The struggle to find a show or movie that doesn’t contain alcohol is quite universal and reflects why alcohol has become central to socialising, glamour, excess and wealth. It’s often what most characters in a movie or show will do when they get home from work, or after a success or a difficult day and you’ll often see them on screen saying to their co-worker ‘F*@k, I need a drink’ or ‘C’mon I’ll buy you a drink’ or ‘let’s all get drinks!’. Now it’s not wrong to enjoy a drink but making alcohol the first thing they have after a hard day or a good day, over time, creates an expectation that this is the norm. I strongly believe this has contributed to a society where it’s often deemed strange or ‘unhelpful’ to not offer or turn to alcohol.

Some shows like Suits I absolutely adore and love, and so do many others, but I often ask myself whether they were being sponsored by a whiskey or Scotch company, based on the sheer number of times they would ALWAYS pour a glass of liquor. Does seeing this repeatedly on our screens from a young age influence us? 

I think it would be ignorant to assume it doesn’t to some degree, whether we are aware of it or not. Now that’s not to say that the movie industry is to blame for the 5,500 deaths due to alcohol that we see every year in Australia, but it certainly plays a role in our drinking culture. High-profile endorsements of a product have always contributed to promoting the use or consumption of that product; this is the fundamental basis of marketing – make a product seem attractive and convince you to buy it. These tactics are similar to what we have seen in the past with tobacco, using celebrities and supermodels to promote a product which aligns itself with what some would consider ‘attractive’ lifestyles. The power of branding is incredibly influential on the human psyche and I would be lying if I did not at one stage think ‘I should have a glass of wine in the shot’ before taking a photo. 

Why is that? 

What does having a glass of wine in a photo represent? 

It represents a cultivation of hundreds of years of short-lived positive experiences which alcohol does provide, contributing to its continued positive public perception for a long period of time. However, as education and human knowledge has improved over the last century, we are becoming more aware than ever of the risks that alcohol poses to our health.

I think we are seeing a shift in Australian drinking cultures as we become aware of our drinking behaviours. Developing an awareness of when and why we consume alcohol as a part of self-care is something that anyone anywhere can do. Doing this myself has already been so helpful because I feel so much more in control around alcohol, rather than being reactive.

Anonymous 

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