Saturday, October 25, 2014

Hereos and Celebrities


Written Analysis # 3

            Theories on “How recreational drugs are portrayed in the media” in regards to heroes and the cult of celebrities are diverse. A theory I noticed is – the media portrays drug addicts as normal people with bad habits. According to the media, people make heroes and celebrities out of recreational drug users.

            For example, the media portrayed Winston Churchill, an alcoholic, a war hero regardless of his addiction.  There is a show called “Nurse Jackie” on cable TV. It’s about an RN with a prescription drug problem that trades sex with pharmacists for the drugs. They portray her as the funny, dedicated RN with a problem who happens to be the heroine of the show. These type of portrayals are creating normalcy in society.

 The media characterizes celebrities with drug problems as if it is just a way of life for these stars of Hollywood.  The media enjoys these types of stories because it attracts people from all walks of life that think about using drugs and those that are using to justify their choices and actions. It is a money maker for them to get stories out about celebrities to the public.

Applying this theory grants me a specific viewpoint of people justifying their use of recreational drugs and what the media gains from exploiting heroes and celebrities with addictions.

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