Did anyone else find strange that people just went in there asking for a pack of cigarettes and not naming what kind? I mean when I go to buy cigarettes I name the brand like ''can I get a pack of Lucky Strike?''. But these people just go in there asking for cigarettes and the cashier throws them a pack.
Now, I don't live in the U.S. but is that really how it works?
@isakregal People usually ask for a particular brand. I think it was an artistic decision to have them ask for "cigarettes." Some directors prefer it, I don't know why though. X-Men does the same thing, it has Wolverine ask for "a beer" rather than a particular brand.
Maybe it's to avoid an audience (remember movies play worldwide) not knowing the brand and causing confusion, or to avoid the accusation of product placement. I'm not sure though.
Some people probably don't really care either. Beer, cigarette. Brand doesn't matter.
Though your explanation is probably the correct one.
Straightedge means I'm better than you.
In some countries, it's common to order beer by size, not brand. The brand will be whatever the bar's preferred brand is, when it comes from the tap. You just ask 'big mid-beer', for example, and you get a pint, then you take it, sit down, drink, and ask for another.
In grocery stores, you can freely choose your brand, but in bars, you rarely mention brands when buying beer or whiskey or such.
Cigarettes are not the same, though - I can never understand how someone can just order 'cigarettes', when every cigarette tastes different and your body is used to a specific amount of nicotine and such, so if you get a different amount, the cig is either too mild and not satisfying, or too strong and you can't smoke it without coughing.
Smoking cigarettes is a habit that makes your life more painful than it has to be, though, I don't recommend it.
It was for the same reason that there is tape over the Hostess pies and other items. If you use a name brand, you need permission and that usually costs.
For the record, when you go into the Quick Stop and ask for "a pack of cigarettes.." you get a look from the clerk that makes it hard for a smile not to creep across ones face :)
When I worked at Walgreens people all the time would come in and say I want my cigarettes. They were the regulars. I got the same impression from the movie that some maybe regulars.
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Pretty sure Kevin Smith didn't want to mess with using any brand names. The nudie magazine was never mentioned by name either when the guy asked for one.
DRAGON¸.•´¸.•*´¨SWAK¸.•´¸
In the Qwik Stop, they only sold 1 brand of smokes - it cut down on the confusion, and it made doing inventory much simpler. Also, when customers would throw the unlit smokes back at you, you could just repackage them.
Brains are good, especially when sauteed with carmelized onions.
I've just always assumed that in the Askewniverse there's a tobacco company that makes Cigarettes brand cigarettes.
But really, it's the same reason people in movies go into a bar and order 'beer'.