A Look at Addiction Films - Essay Example

Understanding Films Order No. 486096 Drug culture/ habituation have always been a highly debated topic especially where society is concerned. In my conception of things, I strongly feel that there is more to this subject that meets the eye. Though drug addiction or habituation makes individuals dependent and is detrimental to the abuser’s health and the society at large, yet in some cases, it is known to help patients who are extremely ill and cannot do without their use. In this essay, three films "The Master" "Enter the Void" "Successful Alcoholics”, are going to be explored and analyzed for new concepts and perspectives on the subject of drug addiction, in order to give us a better understanding of different perspectives. “The Master” is a gripping story of a WWII veteran who struggles a lot trying to make adjustments in a society that is post war. Paul Thomas Anderson who plays the lead role in this American drama shows how he struggles with his past in order to find meaning in his present life after his traumatic experiences during the war. In trying hard to bring a balance and meaning to his life, this veteran meets a religious leader who initiates him into the movement called “The Cause”. He accompanies the religious leader to various countries and helps to spread these teachings. However, it is his abuse of alcohol that does not permit him to lead a normal and peaceful life because he keeps getting himself into trouble over and over again. In my perception, drug abuse only brings out the negative aspects of the individual and at the same time drags him even deeper into addiction. However, on looking at the film from a different perspective, I tried to understand the cause for his drug abuse and this helped me change my perspective that I initially had. Most often, we go with the stereotype notion that drugs can do more harm than good, but it is rather heartening to know that for some people it is a life line for survival. “Enter the Void” is another astounding film that breaks away from the standard type of storytelling. This cinematic but visionary film takes its audience on a thrilling rollercoaster ride to Tokyo’s neon club scene where it projects both life and death in an emotional palette of colors. Written and directed by Gasper Noé, this controversial film sheds light on the drug scene from a youth point of view of their experiences. The filmmaker calls his film “a psychedelic melodrama” because it portrays the shooting of an American youth who is a drug dealer, by the police. What makes this film especially unique is how the filmmaker treats the subject of drug abuse. He gives his audience an out of body experience where the youth continues to view the present events by floating around the streets of the city. Oscar, the drug pedaling youth is also shown to recall events of the past when he sold drugs to different people. The different perspective I witnessed in ‘Enter the Void’ is the filmmaker’s out of body portrayal of the small time drug dealer who was unwilling to leave the world he had once lived in and preferred to hover over his past life even after his death. This was something new to me and I felt a pang of sadness to watch the suffering he felt as he recollected his past. ‘Successful Alcoholics’ is another such movie that quite surprised me because the subject of habituation was treated in rather a light manner, making use of comedy in the story telling. However, at the same time, I could feel an apprehension as to where it was going to take this couple who were successful at their jobs. Usually, we find that people who are alcoholic are not so successful, but in ‘Successful Alcoholics’, the filmmaker drives home the point, that even though his protagonists are successful, yet the time comes for them to face reality. The reality was that it was alcohol that united them, but it was the same alcohol that would finally separate them. 2. This is the age of technology and social networking and these have made life so fast paced yet easy. In this connection, I find the GPS and Mapping systems which are some of the modern technologies, very useful and beneficial in many different circumstances. The GPS and mapping technology helps us in various ways. For example, it helps us find our preferred destinations by suggesting the best route that is not only safe but free from congested traffic. It also helps us to monitor our mail, phone calls, messages and conversations. The technology also helps to keep our loved ones safe by helping us to monitor the online activities and mobile activities of our children or elders. In addition it serves to keep us abreast of the activities of our employees and know how much work they put in. Experientially, I would definitely prefer to integrate the use of the GPS tracking system for my PSA issue and campaign because it is useful to accurately map the physical world around us and provide accurate data we need to find while surveying different areas. Conventional or standardized techniques, though helpful are rather tedious because it makes use of a lot of equipment and much labor is required to carry out surveys to collect necessary data. This modern technology has served to revolutionize exploring or surveying activities and has helped to increase productivity with the least amount of time and effort and with immense accuracy too. Nowadays, a single surveyor has the ability to accomplish getting highly accurate data, within the shortest possible time, whereas in days gone by an entire team was required to carry out the same job for a much lengthier period of time. The GPS technology has the capacity to accurately map and model the physical aspects of the world around us such as rivers, mountains, building, streets and many other utility resources that can be easily displayed not only on maps but also in GIS systems (geographic Information systems) that are crucial for collecting specific data and other information that could be very useful when exploring. These new emerging technologies are a lot more beneficial to people because it not only makes things much easier during explorations or surveys but it is saves a lot of time, money and labor. Therefore, the audience using these modern technologies has the scope of becoming much bigger than ever before. The use of such technology has made its audiences more aware of the benefits that come with its use. This awareness has made them understand that traditional methods are long drawn and tedious besides not being very accurate. Hence, the audiences for using modern technology such as the GPS or the GIS are constantly on the rise. However, there is a bit of down side to it because if the using of such technology becomes a habituation, man’s relation to time and space, without the use of such equipment would be considerably challenged. 3. Habituation cannot be viewed as something that is completely bad or destructive because sometimes it serves to take the individual away from painful or distasteful situations. To bring home this point of view I have chosen to discuss Chauncey Hare’s ‘Protest Photographs’ and Robert Adams ‘Summer Nights, Walking.’ Chauncey was a research engineer for Standard Oil, but he felt claustrophobic at his workplace and soon he felt estranged to this atmosphere. He soon took up photography as an escape from his monotonous work routine. When at work he experienced a severe toll on his health both physically and psychologically such as panic attacks and nausea. However, as the weekend approached, his sufferings would subside and he would lose himself in his photography. His photographic works formally and thematically describes the claustrophobic feeling he experienced while at his job and this is seen reflected in the photographs he took of wide open landscapes around his home. Gradually, Chauncey shifted to exploring the lives and sufferings of workers who lived in that area. He made use of artificial lighting and dark shadows to express the claustrophobic and joyless lives lead by the workers and himself. From his perspective he feels that their lives too could be extraordinary and hold a lot of personal and spiritual meaning that would give them freedom and happiness. Robert Adams photo-books on ‘Summer Nights, Walking’ shed light on the beauty of our world but with danger lurking in the background. The photographer’s collection reflects our feelings of loneliness and memories of the past that triggers a sense of forebording as we look into the future. The Summer walk belongs to the Photographer Adam as well as our own, as we stare into the darkness of the shadows where beauty fades into the stillness of the night. His photographs depict the loneliness we experience when we relish the beauty of our world but yet understand that it abounds with menace, that replaces the joy we feel with fear that shakes the roots of our existence. Chauncey Hare’s ‘Protest Photographs’ and Robert Adam’s ‘Summer Night’s Walking’ brings out a different perspective of how vulnerable humans could be. It highlights the fact that there is a deeper meaning to life that exists that should never be taken for granted. References Chauncey Hare (2009) Protest Photographs. Taken from the web from www.5b4.blogspot.com/2009/11/protest-photographs-by-chauncey-hare.html Gasper Noé, (2010) Enter the Void. Official Trailer. Taken from the web from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKRxDP--e-Y GPS.gov. Survey and Mapping Applications. Web, from www.gps.gov Peter Bradshaw, (2010) Enter the Void, Film Review. Web, from www.theguardian.com  Robert Adams (2010) Review: Summer Night’s Walking. Web, from www.americansuburbx.com/.../robert-adams-summer-nights-walking T. Habit, Drug Addiction, Drug Habituation. Profiles in Science. https://profiles.nlm.nih.gov/ps/access/NNBBNK.pdf Vogt. Roberts (2010) Successful Alcoholics. Web, from www.vimeo.com Read More

