murray’s smoking in St. Vincent was so deliberate around so many people, including smoking around children, and he’s also like a father figure, known as a fun actor,” said reviewer Sophie C, from Sacramento’s Bella Vista High School.
 
In addition to reviewing movies, youth volunteers with Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails compile data for the Thumbs Up! Thumbs Down! database about tobacco use in films — the most comprehensive database available. Beyond tobacco use, the youth volunteer effort provides a way for young people to make a difference not only for lung health, but cleaner air.
 
For more information about the Hackademy Awards, visit www.sacbreathe.org/hackademy.html and for more information about the research being done on this topic, please visit, www.scenesmoking.org. The Hackademy Awards are made possible by generous sponsors, including CVS Pharmacy, which ended the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products last year. Additionally, research behind the Hackademy Awards was funded by Legacy, which helps people live longer, healthier lives by building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit.
 
Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails promotes clean air, healthy lungs and a tobacco-free tomorrow. Originally founded in 1917, the organization that is today Breathe California of Sacramento-Emigrant Trails is an independent non-profit. For more information, call (916) 444-5900, or visit www.sacbreathe.org.
###
 
For more information, contact Will Holbert (916) 606-7992 wholbert*AT*rs-e.com