The Effects Of Drugs On Society s Perspectives On Drugs

The representation of drugs has been frequently changing since popular songs and films have emerged in the Western nations. These changes varied from a negative perspective to a more open and positive portrayal on drugs from the late 1800s till this present day respectively. The entertainment industry plays a huge role in the influence on society’s perspectives on drugs as some films would have depicted drugs being the cause of violence and tragedy while some other films would portray the drugs as a recreational use for some individuals who feel the need to use it to overcome the adversity of fitting into society or challenge it. Till this present day, even though there is a lot more optimism on the views of drugs than the earlier century,†¦show more content†¦Thus, why artists and writers would use this to send their ideas on the prohibition of drugs through media. The imagery of drugs slowly shifted away from the morality of anti-drugs, then focused towards normalising illegal drug use as it approached the years 1960s and 1970s. The film Easy Rider (1969) establishes two white men providing illegal drugs (cocaine) in exchange for money which would allow them to buy into their freedom or in other words the ‘American Dream’. Unfortunately the two men were murdered at the end of the film because they lost sight of their freedom as Boyd (2010, p.61) mentions ‘In Easy Rider, it is not the drug that produces harm (a dominant theme in earlier films); rather it is conventional society that is represented as dangerous, embodied in the form of working-class Southern white men†, a movie that wouldn’t have been screened 50 years ago from that period. This film also demonstrates the hardship of earning money and pursuing the American Dream would result to dealing drugs for cash in order for that dream to become a reality. Ma nderson (1995, p. 812) states ‘it reveals, furthermore, the ways in which â€Å"the drug problem† is not about the drugs at all. The law, as much as the user, must learn to â€Å"just say no†