The different perspective I witnessed in ‘Enter the Void’ is the filmmaker’s out of body portrayal of the small time drug dealer who was unwilling to leave the world he had once lived in and preferred to hover over his past life even after his death. This was something new to me and I felt a pang of sadness to watch the suffering he felt as he recollected his past. ‘Successful Alcoholics’ is another such movie that quite surprised me because the subject of habituation was treated in rather a light manner, making use of comedy in the story telling.

However, at the same time, I could feel an apprehension as to where it was going to take this couple who were successful at their jobs. Usually, we find that people who are alcoholic are not so successful, but in ‘Successful Alcoholics’, the filmmaker drives home the point, that even though his protagonists are successful, yet the time comes for them to face reality. The reality was that it was alcohol that united them, but it was the same alcohol that would finally separate them. 2. This is the age of technology and social networking and these have made life so fast paced yet easy.

In this connection, I find the GPS and Mapping systems which are some of the modern technologies, very useful and beneficial in many different circumstances. The GPS and mapping technology helps us in various ways. For example, it helps us find our preferred destinations by suggesting the best route that is not only safe but free from congested traffic. It also helps us to monitor our mail, phone calls, messages and conversations. The technology also helps to keep our loved ones safe by helping us to monitor the online activities and mobile activities of our children or elders.

In addition it serves to keep us abreast of the activities of our employees and know how much work they put in. Experientially, I would definitely prefer to integrate the use of the GPS tracking system for my PSA issue and campaign because it is useful to accurately map the physical world around us and provide accurate data we need to find while surveying different areas. Conventional or standardized techniques, though helpful are rather tedious because it makes use of a lot of equipment and much labor is required to carry out surveys to collect necessary data.

This modern technology has served to revolutionize exploring or surveying activities and has helped to increase productivity with the least amount of time and effort and with immense accuracy too. Nowadays, a single surveyor has the ability to accomplish getting highly accurate data, within the shortest possible time, whereas in days gone by an entire team was required to carry out the same job for a much lengthier period of time. The GPS technology has the capacity to accurately map and model the physical aspects of the world around us such as rivers, mountains, building, streets and many other utility resources that can be easily displayed not only on maps but also in GIS systems (geographic Information systems) that are crucial for collecting specific data and other information that could be very useful when exploring.

These new emerging technologies are a lot more beneficial to people because it not only makes things much easier during explorations or surveys but it is saves a lot of time, money and labor. Therefore, the audience using these modern technologies has the scope of becoming much bigger than ever before. The use of such technology has made its audiences more aware of the benefits that come with its use. This awareness has made them understand that traditional methods are long drawn and tedious besides not being very accurate.

Hence, the audiences for using modern technology such as the GPS or the GIS are constantly on the rise. However, there is a bit of down side to it because if the using of such technology becomes a habituation, man’s relation to time and space, without the use of such equipment would be considerably challenged. 3. Habituation cannot be viewed as something that is completely bad or destructive because sometimes it serves to take the individual away from painful or distasteful situations.

Read More