Drug Culture in Lost Weekend,

Drug Culture in Lost Weekend, Jacob's Ladder, And The Insider

Drug culture in film can be represented in a multitude of ways. Among the films that have been watched during the course of the semester, the Lost Weekend (1945), Jacob's Ladder (1990), and the Insider (1999) provide different aspects of how drug culture is depicted in film. The Lost Weekend focuses on the debilitating effects of addiction, Jacob's Ladder focuses on drug testing and development, and the Insider focuses on the drug industry.

The Lost Weekend is a film that highlights the dangers of alcohol as well as drug addiction. Directed by Billy Wilder, the film stars Ray Milland as Don Birnam, an aspiring writer who is heavily addicted to alcohol, so much so that his "need" for the drink interferes with his life and destroys his relationships with others. The Lost Weekend aims to bring attention to the dangers of addiction. Believing that Don is a recovering alcoholic, Wick -- Don's brother -- and Don's girlfriend -- Helen St. James -- are helping Don to pack for a weekend getaway. Unbeknownst to them, Don has not given up drinking, and in fact, his predilection for alcohol causes him to not only miss the train he is supposed to take, but also contributes to his delinquent behavior, which includes attempting to steal money from a woman's purse, and other acts of desperation such as attempting to pawn his typewriter and trading Helen's expensive fur coat for a gun. The film brings attention to the power that drugs, in this alcohol, can have over an individual and the difficulty they may encounter when trying to rehabilitate themselves. Furthermore, Don's thoughts about committing suicide are also representative of the hopelessness and loneliness that drug addicts may feel. In a way, the Lost Weekend serves as a public service announcement because it not only depicts the devastating effects of drug addiction, but it also shows how an individual's drug addiction also affects those around them.

Jacob's Ladder, directed by Adrian Lyne, drug culture reference focuses on drug testing on unsuspecting subjects and the lasting impact thereof. While Jacob's Ladder is a horror film, Jacob Singer, played by Tim Robbins, is haunted by hallucinations, which he is convinced are a result of secret government chemical or drug testing carried out on him during the Vietnam War. In this regard, Jacob's Ladder comments on the countless unknown substances that are secretly administered to unwilling subjects. This aspect of the film, although ultimately proving to be untrue as Jacob's hallucinations are a desperate attempt to cling to life and he really dies in Vietnam, focuses on a different aspect of drug culture: drug testing and manufacture. In Jacob's Ladder, Jacob and his fellow soldiers, serve as ersatz lab rats, considered to be disposable by the U.S. government.