Portrayal Of Drugs In Television And Movies

Portrayal Of Drugs In Television And MoviesTelevision seems to glorify drinking inebriant and the social occasion of nicotine whether actors are bellying up to Joes Emerald City Bar in Greys Anatomy or swigging a martini at MacLarens on How I Met Your Mformer(a), (McKean, 2006) tv seems to say drinking alcohol is sexy, popular and okay. Alcohol gets free consider show on prime-time television. In shows such as CBS Two and a one-half Men, Foxs Happy Hour and ABCs Brothers and Sisters, cocktails and cigarettes behave replaced the usual cup of coffee bean after work. These shows portray negative messages that drinking after work or at social gatherings is socially accepted. Reality shows such as disturbance and Celebrity Rehab depict the full range of alcohol and illicit medicate utilise with real life footage of heroin, crack cocaine, meth and other dependences. These shows expatiate the physical and mental destruction of what arsehole happen to a someone when they hold medicates.Shows such as Intervention and Celebrity Rehab show the nightfall and the existence of medicate employ. While other shows seem to venerate the manipulation of alcohol with humor and sex, these shows depict how strong dependance send packing be and how families are affected by drug use of goods and services. Shows such as these light a strong message to viewers slightly the realities of drug use and the reality of treatment. There is no pretty picture painted ab go forth an easy recovery neither does it glamorize a collected picture of heroin, meth, crack, inhalants and alcohol. The reality is clear, it sends the message dont do drugs because this is what will happen to you, your family and your life.A unequivocal aspect of the prime time television and alcohol use is that when an minor person is depicted as utilise alcohol they portray the consequences and phone number into a irrefutable learning experience. The negative aspect of alcohol and drug use in t elevision is that it sends a negative message to teens, its says its cool to drink and smoke. harmonize to Kids health.com kids and teens ages eight to eighteen spend nearly quartet hours a day watching television ( The Nemours Foundation, 2010). This is to the highest degree three times the time amount they spend listening to the radio. Children are greatly influenced by what they watch and many of them idolize stars from these shows and want the mimic what they watch, especially if the use of alcohol, nicotine and illicit drugs are glamorized. These shows depict unsafe behavior and often on that point are no consideration about the consequence of on the use of alcohol, smoking and use of drugs.Alcohol and nicotine seem to be a favourite(a) among prime time shows illicit drug use is mostly represent in movies. Illicit drugs use and alcohol are hyped up in movies more so than in prime time, but some movies in any case send a message how drugs can lead to destruction and the contend to bastinado addiction. In 1995, The basketball Diaries staring Leonard DiCaprio portrayed the true narrative of Jim Carroll a teenagers struggle with heroin addiction whose only proclivitys are the impale of basketball and heroin. In The Basketball Diaries Jims the only escape from a dress hat friend that is dying and a coach who is a child pirana is heroin. In a downward spiral Jims addiction for heroin leads him into the streets where he steals, robs and prostitutes himself. It is only through a friend and his relentless pursuit of his desire for Jim to be clean that he overcomes his addiction and fulfills his dreams. The message in The Basketball Diaries relays how drug addiction can destroy your dreams lead you into a raceway of crime and self destruction. The message in this movie was a flesh out of how a lifestyle can easily be misled through the use of drugs and the struggle a person will have to take to overcome that addiction. This move portrayed a very effective message drugs can destroy all your dreams, lead you into a life where basically you would mete out your soul to get your next hit. It also showed the struggles to overcome addiction and how confirming your life can become once you decide to make positive choices in your life.As much as alcohol and drug use may be glorified in prime time television, in that location are also antidrug ads that try to educate parents and children on peer air pressure and the effects of drug use. In 1998 Congress created The National Youth Anti-Drug Media running play in collaboration with Partnership for a Drug-Free America the conclusion of this campaign is preventing and reducing young drug abuse across the nation. The important goal of this campaign is to create publicizings that deliver antidrug use and the dangers of that behavior to youths. According to The Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) 2009 in that respect is a coefficient of correlation between increased teen e xposure to anti-drug messages on television and a decreased likelihood of trying drugs over the past ten years. quaternary out of ten teens agreed that anti-drug messages made them more aware of the risks of using drugs and less likely to try the drugs (Drug Enforcement governance, 2010). In one of the many advertisement the campaign has produce, The Human Puppet the advertisement depicts a girl is passed out on a chair with her friends gathered around her, they are motion picture her face and have strapped her arms with scarves and are moving her hands as she is a puppet. The girl is in an unconscious state and never reacts to what her friends are doing to her they make reference to the fact that she is passed out and thrashed and that she will have a major headache in the morning. Eventually they walk away from her, liberation her slumped in the chair (The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign, 2009).This was an excellent advertisement, and depicted the reality of what can happen when you consume alcohol as a teenager and the embarrassing situations that you place yourself in. The advertisement also pointed out the reality of what your friends can and will do to you when you passed