¶ … Ray directed by Taylor Hackford. Specifically it will discuss the substance abuse theme in the movie. "Ray" shows the historic rise of singer Ray Charles, how he conquered blindness and addiction and became one of the world's best-known singers. In the film, Ray struggles with heroin addiction, and it almost ruins his career.

The film shows the substance abuse theme as something that seems to come with success in show business, and that seems to hold true even today. The lifestyle of performers on the road, without family, and with little supervision seems to lead them into the substance abuse lifestyle, and this was certainly true of Ray Charles. He began by smoking marijuana, and then graduated to harder drugs, like heroin. He is depicted in the film as gradually spiraling out of control and becoming more open with his drug use. He finally is arrested and threatened with ruining his career, and that sets him down the path toward recovery.

The film depicts substance abuse in a negative light, even though it seems seamless in the scheme of his growing career. It shows what drug use can do to the brain and the body, and it shows the fear his arrest caused and how hard it is to kick hard drugs like heroin. It showed the dangers of the drug well, and indicated that Charles was a very strong man to be able to kick the addiction and stay sober the rest of his life. The film did not glamorize the drugs, but it showed how they were a big part of the jazz lifestyle that Charles entered when he first entered show business. I think it was a realistic view of addiction, especially in the scenes where it was clear he would do anything for a fix, anything at all, and that it is remarkable that the drugs never seemed to affect his performance or his abilities to sing and play effectively.