In today’s culture substance abuse is out in the open. Actors, musicians, politicians and other celebrities are transparent about their struggles allowing the stigma to dissipate. Television shows and movies where alcoholism and drug addiction are the primary story lines are commonplace in media. How does this effect society as a whole, and people’s ability to recover from a seemingly hopeless state of mind and body?
When people watch a TV show about a brilliant diagnostician who is also a chronic opiate abuser, how does that impact our views about what opiate addiction really looks like? How about watching a movie about an alcoholic police officer who somehow always manages to solve the case despite his reliance on alcohol? What kind of messages are we sending to viewers about the perils of drug addiction and alcoholism? Is it so different to idealize a fictional character who has a cocaine habit but is extremely successful than a rugged cowboy who smokes Marlboro’s?
The media is constantly influencing the decisions that each of us make through advertising and content. New car commercials, fast food advertisements and product placement in programs generate billions of dollars every year. The clothing that actors wear in television shows are sought after by viewers, the type of soda they drink is sold to millions of viewers every day. Doesn’t it stand to reason, that with such influence being peddled by media, the story lines, moral lessons, and ethical standards are also absorbed by the viewing audience much like the advertising?
What would it be like if the brilliant diagnostician lost his medical license due to his drug addiction? Or if the police officer was arrested for drunk driving as the result of his alcoholism? Would the impact of these debilitating addictions trickle down and have an impact on the viewing audience? Would the viewers and fans take a different view about the glamour of cocaine, or the glory of alcohol? Would the young people in our society stop a moment and think about what they’d seen on TV and rather than get behind the wheel after a few beers, remember the police officer who was arrested? Perhaps. Maybe, rather than peddling questionable morals, and shaky decision making, the media can include some honest appraisals of how damaging drug addiction and alcoholism can be.