To begin with, the problem of drug use, especially among teenagers, is now at the peak of its media ubiquity as it covers a highly sensitive topic. Many researchers and sociologists attempt to identify the reasons for such a phenomenon as well as provide an understanding of the cultural context behind the problem. Is there a possibility that media coverage of drug-related subjects along with appearance of those in cultural art pieces, such as cinematography, music, books, etc. may have had an impact on formation of a particular image in the minds of the exposed? This article addresses the subject of drug use practices depiction in cinematography and analyzes the tendency through the Cultivation Theory.
Cultivation is the process of forming a certain idea of the world in a person, in which some characteristics of people or events are associated with others [1]. The cultivation theory proposed by J. Gerbner states that mass communication, primarily television, is the source of ideas about the world. A modern person has a large amount of information that cannot be gleaned from their personal experience. Mass communication messages provide the audience with knowledge about what they rarely encounter in their lives. Researchers that pioneered with the Cultivation Theory explore the cultivation process, which, in their opinion, goes through different ways [2]. The first, the main one, is observed most often among those who spend a lot of time in front of the screen, when television symbols become omnipotent and suppress other sources of information and ideas about the world around them. Internalized ideas about social reality are gradually pouring, not politically, but culturally, into the mainstream, the content of which corresponds more to television reality than to objective reality. The second version of cultivation is carried out through resonance, when viewers see on the TV screen what most closely matches their own everyday realities [2]. Essentially, these people get a «double dose» of cultivation because what they see on TV resonates in their real life.
After conducting a brief content analysis of the films that address the topic of drug use, we concluded that there were several attitude eras in cinematography that had different approaches to depicting drugs on screen. In 1900–1920s, drugs rarely appeared in films, however, they were generally portrayed in a positive or comedic light. For example, a comedy film called “Mystery of the Leaping Fish” tells a story about a Detective who uses cocaine to battle Chinese drug smugglers. That should be of no surprise as, for instance, marijuana was only banned in 1937. Additionally, in the late 1920s, America faced a new trouble, and the name for it was methamphetamine. That is why during the next era, 1930–1950s, the cultural code had changed and the representation of drugs on screen became almost universally negative. The most notorious film from the wave of anti-drug exploitation cinema was “Reefer Madness” that promoted several misconceptions about marijuana. As society faced a problem of frequent drug use, the cinematography of the time began shifting the existing neutral image to the negative one. In the next era, 1960–1970s, with the birth of the counterculture generation, drugs started to appear more frequently and more creatively as well. For example, a comedy film “Up in Smoke” tells a story about an unemployed young man who ditches his parents and goes on a road trip where he has fun, ingests drugs with his newly found friend, and searches for inspiration. Eventually, they form a rock band. The 1960–1970s are even called the decades of drug use [3]. Back then, drugs gained “glamor”, without becoming better understood. Therefore, the next era, the 1980s, shifted the depiction of drugs once again. With Reagan and Bush’s War on Drugs picking up steam, drug use depictions began to decrease or be portrayed in a more negative form. The main masterpiece of the time was “Scarface”, a story representing a bloody conception of the American dream, which tragic ending reinforces an anti-drug moralism. The following era, 1990-present time, became a treasure trove of cinematic masterpieces. The Clinton Administration’s abandonment of the United States of America’s leadership in anti-drug effort as well as the emergence of the so-called Generation X, paved the way to the freedom of drug depiction, which became more neutral. The previous negatively moralizing image slowly faded away, making way for more nuanced and individual plots. “Requiem for a Dream”, “The Basketball Diaries”, “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas”, “Trainspotting”, “Pulp Fiction”, “The Wolf of Wall Street”, “Pusher” are great examples of completely different settings, plots, backgrounds, and main addressed subjects: some of them are fun, others tragic and heartbreaking. Taking this into account, there can be seen a tendency of transforming the overall drug use depiction in cinematography according to the cultural and social pillars of particular time.
