Author: Caroline Yaeger

Faculty Advisor: Dr. Catherine Grimm

Abstract 

The 21st century has been defined by major advancements in technology with the invention and popularization of cell phones, social media, and various online communication styles. This has effectively transformed modern society but has left questions about the impact of these technologies on adolescents' self-image, peer interactions, and their influence on risk-taking behaviors. As screen time continues to rise worldwide, the implications for mental health and behavior are significant. This paper aims to investigate how increasing exposure of media, such as film, on German adolescents influences risk-taking behavior, focusing, particularly, on the representation of smoking in German film. Using the films and series such as Tschick, Babylon Berlin, and Die Ehe der Maria Braun as case studies, this study analyzes how smoking depicted in various contexts in film has the potential to shape adolescents’ attitudes toward health risks like tobacco use. By comparing statistics and cultural attitudes toward health in the United States and Germany, this paper also takes into account how two different healthcare systems and societal values might influence media consumption behavior. This study argues that characteristics of adolescence such as emotional reactivity and risk-taking behaviors, combined with the persuasive nature of media, peer pressure and social influence that is typical of adolescence, amplifies the likelihood of young people to adopt similar behaviors as demonstrated by their favorite media figures. This study underscores the need for more research into how risk-taking behavior demonstrated in media, like film and television, can shape health behaviors of adolescents'. This study also calls for awareness of the potential consequences of excessive screen time and its associated risks.

Introduction

The 21st century has been defined by advancements in online technology with the invention of handheld computers called cell phones, social media, and faster communication styles. An ongoing question concerning the increasing influence of technology is how social media and the increased use of other online technologies positively and negatively affect adolescents, shaping their ideas regarding self-image, self-worth, and their perception of peer groups. Social media fundamentally transforms peer experiences with increasing amounts of time spent online rather than offline; affecting the frequency, immediacy, and quality of peer experiences [6]. A 2021 study estimated that American adolescents, ages 13-18, spent, on average, 7 hours and 22 minutes a day on screens using them for schoolwork, homework and entertainment purposes [1]. A 2020 study done in Germany found that German adolescents, aged 13-19, spent, on average, 4 hours and 18 minutes on screens per day [2]. While this was significantly lower than American adolescents, both country’s screen time statistics have risen over the past 5 years [5]. The rise of popular streaming services like Netflix have made American and German media productions (movies and series) more widely available and popular, increasing screen time for entertainment purposes for both adults and adolescents.  In a world that is oversaturated with technology and digital media, how does the increase in media exposure to adolescents affect mental health and how do films and television influence morals and values regarding health behaviors such as alcohol and tobacco use? In this paper, German examples of film will be analyzed in terms of their representation of the act of smoking and the potential risk the tone presents for increasing smoking habits in adolescents.

Differences in Healthcare Systems and Cultural Attitudes Towards Health and Wellness

Differences in Germany’s cultural attitudes towards health might contribute to why the average screen time in German adolescents is lower and might even provide potential ideas of how to lower the levels of excessive screen time and online peer interactions in America. In 2018, Germany spent more on health than any other European country at around 11.7% of the GDP [3]. It has consistently been one of the highest spenders on health since then. A 2021 study found that 94% of German families valued health and family most importantly (a 7% increase from before the impacts of the COVID-19 virus). Ultimately, a value of German culture is health and this is apparent in the comparison of healthcare systems between Germany and the United States. Germany has a social funded healthcare system in which citizens can pick the insurer best for them [9]. The United States healthcare system is much more complex; employers choose what insurance agency they choose for their employees. This often forms a power distance between the people providing insurance and the people who receive the insurance, making it hard for American people to find the best healthcare for their needs and make informed decisions on their health [9]. The United States spends $606 annually per person on administrative costs compared with Germany’s $237 annually per person - this is due to the complexity of the system [9]. A common reason for the differences in the two healthcare systems is Germany’s collectivist approach to healthcare - a healthier society supports both young and old members forming an interdependence between members [9]. The United States does not have a culture that values alliance and interdependency which is extremely apparent in conversations about healthcare, insurance, and wellness. 

