Apathy and Addiction in William Gibson's Neuromancer Essay

Addiction, it is all around us, affecting people from all walks of life, it is not limited to certain social classes or lifestyles. It is found in every ethnic group, regardless of gender or age. It affects our neighbors, our friends, and our family either directly or indirectly. Although substances such as alcohol and illegal drugs are two of the most common addictions we hear about, there is a wide range of substances and even activities such as gambling and shopping. There is some debate whether addiction is a brain disease or a choice.

Throughout the 20th and 21st centuries, industrialized nations have seen the medicalization of a plethora of diseases including the ongoing trend of acknowledging addiction as a ‘brain disease.’ The claimsmaking made primarily by Nora Volkow in the documentary Addiction encompasses the constructionist ideologies of socially constructing a problem, or in the case of deviant drinking and drug use, a disease. The functionality of medicalization in America is seen with many different conditions and diseases. For example, the recent spike in the prescription of medications for ADD and ADHD is a prime model for how a deviant set of traits can be spun into a more socially acceptable and treatable “disease.” Whether or not drug and alcohol addiction

Government control is enforced through the use of soma, a hallucinogen that is known to sedate and distract individuals from realizing their enslavement, and this drug is exploited as a way to escape reality. However, this abuse ultimately leads to mental corruption. The majority of society consumes this substance to combat pain, worry, and tension. This narcotic is used in everyday life and “served with coffee” (Huxley 75) to help fill people’s days with mindless acts. Soma gives a feeling of euphoria, often times withdrawing the feelings of depression and illness. “Soma, the perfect pharmaceutical, soothes pain” (McQuail) leaving individuals in a state of pleasure and nirvana. Within the corrupt society, a few characters refuse consumption of the hallucinogen. These individuals are regarded as

In the speech,”Everything you know about addiction is wrong,” spoken by Johann Hari, attempts to inform the audience about how society takes drug addiction the wrong way and is completely normal for a human to use drugs as a last resort in life. The presentation starts off when he explains to the audience the many different drug addicts he has met in his life a few years ago while traveling a long 30,000 mile journey. He then goes onto stating from his research that everything humanity has been taught about drugs is completely backwards. A experiment was done in the 50’s to show the relationship between drugs and social life. The reason people start drugs is not because they want to, but it is caused by not being able to bear a present in your life. Moreover, there is cruel punishments of drug abuse in America and how Portugal has tried to change it in their country. Luckily people can get over any kind of addiction when they have a friend or blood relative that they can call on if they have a crisis. Finally, people should be more supportive and open in their heart when it comes to others that have a addiction. The author uses logos and pathos to emotionally connect and comfort the people that have thought about drugs in their life and people that dislike drugs and addicts, but using ethos he tries to make a change in the natural drug habitat.

Dr. Gabor Mate, a Hungarian born Canadian physician, who is also a neurologist, psychiatrist, and psychologist, but who specializes in the study and treatment of addiction, reveals revolutionary evidence pertaining to addiction. In Vancouver’s Downtown Eastside, Dr. Mate worked with patients suffering chronic drug addiction for 12 years. With 20 years of experience as a family practitioner, Dr. Mate is a renowned speaker and teacher throughout North America; sharing his extensive knowledge with diverse audiences including health care professionals and educators (Mate, About Dr. Mate, 2016). The Realm of Hungry Ghosts, Dr. Mate’s most recent best-selling book, illuminates the origins and causes of addiction. As Co-founder of Compassion for Addiction (a non-profit organization), Dr. Gabor Mate encourages a greater understanding; “addiction is the attempt of affected human beings to escape a profound discomfort with themselves and their world” (Mate, Compassion4Addiction, 2015). Drawing on cutting-edge science, Dr. Mate presents the world with a shocking discovery: “The source of addiction is not to be found in genes, but in the early childhood environment.” Therefore, Dr. Mate simply “calls for a more compassionate approach toward the addict.” (Mate, 2016) As cutting-edge science concludes addiction to be a mental health issue, rather than criminal behavior, the American legal system demonstrates a devastating disservice to its own society.

In Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley, there is a drug used and mentioned throughout the story called Soma. The characters have been conditioned by birth that Soma is always the answer when you feel alone or sad. This drug is used so people can go on "holidays" from their reality and is used as payment for the lower caste groups. People want Soma because they go on these highs and live in their "Heaven" to escape reality. After all, they do call Soma "All the advantages of Christianity and alcohol; none of their defects"(Huxley 54). Soma becomes a tool to control the people in society.

Individually, we create a metaphorical puzzle as we reflect on our life. These puzzle pieces represent all of the small-scale decisions we’ve made. Inside of those decisions, also consists of other people and how they influenced our upbringings. When this puzzle is put together, all of these decisions create one large picture. Specifically, Wes Moore’s “puzzle” obtains unfinished than other people, these pieces may not fit particularly well with other pieces, and they may never will. The reader may never perceive why Wes made any of the poor decisions he has made in his lifetime, nevertheless, there’s one large section of the puzzle that holds together–this would be Wes Moore’s influence from drug abuse. The idea of drug abuse continues to be frowned upon by other people. However, what most people may not understand is that there’s an addiction that comes with it, not an addiction to the drugs specifically, though an addiction to the lifestyle that came with it.

