3 Times Media Depictions of Sobriety Were Accurate
these pieces of popular media show even the most introspective moments of recovery.
Popular media consistently utilizes stereotypes in order to market themselves to the public. A housewife on a sitcom just has to be loaded all day to deal with those kids or 35-year-old teenagers need to party every night with their unrealistically smooth faces as they battle through another love triangle.
Sure, it’s entertaining in theory, but drinking is not a one-size-fits-all trope. The media depicts alcoholism mostly to shame or entertain. In the past, excessive drinking wasn’t used to show a serious problem—it was a comedic ice-breaker and addiction only seemed to affect the lower class. Several hit comedies are based on binge drinking and blackouts while we watch them scramble to piece together the night before everything went dark.
My favorite of these has got to be The Hangover (and all of its sequels) where a group of men drink all night, cheat, steal, fight and ultimately black out. It’s easy to laugh at their antics—I mean they did end up with a baby and a tiger in their bedroom—but thinking deeply about it (which I admit should never be done with a comedy movie) makes you see the people that were hurt along the path of this epic bender. The main issue with media depictions of substance abuse is that it can cheapen the experience of people in recovery.
However, not all shows or movies use drinking or alcoholism as a joke or to promote shame. In fact there have been several depictions in the media that portray sobriety accurately. Some are funny, some are sad and some are introspective. But they are closer to the truth than stealing a tiger from Mike Tyson.
Disclaimer: These movies and shows depict addictive behaviors and can be triggering to watch. Do not watch these shows if you are new to recovery.
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I love anything that has singing. I’m talking Glee, La La Land, tick, tick…Boom!—give me a good story with awesome music and I will rewatch it until the day I die. And the fact that this movie has Lady Gaga is a major selling point. But deeper than the star-studded cast is the message it sends. Being in the spotlight means having your vulnerability shown to the world, vultures preying on your weak moments and exploiting pain for profit. Bradley Cooper portrays the substance abuse of Jackson Maine, a talented musician who is slowly losing his hearing and with it, his passion. In order to cope with the stress and triggering aspects of his stardom as well as deep-seated personal trauma, Maine falls into addictive patterns. His struggle to stay sober accurately portrays the experience of those struggling with addiction.
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If a sitcom about recovery is not for you, a gritty show like Shameless does an excellent job of highlighting real issues that people struggling with addiction face—specifically how it affects the children of addicts. The Gallagher siblings struggle to make the most of their lives with a father that blows his money on alcohol and drugs and a mother that shares similar addictions as well as bi-polar disorder. The kids essentially care for themselves, work several jobs and go to school, but the director strives to make their situation as realistic as possible. The show accurately portrays the lives of children raised and neglected by addicts. Addiction in Shameless is recurring, real, and vulnerable.
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Most of the time, television shows utilize alcoholism as a plot device or a minor setback a character must overcome, but Mom, a cable sitcom, recognizes the never-ending journey of recovery. The show follows the lives of a mother and daughter in recovery who have hurt their friends, family and each other. Although corny and dramatized at times, the show’s foundation is seen at the AA meetings where a support group of women create an open and vulnerable setting to speak about their past, work through trauma, and provide a shoulder to lean on when recovery gets rocky. While it seems counterintuitive to focus on alcohol addiction in a comedy show, balancing moments of humor with serious issues makes the show more similar to real life—nothing's all bad or all happy all the time. According to a survey conducted by TV Guide, panel members ranked Mom the most accurate portrayal of addiction and recovery, providing accolades for its funny bits and honest dialogue.