Characteristics of Adolescents and How They Relate to Risk-Taking Behaviors

Society has characterized typical adolescence development as going through periods of  “rebellion”, “exploration”, and “risk taking”. It is important to note that many researchers have found that it is important for adolescents to experience these periods as they are vital  markers in adolescent development allowing for the development of skills that are necessary for maturation and independence [7]. The behaviors that mark the development of these skills are heightened levels of risk taking, exploration, sensation seeking, increasing social interactions, and increased activity and play behaviors [7]. Adolescents' high risk-taking behaviors tend to lead to a disregard for negative consequences in favor of the lure of positive consequences which can be greatly modulated by social influence and peer pressure [7]. Adolescents have been found to have decreased emotional regulation abilities and find it more difficult to control their impulsive behaviors when they are surrounded by their peers or when emotions are high [8]. This phase of life is marked by increased emotional reactivity leading to increased incidence of injuries, violence, substance abuse, accidental pregnancies, and sexually transmitted infections [8]. Maturation is marked by increased activity in the prefrontal regions of the brain (which are involved in decision making skills, planning, impulse control, working memory and some emotions) and diminished activity in irrelevant brain regions that tend to drive the emotional incidences listed above [8]. 

Case Studies: Examples of Smoking in Tschick, Babylon, and Die Ehe der Maria Braun

In a world of increasing media presence, adolescents derive accepted norms and behaviors from their favorite forms of media including social media influencers, movies, television series, books, social media trends, and more. Consumption of excessive film and television has been connected to health risks such as increased obesity, poor lab results, decreased physical activity, and more [13]. Content related to explicit topics such as sex and drug use have also become readily available to young viewers through various media outlets with few, if any, age restrictions in place. Smoking within films is a prime example of a negative health habit that is often made to look positive, or cool, in films - especially in German films. Smoking of tobacco products has been a part of German culture for hundreds of years and saw a particular uptick during World War I and World War II. Smoking is related to significant health risks including cardiovascular diseases, respiratory diseases, different forms of Cancer - most commonly lung cancer - among other illnesses [10]. Over the last 25 years, as the health risks of smoking tobacco products have been realized, many countries around the world have implemented measures to decrease consumption of tobacco, Germany included. Since then, smoking of tobacco products by adults in Germany has steadily decreased since 2003 [10]. However, the German Study on Smoking Behavior (Deutsche Befragung zum Rauchverhalten) found that the number of smokers between the ages of 14 and 17 has nearly doubled from 8.1% in 2021 to 15.9% in 2022 [11]. This surge was linked to the rise of e-cigarette consumption among adolescents [11]. When it comes to the perception of smoking in film, it is linked to increases in positive attitudes about smoking, the view that more people smoke than in reality, and an increase in the desire to smoke [12]. This is particularly important because adolescents and young adults make up 34% of general moviegoers [12]. Movies with smoking scenes have been shown to make it harder for people trying to successfully stop smoking, many studies suggest that young adults trying to quit should refrain from watching films with smoking scenes in them [12]. According to social cognitive theory, adolescents tend to imitate the behavior of their role models including parents, siblings, friends, and even fictional characters [13]. Television and film is a significant source that facilitates social learning which is the primary factor for the onset of smoking [13]. Based on the heuristic model of Bandura’s social cognitive learning theory, one core assumption is that when adolescents begin to search for their identity and self-being, they begin to align their behaviors and morals with the image they have of the people that they want to become [13]. This means adopting the behavior of role models and others they admire - and not only behaviors but choices in clothes, hairstyles, and more. One study found that when Californians adolescents, ages 12-17, were asked to name their favorite Hollywood stars, adolescents who smoked preferred Hollywood stars who also were known to smoke in their real lives and adolescents who did not smoke preferred Hollywood stars that were not known to smoke in their real lives [13]. What was most interesting about the study was that they found that adolescents who did not smoke but preferred Hollywood stars who did smoke had a significantly higher vulnerability to smoking in the future [13]. 

