Media for Lunch: John Waters says, "Smoke Anyway" Not!

Growing up in suburban Minneapolis, I wanted so badly to be different, stand out, and partake in things that would identify me as someone who was cool—something like going to foreign films! The Uptown Theater in Minneapolis was one of those places where you got your cool-cred. Before every film they would play an odd “No Smoking” PSA. I instantly knew I was not in a run-of-the-mill Cineplex. It wasn’t until years later that I connected the crazy smoking man in the PSA to John Waters. That PSA always stuck in my mind, and it’s no surprise, after all he’s is one of my heroes, a true inspiration to all outcasts, and connoisseurs of cool.