Drug Trafficking in America
The Glorification of Drug Trafficking and Use in Television and Movies
It almost seems that anytime you put in a DVD or turn on the television set these days, you are bombarded with drug use. Drug trafficking and usage has become almost commonplace in Hollywood anymore. Often in movies the person using or selling the drugs becomes rich, powerful and never gets caught. The harsh truth is our prisons are overflowing with drug offenders. Children may not see this as the truth. They will see their favorite actors or singers living a life of luxury. As a father to a six year old boy, what I see on television concerns me greatly. I have to remind him that what he is seeing on the television is not real, and that the people in it are just pretending. Unfortunately, Hollywood is very good at what they do, and often make my job harder. With the constant barrage of drug use on television and in movies, it appears to be a battle I cannot win unless I properly educate him. It is important to show that drugs are sensationalized in movies and television and that in real life, drugs can ruin lives.
From the earliest days of Hollywood, the topic of drugs has been one that can attract instant drama and gather a quick audience. What may have started out as actors using smoking to set the mood for a scene have turned now to marijuana usage as the “scene setter” in such movies as Dazed and Confused and Kids and television shows like Entourage. It doesn’t even have to involve illegal drugs either. The show House M.D. centered on a doctor that was addicted to Vicodin. It almost appears that just the usage of drugs is not enough to garner an audience anymore, now some of the top shows on television center around trafficking; shows like Breaking Bad and Weeds.
Most of these shows and movies make it appear that trafficking of drugs and their usage are simply not a problem or have an almost non-existent fear of consequence. They present it as a topic to take lightly and that there are no
It almost seems that anytime you put in a DVD or turn on the television set these days, you are bombarded with drug use. Drug trafficking and usage has become almost commonplace in Hollywood anymore. Often in movies the person using or selling the drugs becomes rich, powerful and never gets caught. The harsh truth is our prisons are overflowing with drug offenders. Children may not see this as the truth. They will see their favorite actors or singers living a life of luxury. As a father to a six year old boy, what I see on television concerns me greatly. I have to remind him that what he is seeing on the television is not real, and that the people in it are just pretending. Unfortunately, Hollywood is very good at what they do, and often make my job harder. With the constant barrage of drug use on television and in movies, it appears to be a battle I cannot win unless I properly educate him. It is important to show that drugs are sensationalized in movies and television and that in real life, drugs can ruin lives.
From the earliest days of Hollywood, the topic of drugs has been one that can attract instant drama and gather a quick audience. What may have started out as actors using smoking to set the mood for a scene have turned now to marijuana usage as the “scene setter” in such movies as Dazed and Confused and Kids and television shows like Entourage. It doesn’t even have to involve illegal drugs either. The show House M.D. centered on a doctor that was addicted to Vicodin. It almost appears that just the usage of drugs is not enough to garner an audience anymore, now some of the top shows on television center around trafficking; shows like Breaking Bad and Weeds.
Most of these shows and movies make it appear that trafficking of drugs and their usage are simply not a problem or have an almost non-existent fear of consequence. They present it as a topic to take lightly and that there are no
References: Duell, Mark. Tragedy of a real-life Weeds mom: Young mother 'brutally murdered and dumped in pond after arriving at house for drug deal ' (2011, May 13) Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1386331/Real-life-Weeds-mother-Krista-Dittmeyer-brutally-murdered-drugs.html Gutierrez, Crystal. Breaking Bad ‘Meth Candy’ Booming in NM (2012, August 20) Retrieved From http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/business/breaking-bad-meth-candy-booming-in-nm Henry, B. L., Minassian, A., & Perry, W. Effect of methamphetamine dependence on everyday functional ability. Addictive Behaviors, 35(6), 593. (2010, June) Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/218984815?accountid=32521 Manchikanti L, Fellow B, Ailinani H, Pampati V. Therapeutic Use, Abuse, and Nonmedical Use of Opioids: A Ten-Year Perspective. Pain Physician. 13:401-435. 2010. Retrieved from http://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/default/files/ondcp/issues-content/prescription-drugs/rx_abuse_plan.pdf U.S Newswire. New study first to quantify illicit drug, substance use in movies and music popular among youth (1999, April 28). Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/451359773/13A5412A9DD2F7484B0/1?accountid=32521