Analysis of recent German and American films shows that smoking is depicted in German films more often than American films. German television shows also show smokers more often than other countries. Three case studies of German films and their depictions of smoking are below.

Tschick

A 2016 film directed by Fatih Akin, Tschick, renamed Goodbye Berlin for the English adaptation, was a blockbuster hit with moviegoers. Based on the novel Tschick by Wolfgang Herrndorf, the coming-of-age film tells the story of 14-year-old Maik who meets Tschick right before school lets out for the summer. As Maik’s family life is turned upside down with two absent parents, Tschick, back from years in Russia, offers to take Maik on a roadtrip over East Germany in a stolen car. Their story becomes one of freedom, growing up, and learning about the darker sides to life while simultaneously finding their own identities. 

 Tschick’s opening scene is a shot of a smoked cigarette on the ground and shows a young boy’s hand picking it up and holding it as he is surrounded in chaos in the aftermath of a car accident. The significance of this being the opening scene immediately introduces the idea of rebellion and symbolizes to the audience the idea that this is a coming of age story. A common theme throughout the film is how many people in Maik’s life smoke - some that he looks up to and others that he dislikes. Maik’s relationship with his family is a major contributor to the events that occur in the film; Maik’s dad is absent, often with his mistress, while his mother is in rehab. Maik’s father is often seen smoking throughout the film - much to Maik’s abhorrence and a negative connection for smoking as perceived by moviegoers. When Tschick is introduced to the audience, he is seen smoking, symbolizing him as both a “rebellious outsider” from normal 14 year-olds but also a “cool” and “mysterious” new bad boy, a positive connection with smoking for moviegoers. At one point in Maik and Tschick’s road trip throughout East Germany, Tschick convinces Maik to smoke a cigarette for the first time. While this is a symbolization of Maik’s experimentation and yearning to grow up, it decidedly marks an important point made earlier in this paper - that experimentation with smoking tobacco products is often influenced by peers and drivened by the search for identity, which adolescents’ often find in people they admire. In this case, Maik admires Tschick’s confident, mysterious, bad-boy attitude and decides to try something that symbolizes Tschick’s “coolness” for himself.  For Maik, smoking the cigarette becomes a rite of passage, making him as cool as Tschick. The movie ends with the same scene as the beginning of the film - a car accident occurs in which both Tschick and Maik get hurt. They get questioned by police and let go but life begins to return to normal as the start of the new school year comes to a beginning. Tschick disappears from Maik’s life but not after making a lasting impression on him and his sense of self. 

This film is of particular interest in this study because of the way it glorifies the myth of smoking rather than the reality of smoking - something that critics were very quick to address. Because it is a coming-of-age story aimed at young teenagers, the glorification of smoking and the positive connotations can be hurtful to adolescent health behaviors and choices.

Babylon Berlin

Babylon Berlin has become one of the most viewed German-language television shows in recent years, being shown in more than 90 other territories and receiving critical acclaim [16]. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Babylon Berlin holds the title for the most expensive German television drama ever produced. This all being said, Babylon Berlin’s reach to a worldwide array of audiences is not to be understated.

Babylon Berlin is set in 1929 Berlin during the last years of the Weimar Republic. The television series follows a Cologne police detective who begins to investigate an extortion ring but uncovers massive corruption and conspiracy theories. While the show mostly comments on the political instability, poverty, and hyperinflation that marked this time period in Germany, it does not stray away from the glamorized ideation of the roaring twenties. Smoking of tobacco products is everywhere in the first season of this series. Not only does the smoking symbolize the mysterious, detective persona of the main characters, but it is also used to mark the era of roaring twenties and heightened the emotional mood. All of the main characters are seen smoking throughout the series: Detective Rath smokes as a symbolization of his job but also the fact that he picked it up when he fought in World War I, a symbolization of the post traumatic stress that he still carries with him. Charlotte, the flapper and receptionist at the police department - is often seen smoking at the club, a symbolization of her modernity and rejection of stereotypical feminine morals. The club where Charlotte works is often covered in shrouds of smoke as everyone there does it - a symbolization of the normalcy of smoking at the time. 