The brief outline of drug history in cinematography can partially explain the main concepts of the Cultivation Theory. Drug use was negatively depicted on screen during times of major addiction crises, which did lead to alleviating a problem a little, but then again, a minor over-indulgence in the topic brought the progress back to square one. Right now, there are no limitations or restrictions on how drugs should be portrayed, and the statistics of drug use is somewhat depressing, however, the economic factor should never be excluded when we are talking about the subject.
Further, we will analyze two theme-related films that both share the same common, morally accepted plot of how drugs can easily become a reason for the complete destruction of a youngster's life. The first film is American biographical drama “Beautiful Boy”, 2018, directed by Belgian screenwriter Felix van Groeningen. The film tells a story about a loving father who desperately tries to save his son from addiction. The artwork shows that anyone can face the problem of addiction as the main character in the film was indeed an ordinary, smart, and loved kid, and even he got to experience such a problem. The main idea of the action picture is not “don’t do drugs because they will ruin your life” narrative, but the impact drug use can have on relationships with your family and loved ones. It shows that addiction not only destroys an addict’s life, but also the lives of those around him. The novelty of “Beautiful Boy” lies in depicting a repetitive cycle of success and failure in battling an addiction, it shows the main character relapse after obeying a sobriety, and then again, and again. This film is a perfect example of a well-written drama. “One day I woke up in a hospital and someone asked me, “What's your problem?” And I said, “I'm an alcoholic and an addict.” And he said, “No, that's how you've been treating your problem.” [4]
The second film is “Christiane F.” is a 1981 German arthouse biographical artwork, directed by Uli Edel, a German film and television director, that portrays the descent of a main female character, a 13-year-old girl, born in 1970s in West Berlin, to a 14-year-old heroin addict and prostitute. The film is horrifying with its frank honesty and unremitting grimness. “Cristiane F.” has become notorious in the topic of drug use among youngsters. It focuses on horrors of drug use and on physical and mental debilitation of drug addiction. The film was shot on the verge of the decades of drug use and the following one, that is 1980s, and if we should analyze its content more properly and neatly, it is surprisingly easy to distinguish the glamourous lining of drug addiction. Between the scenes with heroin injection and overdoses, pedophilia and all atrocities related, we are able to see beautiful dynamic shots of characters dancing in a hotel room, meeting the dawn at the top of a building, glancing over tranquil and picture-like Berlin.
These two action pictures outline basic, yet individual narrative about a young person that got addicted to drugs. Roughly speaking, they both show how drugs and addiction can ruin one’s life, nevertheless telling a unique and quirky story. The mission of the films is to form a stern negative attitude towards drugs and to support the opinion that drugs are destructive, and one should never ever consider trying them.
To conclude with, it must be pointed out that the Cultivation Theory has also been criticized. One reason why some researchers question the Cultivation Theory lies within the fact that it treats viewers as passive consumers, and focuses only on their response to the message instead of investigating their behavior. Another reason to criticize the Cultivation Theory stems from the fact that it doesn’t specify how different genres can influence a person as Gerbner, the founder of the Cultivation Theory, stated that it was a general system of messages that mattered. Nevertheless, if we are to apply the Cultivation Theory in our research, it is of vital importance to examine the cultural and social aspects, as we did in defying the different tendencies in depicting drug use practices in cinematography. By relying on various social codes that evolved throughout time, it can be seen that the reality constructed in related films eventually managed to extrapolate on our own.
References:
- “Cultivation Theory by George Gerbner & Larry Gross”. Retrieved 2022–12–20.
- L. J. Shrum, Valerie Darmanin Bischak, Mainstreaming, Resonance, and Impersonal Impact: Testing Moderators of the Cultivation Effect for Estimates of Crime Risk, Human Communication Research, Volume 27, Issue 2, April 2001, Pages 187–215, https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468–2958.2001.tb00780.x
- Johnson, B.D., Williams, T., Dei, K.A. and Sanabria, H., 1990. Drug abuse in the inner city: Impact on hard-drug users and the community. Crime and Justice, 13, pp.9–67.
- My Beautiful Boy (2018). — Текст: электронный // IMDb: [сайт]. — URL: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1226837/ (дата обращения: 15.05.2023).
