HBO’s “Euphoria” reveals how addiction is viewed in society

By Mrinalini Keskar, ‘22

The way people who struggle with addiction are treated needs to change, and HBO’s “Euphoria” might just help push that change. 

On Dec. 3, 2020, HBO Max streamed the first episode of the highly anticipated second season of one of their TV series, “Euphoria.” 

The HBO websites describes “Euphoria” as a show that “follows a group of high school students as they navigate love and friendships in a world of drugs, sex, trauma, and social media.” It follows the main character Rue, as she returns from a summer in rehabilitation after a drug overdose. Being a show that is not aired on prime-time television, HBO does not shy away from graphic portrayals of drug abuse; the show includes the highs and lows, shocking parts and the most intimate moments. The first season finished streaming in the summer of 2019, making the second season release almost a year later. 

Contrasting the first season’s dramatic shots and scenes, the first episode of the second season, filmed during the COVID-19 pandemic, was filmed for the most part in a single location, as just a conversation between Rue (Zendaya) and her sponsor, Ali (Colman Domingo). 

Euphoria is often praised for its accurate portrayal of drug use and addiction. It was described by Bagpipe as the “Best High School Commentary We Have.” In addition to this, it critiques the way that society views people who struggle with drug addiction. 

The first episode begins with introducing that Rue has relapsed. She tells Ali that she has no interest in quitting. “You’ve been fighting a losing game since the first day you got high,” Ali tells her. “You could destroy your life… you can abuse and torture and take for granted your mama, and sit here and look me in the eye and say… ‘Imma keep usin’ drugs.’ That is the disease of addiction.”

He continues on. “The hardest part of having the disease of addiction, aside from having the disease, is that no one in the world sees it as a disease. They see you as selfish. They see you as weak, they see you as cruel, they see you as destructive.”

Addiction is a disease “that very few people believe in,” said YouTuber Tee Noir in a commentary on the episode. “So many people do not view addiction as an actual disease. They view it as a choice that someone who must be bad to their core chose over living a good, healthy life.”  

Although addictive substances and activities can vary in effect, one thing is common. Addiction is defined as a “disorder” that causes an urge to repeatedly engage in a substance or behavior, even as it intervenes in one's life. 

An anonymous Portland high school student named “Noah” for privacy reasons, talked about his substance addiction. But Noah doesn’t view addiction as a daily struggle. Noah has been addicted to nicotine since seventh grade, and now, five years later, still struggles to quit. Like Rue, he does not see himself quitting anytime soon. “Maybe before college,” he said. “I’ve probably tried to quit a dozen times.”

Noah began vaping just for fun when he found a vaping device. “It was kinda fun to do tricks and stuff,” he said. “After that, I got my first vape, and we went back to my house, and we were hitting it, and we were not expecting the head rush,” he said, describing the “high” given by vaping. 

“You know when you stand up too fast, and your eyes go dizzy? It’s like that, but imagine that for like, two minutes. It kind of like erases everything from your head,” he described. 

Contrasting Noah’s story, Rue began taking opiates as a result of being diagnosed with bipolar disorder at a young age, and trying the painkillers her dying father was given. 

One could say that Rue’s addiction was not a choice; that Rue, being born with bipolar disorder and diagnosed with depression, found drugs as a way to cope, and for that, she deserves empathy. But what if someone, like Noah, knew what they were doing when they began a journey into addiction? What if their addiction was a choice? Do they still deserve empathy and rehabilitation?

Yes. 

Generally, addiction is viewed in different ways, depending on the person and severity. How society sees addicts “depends on a lot of factors,” according to Noah. “For wealthy people, a lot of addiction is really normalized. I know a lot of people whose parents have gone to rehab for [cocaine] addictions, and it really is those same people who will call homeless people lazy drug addicts,” he said. 

“It makes drugs for rich people be a sign of success, like ‘I have enough money to where I’m just gonna get sent to a rehab, and not a prison, if I get caught,’” he said. 

Here, Noah brings up an important point about drugs and its effect on both communities of color and people experiencing poverty.

In 2010, when wealthy socialite Paris Hilton was arrested for cocaine usage, by admitting the cocaine was hers, she was able to skirt jail time. Before her guilty plea, Hilton joked about how the bag containing the controlled substance was too cheap to be hers, which many have called “iconic.”

Yet for doing the same drugs as Hilton, Black people and other minorities are disproportionately jailed for drug possession. One study has found that Black men serve more time as white men for the same crime. This situation exacerbates the idea that for the wealthy, drug abuse is just a mistake, while the less fortunate must serve their time in jail.

It seems as if many of the factors that create inequalities among addicts are systemic, and these inequalities must be fixed for change to happen. Oregon has a start - with Measure 110, possession of several different substances (including heroin, cocaine, methamphetamine) have been decriminalized. Instead of facing jail time, offenders are instead fined $100 and offered the chance for rehabilitation.  

However, as a part of society, one must still correct some of their biases towards people struggling with drug addiction. If you want to unlearn your predispositions about addicts and addictions, the “Euphoria Special Episode Part 1: Rue,” is a good place to start.