Overall, while Babylon Berlin is not innately marketed towards adolescents, the popularity of the television series has a strong influence on current popular culture. In this series smoking is used to emphasize a certain aesthetic, power dynamics, modernity and mystery  - thus  creating a kind of lure to both experimental adolescents and adults who already smoke. 

Die Ehe der Maria Braun

Die Ehe der Maria Braun, or The Marriage of Maria Braun in English, was directed by Rainer Werner Fassbinder, who is widely regarded as a major figure in the movement known as the New German Cinema Movement [18]. This movement was an effort to get the West German film industry back on its feet again following World War II. While made in 1979, Die Ehe der Maria Braun was significant in the western world's view of post-war Germany. The film follows Maria Braun as she marries Hermann Braun just days before the end of the war. When Hermann goes missing in action, Maria must pick up the pieces and provide for herself and her family members, including her mother and grandfather. Maria becomes a sex worker, using her looks and charm to provide a life for herself while surrounded by poverty, economic and political turmoil, and emotional loss. While this film is a comment on post-war Germany, this study looks at the representation of smoking and how it has been associated with German culture for decades. 

The representation of smoking and cigarettes in this film is very symbolic. Cigarettes hold power and value. In an early scene, Maria spends all day finding a way to get cigarettes. When she comes home and gives them to her mother, who greedily snatches at them and tries to immediately light one, Maria stops her and asks “What will you give me for them… your brooch”. Her mother claims that is too pricey a cost but when Maria pulls out another cigarette packet, her mother immediately agrees without a second thought. What is striking about this particular scene is the quiet commentary on the addictiveness of cigarettes and tobacco products - so addictive that it is a powerful and pricey bargaining tool and one that matters more than having food on the table. It’s also a telling scene about how long smoking and its addictive habits have been a staple of German Culture. As Maria climbs up the social ladder and begins to make more money, she starts smoking different imported brands of cigarettes - a symbol of her wealth and importance. 

Overall, the smoking in this movie is symbolic of power and currency. It helps mark the identity of a post-war society that was very fragile, so fragile, in fact, that cigarettes were one of the most valuable items to come by. Cigarettes were currency and also a status of wealth, but they were also reflections of turmoil and devastation of post-war Germany, a way to have a small taste again of what life and society was like before the war. 

While this isn’t a classic adolescent’s movie, this movie is significant in German cinema and is well known. It highlights the long history of the importance of cigarettes and smoking.

Conclusion 

There are many different factors that contribute to why someone, adult or adolescent, might choose to smoke tobacco products. Economical, biological, psychological, and social factors are all contributors that help one make the decision to smoke. The Covid-19 pandemic and the ongoing war in Ukraine are thought to be further possible causes of high anxiety and stress among adolescents that could be attributed to the recent surge of e-cigarette and tobacco product consumption [11].  While this study does not aim to diminish the other factors that can contribute to smoking, the ever changing social landscape of social media and cinema does have significant influence on smoking habits in adults and adolescents. It is extremely important to examine the effects this changing landscape continues to have on adolescents’ behavior and health-risk decisions as over consumption of film and television continue to rise. While German culture values health and wellness, which is evident in the style of their healthcare system, the culture lacks awareness on how high levels of smoking in films and television positively affects perception of smoking. More research needs to be done on adolescence film habits and its effects on health behaviors as this a rapidly changing and rising issue that is under researched. In future studies, comparing the outcomes of health behaviors between German and American adolescence who view the same films and series could be enlightening. 

For link to the full PDF, click here. 

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