A group of medical researchers from University of Sydney's School of Public Health have published a study that suggests that Hollywood movies fall short of showing the “real” but negative consequences of risky sex and drug use.
Lead by Dr. Hasantha Gunasekera, the researchers studied 87 of the biggest hits produced by Hollywood at the box-office, through 22 years starting from 1983, only to find lot of sex but only one if any reference to condoms. The films also failed to depict unwanted pregnancies or even any reference of sexually transmitted diseases. Worst of all their portrayals of drug-use were bereft of any "negative consequences".
While all these films evaluated were amongst the top-grossers of each year in the two decades, it is clear that while the “risky scenes” may have helped in their success, the moviemakers may have failed in their responsibility to the public of accurate portrayals. Dr. Gunasekera who used a September 2003 published list of 200 most successful films of all time for the study, suggested that the “social norm” being presented was concerning, even as “HIV and illicit drug pandemics” have become worrisome for countries worldwide.
While the researchers excluded G or PG rated animated films and those pictures released before the 1983 start of the AIDS crisis, they were left 87 films to watch very closely for their study and classification. Of these, 28 had graphic depictions of sex while 53 in all had some sex scene in them. Barring Pretty Woman, the 1990 romance between a prostitute (Julia Roberts) and a rich businessman (Richard Gere), none of the movies contained any reference to "condom use”. Moreover with no depictions of the negative repercussions of unprotected sex like unwanted pregnancies, HIV or STDs, it appeared that the movie industry could be fuel wrong notions amongst youngsters and uneducated.
American Pie 2, a 2001 film of the comedy genre, was found to be richest with the most sex scenes with seven of unprotected sex, where the worst consequence was “social embarrassment". Basic Instinct, a 1992 film of the thriller genre fared second with six scenes of sex, offering neither any negative consequences nor any suggestion of birth control, besides the consequence of "death by ice pick". James Bond movies were equally labeled inappropriate for promiscuity and visual depictions of sex including three in the 2002 adventure Die Another Day. None of his charmed women portrayed any concern on "new partners, condoms, birth control” or any other consequences of Bond's sexual appetite. If sex sells at the box-office, the need to show drug use is unexplainable and yet numerous of the films did exactly that. Strangely while 8 per cent of the studied 87 films contained portrayals of marijuana use, over half of the scenes depicted drug use in positive light, with the balance tending to be neutral offering no negative consequences.
While Dr. Gunasekera felt the "convincing evidence” of entertainment media influencing public behaviour, the authors concluded, "The motion picture industry should be encouraged to depict safer sex practices and the real consequences of unprotected sex and illicit drug use". The researchers views were not corroborated by film fraternity and magazine writers like Adam Smith, who said, "Hollywood doesn't depict anything with any of its consequences…. Its job isn't to be a social and moral guardian… It's fiction".
Even if that is true, Hollywood must realize its huge influence on a wide-spectrum of people across the world and if it cannot portray fiction correctly, it is better to not portray at all. But the argument will always arise that people go to movies to be entertained and not carry their real-life burdens to the theatres, but what happens when real life apes the reel life, is a question that no one would like to answer.