In a society where quantity of work overpowers quality of work, there is no wonder why "neuroenhancing" drugs such as Adderall and Ritalin are on the rise of consumption. As more people adopt the idea that these drugs are cognitively beneficial; the more they secretly use them for non-medical reasons. Margaret Talbot, a writer for The New Yorker, looks more into this problem in her article, "From Brain Gain: The Underground World of "Neuroenhancing" Drugs". Throughout this article Talbot focuses on a new trend of drug use, such as Adderall and Ritalin, for non-medical intentions. She focuses mainly on the increase of drug use by scholars and public intellectuals throughout her article. Talbot successfully proves to her audience that non-medical

In her article, Brain Gain: The Underground World of “Neuroenhancing” Drugs, Margaret Talbot discuss’ the use of different drugs like Adderall, to boost their productivity. She’s writing to people from college up to people who have 9 to 5 office jobs. She uses her essay to not be on one side or the other, but to analyze both points of view. She never puts in, or implies, that she has had a personal experience, and her background doesn’t give her much credibility to speak on the matter to people who already have an opinion on it themselves. Talbot uses anecdotes to…and she uses statistics. But her thesis strays away from what she was indicating about the drugs.

The future of the world is a place of thriving commerce and stability. Safety and happiness are at an all-time high, and no one suffers from depression or any other mental disorders. There are no more wars, as peace and harmony spread to almost every corner of the world. There is no sickness, and people are predestined to be happy and content in their social class. But if anything wrong accidentally occurs, there is a simple solution to the problem, which is soma. The use of soma totally shapes and controls the utopian society described in Huxley's novel Brave New World as well as symbolize Huxley's society as a whole. This pleasure drug is the answer to all of

Brave New World is about a dystopian society in which people live after one thing: satisfaction. The pain of childbearing and family upbringing is replaced with the mass manufacturing of babies, along with intense conditioning that has citizens trained to not worry, be upset, be dramatic, or be “queer”. The people are focused on working, appeasing their sexual desires, playing games, and other entertaining pastimes. The pursuance of constant, instant gratification is what makes this dystopia go round, where no problems arise where all needs are appeased with no complications. In case of one falling out of happiness, one will always have access to a euphoria-inducing drug to restart. Neil Postman said that Aldous

The World State forbids the citizens from experiencing any negative emotion, for fear of losing control. Soma, Latin for sleep, renders its users to a coma-like blissful state, which Congdon describes, borrowing the statement from Huxley himself, that soma allows the citizens to,“periodically escape from the pressure of routine and worldly cares”(Congdon). Citizens are conditioned to use the drug at the slightest challenge to the cultural norms, preventing any thoughts of rebellion or contempt against the government.

The Matrix, released in 1999, is a science fiction action film that depicts a dystopian future. In this reality, what is perceived by humans is only a computer simulated reality called ‘The Matrix’ which was created in order to sustain human delusion while their bodies were used as an energy source by machines. The main character, computer hacker Neo (played by Keanu Reeves, respectively) is drawn into rebellion against the machines once he is united with those that have been freed from the false reality. The characters, suffering from the reality of a broken illusion, make specific choices and decisions which can be explained or validated by sociological perspectives discussed by Berger. First off, ‘The Matrix’ can be defined as a social institution with the ability to give those that live within the false reality a fulfilled existence and exert social control over it’s residing victims. Second, the betrayal of Cypher touches upon the concept of sociological knowledge; specifically, the reference group ideology. Lastly, Neo’s previous feelings of unease and change of character after he joins Morpheus’ rebellion shows the importance a reference group can have on the overall personality and ideology of a person. Therefore, the Sociological Perspective understands the personalities, actions, and story of the movie ‘The Matrix’ in a variety of ways.

It is a great cautionary tale for any religion-depraved, heavily medicated, and mechanized society. Many of the World State members are happy, although several characters including John “the Savage,” Bernard, and Helmholtz are not as satisfied with their lives; truth and happiness brought on by using the drug Soma are not all it is cracked up to be. With the utilization of the drug Soma and coveting happiness over truth, Huxley’s novel is a warning of what our society might become with technological advancements in the future if they are exploited.

The use of counter culture and ideology can provide unique perspectives on the issues faced by everyone, even those who do not acknowledge it. Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh portrays a drug addict who rejects any conventions of normalcy in the pursuit of an alternate reality. American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis does the same through the depiction of a rich and greedy Wall Street tycoon. This essay will closely analyze the themes of illusion and reality in Trainspotting and American Psycho. The relationship between the fantasy world and the “real” world in these texts are closely linked and aid the narrative in a criticism of social and structural issues. The texts are often criticized as glorifying drug use and violence however through analyzing the effect of narrative, drug use and culture on the characters reality and illusions will argue that the elements of drug use and violence help in the deconstruction of greed and popular culture in the texts.