Drug Abuse In The Film 'Half Nelson'

"Smashed" is A well-intentioned, heavily flawed drama concerns the story of an alcoholic school teacher (Mary Winstead) who realizes, after a couple of incidents related to her abuse of alcohol and drugs, that her life is going downhill, therefore, she attempts to get back to the life of sobriety. The only problem is her husband who continues to drink and plays as an enabler instead of actually helping her and himself toward backing to sobriety. The movie seems very real in its portrayals, and highlights many issues and challenges that both characters face as they are trying to stay in a marriage that is founded on drinking. What the movie does well is capture the spirit of life for a recovering alcoholic. As we see in the movie, alcohol is not just the great social lubricant, it can also be the glue holding troubled relationships together. The film gives some elements of this addiction and recovery tale the short shrift in an effort to keep to its brisk pace. Smashed does a great job than any film I’ve seen of addressing the American culture’s schizophrenic relationship with drinking. It covers the journey of life of the couple and the increasing certainty of their drinking problem. Smashed offers an understandable explanation for the couple’s dangerous drinking and gives fair play to booze: Kate and Charlie imbibe because they have a lot of fun while doing it. So they do it all the time.

his free time. This is shown a frequent amount of times throughout the movie. This movie is taking place in a neighbourhood in Brooklyn that is undeveloped. This is a common problem for people with these drug addictions as it is somewhat affecting their lives. In Half Nelson, whenever Dan feels sad, depressed or feels stressed out due to either his family problems, school or any other problem, he would use cocaine to get high and not dealing with his problems. By him doing that, he thinks

In 1971 Coach Herman Boone replaced a popular, successful white coach at T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia, in that community's effort to finally integrate its schools. The school and community were angrily divided by the federal integration order, and the volatility of the situation was heightened by the abrupt demotion of Coach Yoast and Boone's promotion to Head Coach. In this movie Coach Boone is on a mission to try to get the white and black players to unite and play together as a team. He wanted the two races to become a team. Around that time, there was a lot of racism and a lot of schools were segregated, so the players obviously didn't get along with each other at first. A lot changed when Boone replaced Yoast

Throughout the film we, see both the coach, individual players, and the team as a whole face numerous psychological obstacles which they overcome to reach the final. The film is based highly around racism and racial divides within basketball. Throughout the film we can see a constant battle with the idea of Perception, and how both player and overcome this. In order to form the 1966 championship winning team,

Crack is the smokable form of cocaine, and can only be taken into the body by smoking it. Smoking crack cocaine introduces it into the system faster than other methods (Zonderman and Shader, 660. To smoke it, the crystalline chips are either put into a glass pipe and smoked, or crushed and smoked in a marijuana joint. The chips change to smoke when heated, which is inhaled, drawn into the lungs, and then diffused rapidly into the bloodstream (Edwards, 77). The little sacs of the lungs are lined with fatty tissue that readily absorbs the fat soluble crack (Mickey, 2). Circulating blood transports the dissolved cocaine to the brain where it has immediate effect (Edwards, 77). Crack reaches the brain within seven seconds (Mickey, 2). The effect, called a rush, is caused by the almost pure cocaine's assault on the brain and central nervous system. The central nervous system responds by involuntary movement of the muscles, increased body temperature, and an overstimulation of the pleasure centers of the brain. The high

Interpersonal communication can vary from personal relationships, professional relationships, and on to family relationships. Dan and Ann-Marie show the signs of the romantic relationship stages, however, Ann-Marie and Mitch also show these signs. Stage one, whenever, Ann-Marie ask about the books at the bookstore is initiating. Stage two, when they begin to discuss about what like to do would relate to the experimenting stage. Stage three, would be whenever they go and have lunch together and just spend the evening together, this would be intensifying. The rest of the stages they shuffle through and aren’t particularly in order, however, they still end up going through them. Another relationship that is shown is the relationship between Dan and his children. They show a nuclear family, which is the Dan, Jane, Cara, and Lilly. This relationship goes on to change whenever Dan and Ann-Marie get married, it creates a stepfamily. We can also relate the four different panes to Dan’s life. The open area of Dan’s life is whenever he is using his own intellect to give others advice in his columns. The hidden area of his life could be whenever the people from the newspaper come to his house and he doesn’t tell them completely about his life. The blind area would be whenever his family and everyone around him knows that he is lonely, however he thinks he is content by himself, but his actions speak differently. The last area, is the unknown area, which could relate to the scene where he is playing the guitar, Ann-Marie didn’t know he could play, and I think he forgot he

