Addiction is a disease.
Feb. 11th, 2022 03:57 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rogueslayer452I know I said I was going to wait until the season was finished before I wrote my thoughts, but I really needed to express something in regards to the previous episode. It doesn't have any specific spoilers, but it's more of a specific scene that I feel really encapsulates the very essence of what this show is about.
Note: While the clip is just a confrontation between Rue and her mother, fantastic acting especially by Zendaya, it can be hard to watch and possibly triggering so viewer discretion is advised.
This scene? Is probably the most honest portrayal of drug addiction I've seen in media.
The show has always been a cross between being stylistic in aesthetics and visuals and the realism of what addiction does to a person, the former is what draws people in more so than the latter, but it's the latter that is the glue that keeps everything together because at the center of it all it's always been about the highs and lows of addiction, any kind of addiction, drugs, alcohol, love, sex, validation, anything that someone gets obsessed with in order to achieve a specific kind of temporary euphoric high before it all comes crashing down around them, consuming them.
And this scene, this entire episode, is one massive look into how addiction basically consumes someone to the point of obsession, of utter desperation. Rue is suffering from withdrawal, she has gotten desperate this season to the point where drugs are all she thinks about, and she's admitted to being suicidal, and she is running on fumes and because of this withdrawal and her addiction she is simply reacting. She is angry and lashing out, being purposefully mean, saying things she doesn't mean (or does mean but would never say outright), and has been pushing the people closest to her away all season because of this desperation, and this episode really shows the backlash to that, the consequences of her actions, and she's going on the defensive and lashing out as a result. It's hard to watch, and it makes her unlikeable, but that's the point. She is unrecognizable even to herself, she even admits this. The episode is a raw, harrowing example of the damages and destruction and chaos addiction does, to the addict, to the people around them, everything comes crashing down like a house of cards and it's brutal.
(Also, while I never was into drugs or alcohol in high school, I was an angry depressed teenager and seeing the way that Rue is angrily lashing out including yelling and kicking the door.....that was like looking into a dark mirror, it was very uncomfortable with how close to home that felt, it was far too real for me. But that's also why I liked it, because you don't see that often in media.)
While non-watchers of the show will complain about how this "glorifies" drug use (it doesn't), I'm more annoyed with those who do watch the show who oversimplify what is going on, essentially not only misunderstanding the context of Rue's issues but also completely being ignorant and insensitive to drug addiction in general, and it bothers me. We had an entire special episode before season two dedicated to discussing the realities of addiction, how it's a disease and yet most people in the world don't view it as such and is heavily stigmatized. Drugs turn you into someone unrecognizable, you will say and do things that you wouldn't do, and that the road to recovery is hard, and difficult, and it's lifelong. We can be mad at Rue, we should be mad because she has pushed everyone away because of her addiction, but that doesn't mean we should dismiss her entirely. Seeing all the "fuck Rue" and "I was rooting for Rue but not anymore" comments rub me the wrong way. We should still be rooting for Rue because she needs to get better.
Dealing with addiction is hard, and people dealing with loved ones who are addicts is also just as hard because it's exhausting, emotionally and psychologically exhausting. An addict will most likely lose the relationships they have with people because of their repeated offenses, relationships that may never get repaired. That is just an unfortunate consequence they'll have to deal with. That doesn't mean they don't deserve compassion and understanding, that they shouldn't be encouraged to go on the road to recovery, to heal, to become better for themselves, to live. Rue is hitting that low point because her addiction is pushing her to such limits that she is unrecognizable to even herself, and she needs to hit that rock bottom in order to resurface anew.
(Although, in my opinion, it's not so simple as her going to rehab and getting clean. We need to get to the root of the issue, what is making her turn to drugs in the first place, and much of this stems from unresolved emotional issues that she's never properly dealt with in regards to the loss of her father. She needs to find a way of healing herself from that in order to get better, to not be suicidal anymore and be on the road to recovery. And it'll be tough because it has to be something she wants to do, the people in her life can force an intervention all they want but it has to be something that Rue, herself, has to want in order for it to be effective in some way. And that's hard, because recovery and healing of any kind is hard, for addicts in particular, but it's the only way that one can turn around from such a destructive path that Rue has been on especially this season.)
Simply put: Rue is being unlikeable because of the addiction, and someone pointed out that unlike in season one where she had other things going on in her life, this season it's all been about the drugs. That's all that's been on her mind, that's all she's been focused on, it's completely consumed her to the point that she's been possessed by her own addiction at this point. It's hard to watch, but it's also something that makes me hope that she turns things around because she is hitting that rock bottom.
tl;dr: Euphoria is more than the memes you see on social media. Yes, it is a visual and aesthetic treat and can have hilarious meme material, but at its core it's about the harsh realities of addiction, any kind of addiction, but predominately drug addiction. It does not glorify, glamorize, or fetishize drugs. Quite the opposite, in fact, as the clip above clearly demonstrates. Nothing is glamorous or attractive about drugs in that scene, is there? Underneath the glitter and pretty aesthetics we see the ugliness of the disease that is addiction and the destruction it leaves in its wake. While there are valid criticisms to be had with the show, glorifying drug use is not one of them, and anyone saying it does has never bothered to actually watch or pay attention to the show in the first place and are just pearl-clutching and moral-mongering.
