With all this talk about drug use in sports, the effect that it has on our children, and questions about a level playing field, I found myself wondering how similar the situation is with drug use in the entertainment industry. And it led me to ask myself this question:
Why isn't their drug testing in Hollywood?
All these actors and musicians are role models aren't they? Kids look up to Lindsay Lohan, Justin Timberlake, and the Olsen twins just as much (if not more) than our sports stars. Why doesn't Charlie Sheen have to #### in a cup before the director yells "Action!"? Wait, bad example. He probably does have to #### in a cup for his probation officer.
But why should our kids be allowed to think, "If I do heroin, I could write some great songs!" or, "Look at the awesome life these people have! Maybe if I get coked up all the time, I'll be rich and famous too!"?
One argument against drug testing in Hollywood could be that there aren't sacred records being broken by the users. But that's not entirely true. What about the Oscars, Emmys, and Grammys? Should the band that's jacked up on heroin get an edge over the sober bands? I can't even count how many musicians have admitted to doing their best work while flying high. Would anyone even know who Jimi Hendrix was if he had never "indulged"? Where would Willie Nelson and Kurt Cobain get their inspiration from? Would Robert Downey Jr have gotten another job after Weird Science without "the juice"? There's little doubt that many of the illegal drugs out there can be considered performance-enhancing. With that in mind, should any of Heath Ledger's awards be stricken from the books now? Sure there weren't any Hollywood rules against his drug use but he was breaking the law, wasn't he? Should Nirvana be kept out of the rock and roll hall of fame due to Cobain's well documented heroin use?
Sorry for all the questions, but I've got a few more.
Is there less outrage about drug use in Hollywood because people accept that it happens, and that it's just "part of the game"? Is drug use OK for actors and musicians because the culture has been to condone and probably, in many cases, support and encourage it for so long? Similar to how the culture in baseball was to do anything you could to be out there on the field, help your team win, get the big contract, and entertain the fans?
Will people ever care about Hollywood? Is anyone going to
pressure the Screen Actor's Guild to throw some testing into their
contract? Are we going to see some congressional hearings with the
heads of Paramount and BMG getting grilled about their industries? I doubt it. But the spotlight will be leaving baseball soon and it may head towards football. After that?
OUTSTANDING TOPIC AND QUESTIONS!!! I AM VERY IMPRESSED.
I also have absolutely no answer for you. I tried to "justify" why this applies to athletes and not actors, but my mind has come up blank.
I guess their is no reason, is the best answer. Most jobs in America now require pre employment testing, and even random, when there is reason to suspect drug/alcohol abuse.
Good points you make, and you're exactly right, if the kid argument is valid in sports (and it is!) then it is also valid in the entertainment industry. I've thought that the youth music industry and drugs have gone hand in hand for many years. Drug abuse has killed many musicians. We all shake our heads and give it lip service, but there doesn't seem to be any outrage or calls to investigate the problem. Its almost as if it's expected... Like it adds to the mystique of these people. The entertainment industries aren't as structured as others and maybe that's why we haven't seen the same kind of intervention as we've seen in sports.
The root of the problem as I see it is the pharmaceutical industry. While there have been many wonderful innovations come from that industry that have made the quality of our lives so much better, it has also brought about a dependency that is simply outrageous. As an example there are now drugs for certain childhood problems that are nothing but a cop out by parents who have become desensitized to drug use and now a new generation of users is being born... Look at the rise in prescription drug abuse and now people are breaking into homes just looking for pain killers are lord knows what...
Where is it all going? Good question...
Thanks jaysisko!
Last edited by Dwindy1 on February 24th at 5:58 AM.
Jay Sisko
That'd become about as palpable to them as asking for them to forego the excessive use of violence and misogyny of women. Never mind that in the majority of cases their portrayals of minorities is still and always will be racist to a discerning degree.
Very good questions, Jay. Maybe we should get congress involved. Or maybe that's why people like Clooney raise millions of dollars, and shill, for the far left. So they won't ever be bothered by a congressional inquiry.
--Clooney was used as an example of a left wing loon , NOT a drug abuser.--
" is drug use OK for actors and musicians because the cultere has been to condone and probably, in many cases, support and encourage it for so long?"
turn this question into a statement and youve answered all your questions. our rock stars have been drugged up so long, we not only condone it , we expect it.
Hey Jay...
If actors & actresses had to pass a drug test once a month or randomly to work in Hollyweird, we'd all be tuning in to watch a test pattern on the telly.
On the other side of the coin, we would have been robbed of some marvelous comedy in the early days of Saturday Night Live if it weren't for them smoking a little performance enhancement.
If not for performance enhancing drugs, we lose the great works of Hendrix, hilarious years of SNL as mentioned above, the Sosa/McGwire home run chase, and so many other marvelous performances.
Where does the line get drawn? Even with these congressional hearings, it's still as cloudy as ever.
This blogger is a New Yorker, born and raised. I'm a huge sports fan, following pretty much every major sport out there. Sadly, this does not include hockey, NASCAR, or boxing. Hockey lost my affection during the lockout, NASCAR is not a sport, and boxing has become incredibly boring since the dawn of MMA. If you want to talk football, baseball, basketball, or MMA, then I'm your man. I could also debate NASCAR with anyone, but we would probably end up just going around in circles...
