Women from Antwerp in November -- Chantal Akerman

Finally, I found this video which about Chantal Akerman’s ‘Women from Antwerp in November. This work is about women smoking. The video focused on faces when women smoked. When they were smoking, they were also doing other things. Although the film just had a few minutes, it would made people feel it was not enough. This feeling is just like the addition of smoking. It is a interesting work which can pass emotion to audience.

http://www.artivi.com/encounters/akerman.php#share

The Changing Situation and the Unchanged Profit

David introduced an article to me, but it was in 'The Independent Newspaper' and it was in overdue newspaper. So it was difficult to find this newspaper. Finally, I cound't find the newspaper, but I found it through internet. You can read it in this link:

http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/the-unstoppable-march-of-the-tobacco-giants-2290583.html

The author Emily Dugan wrote this article to summarize the situation of cigarette industry in the world. She showed a lot of datas to explain this sitiation. Every year there are more cigarettes consumed around the world though people made many compaigns to persuade people not to smoke. Meanwhile, it seems that the main market of cigarettes begin to change from developde countries to developing countries.

Many countries in the world try to clamp down on cigarette because more and more people were killed by smoking. In order to earn more money, tobacco companies are always having methods to solve these problems. Nowaday, more non-smoking compaigns are developing in the world.

After reading this article, I think we want to reduce cigarettes consuming, but it is a long struggle. The situation will chang with time, but the profit will not changed.

Non - Smoking Signs outside LCC

Outside the building of LCC, there are many new non-smoking signs on the ground. I knew a lot of students smoking outside the building when they had break time. It is interesting to see these signs on the gound. Will people not smoke in this place? As I saw one day, people were still smoking there. Anyway, I think it makes a new attemp - 'No Smoking outside the building in London'.

Smoke and Minors - Teenagers smoke

I read an article 'Smoke and Minors' today, which made me think about my book 'Nobody Claim'.

It wrote, there were more girls smoke than boys. There are many reasons for girls to smoke. They think smoke can make them look older. They like feeling grow up. And smoking can keep them close to others, just like social. What they care in their ages is fun.

After Unit One Assessment, I got some feedback. I began to think about what my audience are. In the situation I said above, teenagers become somkers. However, my book will not affect them. They won't care about butts in the streets. So what about adults? Maybe they will care, but what kind of adults? Non-smokers? Smokers? Or both? What their feelings will be? Maybe I need to ask myself more questions.

Thanks, Ant.

Reference: http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/jun/03/teenage-girls-smoking-more-than-boys

Green Cigarettes - New packages of tabaccos in Australia!

I just read an article which Anthony sent me. It said packages of cigarettes in Australia would changed. Like this:

 Photograph: Simon Belcher/Alamy/Photomontage by Guardian Imaging

'Will it work?' As Patrick Kingsley asked. Maybe color will affect people's emotion, but facing to addiction, will green take effect? At the begining, people may be shocked by this design, but will this reaction make people quit? I don't think so. People will be familar with this package when time passed. So at that time, people still smoke. It won't make any different. Some people may think green is ugly, but it is just color. Non-smoking advertisements today have more 'ugly' pictures. Sometimes thesd pictures are also taking little effect. Actually, I don't think this green packet is ugly. I think it is interesting and special! I will buy one when I see it.   

Reference: http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/jun/01/green-smoking-australia-cigarettes

Beautiful Packages of Tabacco

I found the packages of tabacco were beautiful. These two kinds of cigarettes are my friend's favourite and I found they were beautiful. Are they wanting to attract women to buy them?

The package is colorful. Its design is elegant. Open it, you can find cigarettes in it have their own colors. My friend said sometimes she would choose different colors on purpose. Maybe different colors have different tastes? In fact, if I see this tabacco, I would like to buy one. Because it is beautiful. If I collect beautiful cigarettes, will I start smoke one day? So the package of tabacco will affect people to smoke?

Another Package

Tools for Butts?

I saw these 'tools' near southwark station. When I first found them, I felt interesting. I have not saw these in other place of London. A question came up to my mind. If there are many these tools outside the buildings in London, would butts in the streets decrease? Will people like to use these tools? Maybe......

Serge Gainsbourg - music

Singing and smoking...

Thanks, Ant.

Cigerettes' Law - Changes

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/mar/09/cigarettes-plain-packaging-logos-branding

http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2011/mar/09/shops-banned-displaying-tobacco-products

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/cartoon/2011/mar/09/martin-rowson-hague-smoking

Another anti-smoking campaign.

Thanks, Ant.

Kate Moss smokes on the catwalk

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/mar/09/kate-moss-smokes-catwalk

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2011/mar/10/kate-moss-catwalk-fag

A famous model smoked in Paris' fashion show. Maybe it was not a good example, but it made people pay attention to it. In this scene, people may link fashion and smoking together. People may think smoking is beautiful, cool and fashion. As Jess Cartner-Morley said, 'There's only one thing the world loves more than a beautiful girl, and that's a beautiful girl who's a little bit bad.'

Thanks, Ant.

The Hard Sell - Cigarettes and Alcohol

Recently, I watched a videorecording which I borrowed from LCC library. It is a programme that BBC broadcast in 2008. It is about advertisements of cigarettes and alcohol in UK.

Some advertisements of cigarettes were analysized in this film. TV advertising of promoting cigarettes came out in 1955. Before the govenment of UK banned the advertising and promotion of tabacco, the advertisements of cigarette played an important role of persuading people to smoke. And these advertisements were full of persuasion, especially the advertisements of a cigar called 'Hamlet', which concentrated on happiness that cigar would bring to people. In fact, this point is important even today. People choose to smoke even they know smoking is bad for their health. Sometimes, happiness is the most important in our life.

So what can make people think smoking is not suitable for them? What about time? Or space? Or environment? I should try to understand what are smokers thinking about the relationship between smoking and their life (e.g. time).

Cigarette displays do encourage smoking, researcher saysResearcher wants the government to ban point-of-sale displays – but the tobacco companies are lobbying hard

http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2011/jan/11/tobacco-displays-encourage-smoking

Thanks, Ant.

Times Square becomes smoke free as New York extends ban outdoorsSmoking prohibited in parks and beaches in biggest anti-smoking push since ban from restaurants and bars in 2002

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/03/new-york-smoking-ban-outdoors

Is this a trend of anti-smoking? So where smokers can light up in the future? They can not use the public places to smoke anymore. However, will smokers allow govenments to do this? Maybe they will fight for their rights to smoke. Nevertheless, everyone cares about their healths. A smoke free society may become real. Hopefully!!!

Thanks, Ant.

Chinese come to their Cuban comrades' rescue by lighting up cigars

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/feb/22/china-cuba-cigar-sale-rise

This article is about sale of cigar in China. Actually, many chinese think that smoking cigar is a symbol of rich. And someone still think that smoking is cool in China. Maybe China will be the largest demand country of cigarettes.

Thanks, Ant.

Smoking music

Smoking can make people feel high?

Smoking, Cool?

I found this music.
Smoking is a free choice of people. You can choose to smoke or not to smoke. This song make me think about teenagers smoking. Teenagers often think smoking is cool.

CDP Classic ads - Hamlet Cigars (1966-1997)

Some advertisements of a kind of cagars called Hamlet. And its selling point is this cigar can mke you happy. Actually, it meaned that when you felt anger or worried, smoking this cigar would make you feel better. Is this the point people need a cigarette? Maybe it is. Because today, many people choose to smoke due to the pressure in life.

Thanks, David.

Women begun to smoke. Smoking is a signal of freedom.

Thanks Laia

'Cigarettes are sublime'

Recently I read a book called 'Cigarettes are sublime'. It wrote by Richard Klein. It said smokers would not quit smoking though they knew cigarettes were bad for their healths. People like the taste and smell of smoking. They love cigarettes. People can release pressure through smoking. Smoking is a part of their life.

So what are smokers care? Is the whole progress of smoking good? What the feeling it is when they throw the butts? Maybe they will go back to the real world. And they find that they must face their life and continue to fight against the pressure.

Smoking Woman

This is an image I made in my project research progress. It is a portrait format about people smoking. Actually I tried to make it monochrome at first. But compared with a color one, I decided to give up the monochrome one, because the visual effect of the color one is better and more dynamic. There are several elements in this picture, which make it a little complex. And it is a high contrast and short focus photo.

In this image, there are buildings, trees, street, street lamp, buses, people, bus stop pillar. The farthest from the camera are the buildings, trees, street lamp, buses and some passerby. People closed to the camera were waiting for buses. And the most obvious element in this photo is a woman who was smoking. Faced to her, there is a hand holding a cigarette. Behind her back, someone was looking at the bus stop pillar to find some information and there is an old man standing in front of the street.

Buildings, trees, passerby, street, buses mean this is outdoor environment. The bus stop pillar depicted this scene of this image happened at a bus stop in Elephant & Castle. The woman, someone who was looking at the bus stop pillar and the old man were waiting for buses at this bus stop. It is an outdoor environment, so people can smoke. The hand holding a cigarette is belonged to a male friend of that woman who was smoking. They were talking to each other face to face and they were both smoking.

This image describes a situation of people smoking. It is a part of people’s life. It does not relate to a particular type or genre. It just likes family photo. And it is a photo of my researches.

Many smokers would like to smoke when they are waiting for bus. If a smoker is waiting with a friend and his/her friend is also a smoker, they will smoke and talk together. Sometimes maybe it is not their bodies needed nicotine. It just likes a habit. Because waiting is a boring thing, they just want to find something to do. It looks like a kind of psychological habit. However, this behavior is not only harm for the smokers themselves, but also bad for the health of non-smokers nearby. This image depicted this situation. Also, smoking can make people old. There is an old man in this image. If the woman who was smoker and keep the smoking habit, she will be older when she is in the age of this old man.