Note: While the clip is just a confrontation between Rue and her mother, fantastic acting especially by Zendaya, it can be hard to watch and possibly triggering so viewer discretion is advised.
This scene? Is probably the most honest portrayal of drug addiction I've seen in media.
The show has always been a cross between being stylistic in aesthetics and visuals and the realism of what addiction does to a person, the former is what draws people in more so than the latter, but it's the latter that is the glue that keeps everything together because at the center of it all it's always been about the highs and lows of addiction, any kind of addiction, drugs, alcohol, love, sex, validation, anything that someone gets obsessed with in order to achieve a specific kind of temporary euphoric high before it all comes crashing down around them, consuming them.
And this scene, this entire episode, is one massive look into how addiction basically consumes someone to the point of obsession, of utter desperation. Rue is suffering from withdrawal, she has gotten desperate this season to the point where drugs are all she thinks about, and she's admitted to being suicidal, and she is running on fumes and because of this withdrawal and her addiction she is simply reacting. She is angry and lashing out, being purposefully mean, saying things she doesn't mean (or does mean but would never say outright), and has been pushing the people closest to her away all season because of this desperation, and this episode really shows the backlash to that, the consequences of her actions, and she's going on the defensive and lashing out as a result. It's hard to watch, and it makes her unlikeable, but that's the point. She is unrecognizable even to herself, she even admits this. The episode is a raw, harrowing example of the damages and destruction and chaos addiction does, to the addict, to the people around them, everything comes crashing down like a house of cards and it's brutal.
(Also, while I never was into drugs or alcohol in high school, I was an angry depressed teenager and seeing the way that Rue is angrily lashing out including yelling and kicking the door.....that was like looking into a dark mirror, it was very uncomfortable with how close to home that felt, it was far too real for me. But that's also why I liked it, because you don't see that often in media.)
While non-watchers of the show will complain about how this "glorifies" drug use (it doesn't), I'm more annoyed with those who do watch the show who oversimplify what is going on, essentially not only misunderstanding the context of Rue's issues but also completely being ignorant and insensitive to drug addiction in general, and it bothers me. We had an entire special episode before season two dedicated to discussing the realities of addiction, how it's a disease and yet most people in the world don't view it as such and is heavily stigmatized. Drugs turn you into someone unrecognizable, you will say and do things that you wouldn't do, and that the road to recovery is hard, and difficult, and it's lifelong. We can be mad at Rue, we should be mad because she has pushed everyone away because of her addiction, but that doesn't mean we should dismiss her entirely. Seeing all the "fuck Rue" and "I was rooting for Rue but not anymore" comments rub me the wrong way. We should still be rooting for Rue because she needs to get better.
Dealing with addiction is hard, and people dealing with loved ones who are addicts is also just as hard because it's exhausting, emotionally and psychologically exhausting. An addict will most likely lose the relationships they have with people because of their repeated offenses, relationships that may never get repaired. That is just an unfortunate consequence they'll have to deal with. That doesn't mean they don't deserve compassion and understanding, that they shouldn't be encouraged to go on the road to recovery, to heal, to become better for themselves, to live. Rue is hitting that low point because her addiction is pushing her to such limits that she is unrecognizable to even herself, and she needs to hit that rock bottom in order to resurface anew.
(Although, in my opinion, it's not so simple as her going to rehab and getting clean. We need to get to the root of the issue, what is making her turn to drugs in the first place, and much of this stems from unresolved emotional issues that she's never properly dealt with in regards to the loss of her father. She needs to find a way of healing herself from that in order to get better, to not be suicidal anymore and be on the road to recovery. And it'll be tough because it has to be something she wants to do, the people in her life can force an intervention all they want but it has to be something that Rue, herself, has to want in order for it to be effective in some way. And that's hard, because recovery and healing of any kind is hard, for addicts in particular, but it's the only way that one can turn around from such a destructive path that Rue has been on especially this season.)
Simply put: Rue is being unlikeable because of the addiction, and someone pointed out that unlike in season one where she had other things going on in her life, this season it's all been about the drugs. That's all that's been on her mind, that's all she's been focused on, it's completely consumed her to the point that she's been possessed by her own addiction at this point. It's hard to watch, but it's also something that makes me hope that she turns things around because she is hitting that rock bottom.
tl;dr: Euphoria is more than the memes you see on social media. Yes, it is a visual and aesthetic treat and can have hilarious meme material, but at its core it's about the harsh realities of addiction, any kind of addiction, but predominately drug addiction. It does not glorify, glamorize, or fetishize drugs. Quite the opposite, in fact, as the clip above clearly demonstrates. Nothing is glamorous or attractive about drugs in that scene, is there? Underneath the glitter and pretty aesthetics we see the ugliness of the disease that is addiction and the destruction it leaves in its wake. While there are valid criticisms to be had with the show, glorifying drug use is not one of them, and anyone saying it does has never bothered to actually watch or pay attention to the show in the first place and are just pearl-clutching and moral-mongering.
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