Analysis of Drugstore Cowboy Movie - Essay Example

Bobby Hughes is the dope addict who has had the whole of his adult life either shooting up or in prison. He is smart and is married to Diane who is also an addict. To support their drug addiction, the two employ the help of Rick and a runaway store clerk. The four form a gang that steals from pharmaceutical shops. His crew provides a distraction while Bobby who is an ex-convict sneaks and steals the drugs. The crew does not rely on armed robbery. This is where Bobby’s smartness comes in because it involves adequate planning. Bobby is not just addicted to cocaine alone, but also to robbery.

He prefers the thrilling crime provides and the intimacy of sex with his wife that dope provides. When the crew notices that a cop has become so close to noticing their business, the crew opts to move to another town. However, Nadine dies because of an overdose. The crew has to remove the body from the hotel along with the cache of drugs. After doing so, Bobby decides to dump Nadine’s Body himself. Bobby exiles himself from the crew and checks himself into a twenty-one days methadone program. Bobby tries to live a straight life but temptations of returning to the drug life and business follow him.

In the end, Bobby is shot (Clark). The facts in the movie seem accurate because the life that the crew leads is an exact example of a life the drug addicts can have to support their drug addiction. . This information can be used to enhance stereotypes about substance abuse because from the film a person may fail to understand how one gets to addiction and may start using drugs with the notion that they will have a control over it. The second information that is missing in the film is whether the crew pays for their crimes because, even though Bobby leaves the crew and is shot later, the rest of the crew continues with the business.

This can be used to stereotype substance abuse in the sense that one could have the view that only a few people get to pay for their crimes but most of them live happily without dire consequences. If I had a problem with substance abuse, this movie would have done little to change my problem because the movie shows that addiction can be sustained if one has a way of getting the drugs through robbery or not. The movie also shows both positive and negative sides of substance abuse that leave a person at crossroads of whether it is good or bad.

On the positive side, dope has been depicted as one that makes a person feel good and even have a great sex life. In addition, it also shows that one can stop it when he or she wants just as Bobby did. On the negative side, the movie shows that one can die from addiction. It also shows that a person may have to live as a criminal and may end up being shot. Therefore, the movie shows that substance abuse has both positive and negative sides. In the movie, the impacts of drug use have been presented realistically.

For instance, it has a psychological impact in the form of dependence. Once a person is addicted, they develop a psychological dependence. In addition, substance abuse is intoxicative and has social consequences.