Addiction and Representation in Film and TV

After looking at what effects substance abuse has on the mind and body and also how addiction is represented in fashion through the trend of 90's heroin chic, I finally wanted to look at how addiction is portrayed through film and TV to see how it is shown on film and TV through the use of special effects makeup. 

Trainspotting (1996)

Trainspotting is a British black humour drama film directed by Danny Boyle which follows a group of heroin addicts in the late 1980's. The main actor Ewan McGregor seen left was banned from drinking alcohol and eating dairy products in order to acheive the emaciated look needed for the role. The makeup department even went as far as creating a prosthetic arm for the close up shoots of the main actor shooting up, this was complete with pulsing veins, track marks and also blood pockets which would appear when the fake arm was punctured by the needle.

Permanent Midnight (1998)


Permanent Midnight is an independent drama film directed by David Veloz and stars Ben Stiller, the film is based on an autobiographical book where the main character develops a heroin addition. The reason I have chose to include this is because I really like the waxxy shiny appearance to the skin. There is also a lot of graphic detail in this film about needles and insertion of needles into the skin.

Requiem for a Dream (2000)

Requiem for a Dream is a psychological drama film directed by Darren Aronofsky and is based on a novel by the same name. The film depicts four types of addiction which lead to the characters imprisonment in a world of delusion, reckless desperation which is subsequently overtaken by reality and leaves them as hollow shells of their former selves. I have shown this because I really like how they depict through makeup an arm that has been shot up in with a dirty needle and has become infected. This is definitely a film that I will watch for further research for my character Claudia.

All though I could find many representations of heroin addiction in film, I found it extremely hard to find examples of it in TV, and could only find depictions of usage of other drugs for example meth amphetamine and coke. The reasons that this is relevant for my work is because it shows me that there is different ways to show addiction, it goes from being really intense and obvious in Requiem for a dream and Trainspotting, to more subtle in Permanent midnight, It has also given me some ideas on how to create the track marks for my makeup designs.

Trainspotting (1994) Boyle, D (Film) UK

Requiem For A Dream (2000) Aronofsky, D (Film) United States.

Permanent Midnight (1998) Veloz, D (Film) United States.