Addiction: Our Society's Problem

The idea of Nancy Reagan's "Just Say No" to drugs, was a good publicity stunt, but it did not solve the drug crisis in the U.S. nor really address the life styles, the frustration and boredom that may be one of the root causes of addiction, whether to drugs or alcohol. "Elements of unemployment, poverty, racism, sexism, family dissolution, and feelings of powerlessness and alienation are associated with the problem of substance abuse" (Chapter 3- Causes of Addiction, p. 30).

In the film Bright Lights, Big City, the focus is on a highly competitive life-style. Keeping up with peer pressure and the drive to succeed at all costs. For generations, various entertainment media, including films, have always portrayed the "lovable drunk". Performers from Dean Martin to Foster Brooks have garnered laughs from their portrayals of drunks. It was really not until Lost Weekend, Days of Wine and Roses and Panicin Needle Park, that addicts to drugs or alcohol were chillingly shown. Addicts were no longer "lovable" but often victims of the fast-paced life-style of the 20^th Century.

Jamie Conway is an addict to so many different substances, alcohol, cocaine, pills, sex, and the crowd of his peers. He is easily maneuvered, and even though he tells his friend (and fellow abuser) "Do you ever think of spending a quiet evening at home?" , he himself doesn't do that. We are left wondering "Why?" He is trying to write, but unsuccessful, or not disciplined. His substance abuse gets him fired from his magazine job. His relationship with Amanda, even if much of it seemed to occur in his mind, has ended. She has become successful, he has not. When the text tells us "The use of drugs is linked with emotional problems and personal inadequacies" (Chapt. 30, p. 112) it would be easy to believe that Jamie's mother's painful death was the cause. However, he has already suspected that he would fail in his chosen career. His mother's death may simply have been an accelerant.

Is Jamie amenable to treatment? Not until his bloody nose at a party, when he looks at himself in the mirror and utters "I need help". Chances are, though, he needs someone to push him, to believe that he could find some sort of stability, even resuming a career that has been stymied by writer's block.

If only his co-worker had not been so passive. Even as he drinks himself into a stupor and swipes some pills from her medicine cabinet, if she had been firm and said- "DO something, and do it now. I'll help!" the turning point may have come right there. Certainly none of his friends or acquaintances showed any strength. They were substance abusers themselves, even if only weekend snorters and drinkers. Should his boss at the magazine realized something was wrong, suggested he take a leave and straighten himself out might have spurred Jamie to action. Yet, she was not interested in anything but perfection. Anything less was not acceptable. Thus, the firing. The possibility also exists that the girl, Mickie, might be a positive influence, although her part is sketchy at best in the film.

It is obvious that Jamie fits into one of the criteria for substance dependence: "A great deal of time is spent in activities nec3essary to obtain the substance....use the substance...or recover from its effects" (Substance dependence 131). Even at the very end of the film. Jamie is not in complete denial but "rather in a state of ambivalence" (Trimpey 199).

New York, the big city with the bright lights, is not conducive to substance abusers' trying to right their own ships. Jamie certainly needs to get away from his current peer group, who spend the workday waiting for night and party-time. Whether returning home with his brother to Bucks County is the first step is difficult to imagine. Getting out of New York, finding a quiet place where his imagination could begin to work so he could attempt to write again, would be a big first step. He does not seem to get along too well with brother or father, so some sort of open-ended medical treatment in a facility might be the answer. He needs a role model, guidance, and a strong personality to help him avoid substance abuse, or even the reason for it. Inpatient treatment, therefore, would seem to be recommended.

Frankly, the idea that substance abuse is a brain disease is somewhat off-track, especially after viewing Bright Lights, Big City. In the case of this film, it is a social disease, every bit as dangerous to others as a sexually transmitted disease. Why does one make this statement? Because it is a community reaction to both career and social pressures. One can get both lost in a big city, and so caught up in the endless round of parties (especially since all the party-goers in this film seem to be upper or upper-middle class). It is interesting to note that a "definition of terms" in Dr. Markus' class readings, states that Abuse is the "self-administration of a drug in a culturally disapproved fashion" (Markus III-21), and yet the ambience in which Jamie cavorts is not disapproving, and their peers seem to not be terribly concerned about the consequences. In the penultimate party scene, where Jamie's friend escorts him with a bloody nose to the bathroom, no one seems concerned or willing to intervene, or even say anything about the reason for the nose bleed (too much cocaine, over too long a period).

Today, even in real, not reel, life we find uninterested bystanders who may comment, "Whatever" or "It happens" and pass on by, or simply ignore the person and his predicament. Just as the Hippies of the 1960s were the objects of scorn mainly by right-wing conservatives, so today's drug- and alcohol abusing younger generation. This is not to say that abuse is a political hot potato, or that liberal-minded people are not concerned. The fact remains that many people still see abuse of any kind- drugs, alcohol, sex- as a "passing fancy" among the middle and upper classes, not like the "junkies" in ghettos or center cities.

Given Dr. Markus' definition, Jamie is a compulsive user. It is for this reason that the ideal modality would have to be in-patient salvation, a weaning of the need for drug and alcohol abuse, a restoration of his faith in his intellect and creativity. That is impossible in New York, where no matter how hard he may try, he will always run into his former "crowd" and become subject to their blandishments about returning for one more party, one more "hot club" opening.

Are there "special services"? Certainly. But, he will have to go to them willingly. Jamie needs to see that his remark near the beginning of the film, that he sees no future, has to be erased and substituted with "experiential learning as a way to recovery" (Six Principles of Social Model Services). Self help programs are not for Jamie. He is too far gone to believe in himself. As stated above, he needs a strong guide, a role model, someone who believes in his abilities (beyond the Jason Robards drunken old editor role).

Can Jamie's character rebound from this year-long bout with misery over his mother's death and other internal agonies? Yes, as long as he doesn't attempt to return to New York. It is big-city anonymity and permissive attitudes that make addiction, certainly in Jamie's case, society's problem. When his surroundings change, he will change.