Contact Name
Barbara Dietsch
562-985-9488

Contact Email
bdietsc@WestEd.org

Peter Christenson, Ph.D., Lewis and Clark College
Lisa Henriksen, Ph.D., Stanford University
Donald Roberts, Ph.D., Stanford University

How do popular movies and songs portray tobacco, alcohol, legal and illicit drugs? How often is substance use depicted? Who uses substances and in what context? What are the motivations for and consequences of use? These are some of the questions addressed in our recent analysis of the frequency and nature of substance use in home video rentals and popular music lyrics.

Because teenagers are major consumers of movies and popular music, there is growing concern about the potential for media depictions of tobacco, alcohol and illicit drugs to influence their attitudes and behavior vis-a-vis substance use. Clearly, media content that legitimizes, normalizes, trivializes, or glorifies substances has the potential to encourage use among young people. Conversely, if the media either ignore substance use or present it negatively, young people may be discouraged from experimenting with substances. Obviously, then, careful examination of media content is a crucial first step in determining what role media may play in promoting substance use and abuse.

The study examined the 200 most popular movie rentals and 1,000 of the most popular songs (200 each from Top 40, Country, Alternative Rock, Rap and Heavy Metal) from 1996 and 1997, looking at what substances were used, by whom, how often, under what circumstances and with what consequences. We also explored whether movies and songs incorporated substance use as an important theme; contained pro- or anti-use behavior or statements; conveyed limit-setting messages; or associated substance use with positive or negative contexts.

In movies, substance use was depicted as an integral part of the fabric of life. Almost no movies were substance-free, with 98% depicting one or more substances (illicit drugs, tobacco, alcohol, over-the-counter or prescription medicines). Alcohol and tobacco were widespread, appearing in over 90% of the movies, and illicit drugs appeared in 22%. About one quarter of the movies that depicted illicit drugs contained explicit, graphic portrayals of their preparation and/or ingestion. Illicit drugs appeared in about one-third of the dramas, almost twice as often as in action adventures or comedies; alcohol and tobacco were evenly spread across action adventures and dramas. Substance use was almost never a central theme in movies, and very few delineated motivations for use. Fewer than half of the movies portrayed short-term consequences of substance use, and fewer than one-tenth depicted long-term consequences. Of the 669 adult major characters featured in the 200 movies, 5% used illicit drugs, 25% smoked tobacco and 65% consumed alcohol.

Although substances of some kind were more likely to be used in movies rated PG-13 and R than in those rated G or PG, the differences were not large. Illicit drugs appeared only in movies with restricted ratings (PG-13 or R). Half of the movies (55%) in which illicit drugs were used received rating remarks for drug-related content. However, ten movies that portrayed drug sale or trafficking were not identified as such in the Motion Picture Rating Directory, nor were an additional fifteen movies that depicted illicit drug use.

In general, just over one-fourth of the 1,000 songs (27%) contained a clear reference to either alcohol or illicit drugs. There were almost no references to tobacco. As with movies, when illicit drugs and alcohol were mentioned, they were just "there." Substance use formed a central theme in only 2% of the songs and was rarely associated with any motivations or consequences. There were few references that could be considered either explicitly pro-use or anti-use. Across all music genres, marijuana was by far the most common of the illicit drugs mentioned.

The major finding from the music analysis, however, was the dramatic difference between music genres, with substance references being particularly common in Rap. Illicit drugs were mentioned in 63% of Rap songs versus 11% in Alternative, 11% in Top-40, 9% in Heavy Metal and 1% in Country music. Alcohol references appeared in almost half of the Rap lyrics, but in 15% or fewer of the other genres.

At first glance, the greater proportion of movies portraying substance use suggests that such depictions are more pervasive in movies than in music. However, it should be kept in mind that songs are only a few minutes long, whereas movies often last two hours or more. In an attempt to adjust for this time difference, we conducted a special analysis comparing individual songs with discrete five-minute intervals from movies. This comparison dramatically reduced the movie-music difference for alcohol, and reversed the difference for illicit drugs, which appeared in a much higher percentage of song lyrics than five-minute movie intervals.

Neither movies nor music provided much information about motives for substance use. However, the two media depicted the consequences quite differently, especially for illicit drugs. In movies that portrayed drug use, nearly half (48%) showed one or more consequences of drug use. By contrast, only one-fifth of the songs that referred to illicit drugs mentioned any consequence.

Following are additional highlights from the study:

• Illicit drug use was associated with wealth or luxury in 15% of the movies in which drugs appeared, with sexual activity in 6%, and with crime or violence in 30%; illicit drug use was associated with wealth and luxury in 20% of the songs in which drugs appeared, with sexual activity in 30%, and with crime or violence in 20%.

• Alcohol use was associated with wealth or luxury in 34% of the movies in which it appeared, with sexual activity in 19%, and with crime or violence in 37%; alcohol use was associated with wealth or luxury in 24% of the songs in which it was mentioned, with sexual activity in 34%, and with crime or violence in 13%.

• Fifteen percent of the movies that portrayed illicit drug use contained an "anti-use" statement; 6% of songs contained anti-use statement.

• Of the movies portraying alcohol use, 9% contained an anti-use statement; of the songs, 3% contained an anti-use statement.

The study was conducted under a Center for Substance Abuse Prevention/Social & Health Services (SHS) contract to Mediascope, with funding provided by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy. Mediascope administered the study. The full report, entitled Substance Use In Popular Movies and Music can be obtained from the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information, 1-800-729-6686. Published by the Classification and Rating Administration (CARA) of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA).