A survey of 200
films from the past 20 years shows that unsafe sex is
commonly shown, as is smoking, marijuana use, and other drug
use, U.K. newspaper The Guardian reports. Of
the list of the 200 most popular films from the
Internet Movie Database's March 2004 list,
researchers eliminated those made in the pre-AIDS era,
animated films, movies rated acceptable for children, and
those with nonhuman characters. In the 87 movies
remaining, there were a total of 53 sex scenes, only
one of which included the use of a condom, and that was
mentioned only to prevent pregnancy, not to prevent HIV or
other sexually transmitted diseases.
None of the
characters who engaged in unsafe sex in the films ended up
becoming pregnant or acquiring an STD, the researchers say.
Smoking appeared
in 68% of the films, characters got drunk in 32% of the
movies, marijuana use appeared in 8%, and other illegal drug
use was featured in 7% of the films, according to the
survey, which was published in the Journal of the
Royal Society of Medicine.
"The study showed
there were no references to the important consequences
of unsafe sex such as HIV transmission, spread of STDs, or
unwanted pregnancy," the researchers told The
Guardian. "The social norm being presented in movies is
concerning, given the HIV and illicit drug pandemics in
developing and industrialized nations." (Advocate.com)