In the film, Herman Boone had just been hired to be the new football coach of T.C. Williams High School in Alexandria, Virginia. The school had just been told to integrate so the whites and blacks all go to the same school now, as well as go on the same bus. Coach Boone and the former head coach Bill Yoast both go up to football camp with the new team. While they are up there, the team learns the meaning of working as a team no matter what color you are. When they get back from camp, the football team has to remember to act as a team rather than racist idiots by coercion from their parents. They also have to fight through the discrimination of the black players and having a black coach. They learn to stick as a team and even band together when Gary Bertier, one of the head players, paralyzes his legs. This all illustrates that by forcing integration, Coach Boone was able to get his team to work together, and the team learned on their own that they’re not so different after

As for Mark, he avoids punishment and will be sent to a drug intervention program. His parents are worried about him and are trying to help him out as much as possible. When treating Renton he was still desperate for more significant high and runs to his drug dealer. Which in this case, leads him to overdose. He is then taken to the hospital to receive help.

In Alexandria 1971, high school football was a way of life, for everyone. So when a local school board was forced to integrate an all black school with an all white school, the foundation that football was set on would be put to the test. During this film, many of the characters face moral issues and dilemmas that change the way that they will see things forever. One of those characters includes Gerry Bertier who struggles to befriend his African American teammate, he also struggles to accept what is going on around him. Those are some of the biggest obstacles for a teenager from that time to face, most white families taught their children that the African Americans were trouble, to not go near them that they were animals. And consequently, to not disrespect their families they stayed away, believing everything that their parents had said, creating a disrespectful stereotype of African-American citizens.

In prison, Derek unhesitatingly realizes he is the minority. He finds comfort when he is taken in by another group of neo-Nazi’s. He begins to work with a black male who repeatedly tries to talk to Derek. After several failed attempts, Derek sees past his color and sees him for an actual human being. After playing one game of basketball

For starters, Tatum goes in chronological order from when he started out as a teacher to where he is at now with his career. Tatum looks back on his first year as a teacher for the Chicago public school system. He, further goes on to reflect about his passion for creating a positive atmosphere for his students. Furthermore, Tatum, reflects on the gang violence that was occurring around, not just him but his students. In addition, Tatum writes about his third year as a teacher and how there was finally going to be change. And that change was the Chicago School Reform

At first the murder of their father by a black man appeared to be the catalyst of hate towards blacks for the boys but once Danny .began to analyze his life he realized his father was actually responsible for the indoctrination into a life filled with hate, resentment and conflict towards all minorities. He recalls a conversation that took place during dinner between Derek and his father; Derek is praising the academics and teaching approach used by his new black history teacher; Mr. Sweeney. His father begins to use derisive labels to discredit the achievements of his teacher. His father is actually nurturing racism into

The history is based on a group of teenagers that not have prospects of life, they live in McFarland which is place without opportunities to progress, the economy and the quality of life are deplorable, and no one is going to be better. Jim White who is an American Football coach, arrives to the school because he had problems in his previous job for his ideas.

These thoughts have been consuming Dan's mind for the past two hours, slowly filling his body with great amounts of stress and anxiety, which eventually overcame his entire being and took control of his actions, ensuing in the forceful push of his schoolwork out of his sight. Tears began to develop in his brown eyes, but he immediately blinked them away, not wanting to feel even worse about himself. After all, crying would make Dan assume that he has lost the battle between himself and...himself. In other words, he does not want his emotions to get the best of him, or interfere with his life outside of his college

Tommy was very upset and tells Dan, “With friends like you who needs ------, right Dan-o?” After that Dan goes home and he begins hallucinating. Dan lets his emotions control him and he feels lost.