Role of movies in making alcoholism and addiction a casual affair for the audiences

Drugs began showing up in movies more often during the 1990s and continued to become more common with each passing year. Most movies started portraying the ‘highs and euphoria’ associated with alcoholism and drug addiction as a glamour quotient. As much as we desire to believe that the movie makers have their hearts in the right place while depicting these stories of addicts being heroes and leading easy lives, the unfortunate, concerning outcome is that the cumulative effect of these movies on youth has been indescribably demoralising. It is a significant concern because representation matters, not in the sense of who we represent but how we represent. Movies, as we know are an eloquent part of a person’s life, and conspicuously an adolescent’s life as they shape his/her view of the world. But movies that misrepresent are capable of destroying the world.

Most movies have been above all, not very good at portraying addicts on the screen. We certainly have a good number of movies showing addicts in incredible gallant characters which are not any close to the factual representation of the nuanced addicts who create their own world outside of their families and friends with the substance of their choice.  Scarface, the wolf of the wall street, train-spotting, blow are a few to mention. So many plots in the movies only give an impression of addiction as a trending stylish attitude that the hero carries. Many side-plots involving addicts are also designed to add that dramatic spice. One good example being Sarah Silverman’s character in Take This Waltz. These are a hindrance to the society at large. These movies also can trigger the existing recoveries and portray their sobriety as something that is easy.

Some plots in the movies diminish hope among people in early recovery. Especially the psychological dramas of recovering addicts like in the movie ‘Krisha’ which is about a woman trying to maintain her abstinence over thanksgiving is a heart-wrenching tale of relapse. This exquisitely crafted tale could be the biggest trigger for recovering addicts in practically daring them to stay away from reaching for a drink or substance. It could bring recoveries to an incredibly dark place upon reaching the credits. Chris Rock’s Top Five is another movie in which the lead role is a recovering addict. The movie in which sober living is a prevalent theme, shows the lead role opening a beer and relapsing. The relapse in this movie was shown as a casual affair unlike a disastrous one. The message it conveys to the recovering addicts could be disastrous too.

We have always heard cautionary tales about addicts dramatically destroying their own lives and finding sobriety after enduring a lot of struggle. Recovery is not just a casual thing that happens to the addicts. Also, relapse is not an insignificant consequence. It feels like it’s hard to make a good movie about addiction because no one wants to see the actual truth. We know people who understand compulsions and try to drag people out of addiction and we also know some film makers who glorify addiction. The fact is, for some addicts, sobriety just saves their lives after a difficult trial while most of them could not make it through. But let us be frank. Nothing can be casual about addiction or recovery. Addiction is a progressive disease. Even after achieving sobriety, people need to stay constantly vigilant about their compulsions that can drive them back to grab a drink or two because it is a good day or a bad day. There have been stories of real addicts who maintained sobriety for whole 9 years and relapsed thereafter. There is only one bitter truth that there is absolutely no glory or heroism attached to addiction. There is just hope.

These movies sometimes reinforce what the addict has/had internalised for long periods of time that they are the actual problem and they need to be fixed, while addiction is in fact a disease of the brain.  It could happen to anyone. It isn’t difficult to figure out that so many movie makers tweak the characters of addicts to commercialise on the concise, dramatic storytelling options they make for. And the stakes are extremely high because not one living soul on the earth hasn’t been untouched by addiction either directly or indirectly. Unfortunately, positive portrayals of addiction and valiant stories of heroic redemption would be flat and just a mental health equivalent of a participation trophy. There are of course some movies that have been made with a positive feel and offered well-rounded views of recovering addicts. While these movies certainly hold their place in the minds of audiences, the issue lies in setting the polarities so far apart that leaves us with considerable, clumsy gaps in the perception of addiction.

Thoughtful film making involves portraying heroes as empathetic, distinguished and dynamic. Excluding good-or-bad, win-or-fail anecdotal binaries from the characterisations and illustrating well-developed motivations, humanitarian subjects, relatable and understandable screen writing benefits people in finding healthy inspiration and developing together as a robust society.