out from alcohol use. The one weakness that was mention in this advertisement was that some kids may think that it was more ridiculous than educational. There should have been more depiction of what can happen when a kid drinks too much alcohol such as loss of body function or alcohol related illnesses. Overall these campaigns have been shown to work The National Youth Anti-Drug Media Campaign began in July 1998 and its primary concentrate was on reducing marijuana use among adolescents. The data collected from the solution of PATS in 1998 compared to the data collected in 2008 shows that the use of the media campaign has importantly increased the teen awareness and decreased the use of marijuana in teens (Drug Enforcement Administration, 2010).The policies that are in place to deal with the portrayal of drug addiction are planned throughThe Office of National Drug harbor polity (ONDCP), the primary function of this office is to establish policies, priorities, and objectives for the Nations drug promise program. The goals of the program are to reduce illicit drug use, manufacturing, and trafficking, drug-related crime and violence, and drug-related health consequences (Office of National Drug Control policy, 2010). The policies that have been established for drug addiction are the following that were obtained from the Criminal Justice insurance FoundationAmericans For gumshoe Access (ASA) an aggressive grassroots campaign working(a) to push the provide administration off its anti-medical marijuana crusade and allow states the decent to conduct and govern medical marijuana laws.Common Sense for Drug constitution (CSDP) a non-profit organization dedicated to expanding discussion on drug constitution and raising questions about existin g law and educating the public about alternatives to occurrent policies.Criminal Justice Policy Foundation (CJPF) a non-profit foundation working on innovative solutions to problems facing the criminal justice system.Drug Policy Alliance (DPA) the nations leading organization working to end the war on drugs.Drug Reform Coordination Network (DRCNet) opposes the prison-building frenzy and supports rational policies consistent with the principles of peace, justice, freedom, compassionateness and truth.Human Rights and the Drug war a multi-media project that combines the stories and photos of Drug War POWs with facts and figures about the US Drug War, to confront the conscience of the American masses and encourage individuals to take action for social justice.Institute for Policy Studies (IPS) a progressive think-tank with a project on U.S. drug policy and U.S. amour in Colombia.Interorganized religion Drug Policy Initiative (IDPI) organizes people of faith to promote drug po licy reform i.e., moving from prohibition laws toward sightly and compassionate drug regulation, education and treatment.Judges Against the Drug War provides an abundant online database of judicial opinions critical of the governments War on Drugs. The database represents judicial dissent against drug prohibition in state and federal jurisdictions from 1970 to the present date.Law Enforcement Against breastwork (LEAP) current and former members of law enforcement who support drug regulation quite than prohibition.Marijuana Policy Project (MPP) works to minimize the harm associated with marijuana both the consumption of marijuana, and the laws that are intended to prohibit such use.Multidisciplinary joining for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS) non-profit research and educational organization that assists scientific study of the risks and benefits of MDMA, psychotropic drugs and marijuana.National Drug Strategies Network (NDSN) coalition of organizations that offer information a bout drug control strategies.National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) a nonprofit public-interest advocacy group that represents the interests of the tens of millions of Americans who smoke marijuana responsibly.Parents Ending rampart Parents Ending Prohibition is a non-profit organization, designed to bring together parents and other concerned citizens to protect our children from the devastating harms created by our nations war on marijuana.Students for logical Drug Policy (SSDP) working to involve youth in the governmental process, and promoting an open, honest, and rational discussion of alternative solutions to our nations drug problems.Unitarian Universalists for Drug Policy Reform (UUDPR) a continental coalition of Unitarian Universalists leading the denominations efforts to coach and promote more just and compassionate drug policies (Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, 2010)In addition to these policies The federal official Communications Commis sion (FCC) is an independent linked States government agency. The FCC was established by the Communications Act of 1934 and is charged with regulation interstate and international communications by radio, television, wire, satellite and cable (The Federal Communications Commission, 2009). The division of the FCC that administers policies and license is the Media Bureau. This office controls what is viewed on television and although there are some limitations due to the First Amendment Act. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is another office that regulates how drugs are portrayed on television. The FDA monitors how pharmaceutical companies publicise their drugs on television. Pharmaceutical companies are allowed to claim the benefits of their product but they must also provide a website or referenced publications where consumers can take out more details regarding the products (Mosher Akins, 2007, p. 345). In 1994 The Dietary Supplemental Health and Education Act was passe d, this act established policies on the sale and advertisement of dietary aides on television.The influence that television has on our youth today is overwhelming and it is important that use of drugs, whether legal or wicked are monitored and regulated. The government as well as parents and guardians have a responsibility towards our future generation and it is important that we influence our children in the right direction.