Hollywood: Heroin and Love Hate Relationship Essay

Submitted By onyx68w
Words: 487
Pages: 2

Does Hollywood over glamorize the portrayal of drugs and drug abuse? I would have to say definitely yes. Our culture has a love hate relationship with drugs. Drugs are provocative, and my opinion drugs in Hollywood are the new cash crop. Over the past decade from the silver screen to television, broadcasting companies have ratcheted up their content to include shows that cater to our infatuation with stimulants.

I remember watching the movie Half Baked, and thinking how funny the movie was. From movies like Pineapple Express, to The Hangover, Animal House, and Beerfest all where hilarious comedies that did extremely well. When you examine the undercurrent of movies like this, you can see how the humor in “pot” and binge drinking where glamorized to such a point where it didn’t seem bad to get blackout drunk.

Other shows have depicted drug addiction and drug dealing in their current lineup and have been very successful. According to an article by Balboa Horizons, “Shows like House and Nurse Jackie revolve around main characters who become addicted to drugs because of their work in the medical field.” In addition they also stated how, “Breaking Bad almost makes crystal meth production and distribution seem like a real career choice, Mad Men is the ultimate glamorization of alcoholism, no matter what time of day it is, and Californication makes alcohol seem like part of everyday life.”

When it comes to the conversation about films warning or dissuading the use of drugs I believe the show The Wire showed the highs and lows of the drug culture. It depicted the life of drug dealers, drug addicts, law enforcement and the families caught in the middle of the war on drugs. It served as a cautionary tale of what could happen if you engage in this type of activity. The mood of the show was dark, and had a lot