Part IV of "Why I Don't Drink"

My disdain for Glamorized Alcoholism:
[This post contains at least 5 red Youtube links as "proof clips" .]

We live in a society that has long glamorized drinking. The history of Hollywood, both on and off the screen, is the story of going to bed with martinis and “waking up in Margaritaville.” For decades, advertisers have directly connected "good drinking" with good friends, but they never show us who drives them home. The "movies" have been glamorizing elegant drinking with our favorite classic stars for decades. From these films, we're taught that sophisticated drinking can be a regular part of our day with no problems, and then (if someone has too much) we're taught to laugh at its effect.

Take a moment to think of the last time you saw a typical depiction of drunkenness on the stage, film, or TV screen, and you’ll probably see humorous, laughable, lovable lost souls. Do they show drunks puking and hung over the next morning and yelling at their wife and kids? (Okay. Homer Simpson may be the exception. Go beyond him.) Or do they just entertain us at the drunk person's expense?

I realize that it’s natural for us to laugh at what we fear, but I think laughing at drunkenness serves a different purpose: it lowers the standard of "too much" by implying that as long as we're not "that drunk," we're okay. As long as there is someone "drunker" within eyesight, we're drinking "responsibly." The facts in Part V [next post below] will bear out that we have problems (and for instance shouldn't drive) when we are far short of "being drunk." Beyond the fact that temporary loss of motor skills is funny (like seeing a dizzy kid), I think we laugh at drunks because few people see themselves as one.

Here are a few examples of drunks that help us feel "responsible."

The drunk buffoon is in theater from Greek comedy/tragedy to Shakespeare (e.g. Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night)

I mentioned W.C. Fields in the 30's. In the sixties, we watched a similar "have a drink" character every week on The Dean Martin Show.

Or Otis stumbling in to Mayberry. [He evidently only attempted to drive while drunk in this episode. I am a huge Mayberry fan, but I must confess Andy Griffith's writers were caught up in the "let's laugh at a drunk" rut. Scroll down this article from Drunkard Magazine to see their favorite episodes.]
More recent sitcoms are no better. Seems like I vaguely remember some "Friends" getting married in Vegas (but not remembering a thing).

We wink at drunk sports casters (like this clip of Joe Namath).

We laugh at the notion that many "singles" rely on drunkenness to lead to casual one-night stands.

Perhaps the lush we feel the least guilty about laughing at is "the accidental drunk." You know the little rascal who got into the wrong cabinet or Disney’s Dumbo when he drinks the clown’s spilled whisky, and sees “pink elephants on parade.” Even his rat friend is drunk with him. Here's a more pathetic Youtube clip of a real rodent who accidentally got drunk on fermented pumpkins. Sad that we feel sorry for a dead-drunk squirrel but laugh when it's a fellow human being.
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Who could forget when Rob Williams' Mrs. Doubtfire gets unintentionally wasted? There's nothing more amusing than a disastrous moment for the dysfunctional familyof a divorced couple fighting over custody of the kids. Perhaps, the classic accidental drunk of all time is Lucile Ball during her filming of a “Vitameatavegiman” commercial. I'll admit, this is a humorous 6-minute sketch, but that simply proves my point!

Some of you may be thinking… “Come on, Tom. Don’t be a Ned Flanders. So what if we glamorize drinking. So what if kids have been exposed to hundreds of humorous drunks by the time they’re 13. Kids are smart enough to know that real drinking in real life isn’t funny.” I wish the mounting evidence touched on in the second half of Part V, confirmed that. In gathering it, I did meet one young man who knows it's not funny to lose motor skills. His name is Brandon. (Watch this powerful one minute video)
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Assignment: We tend not to leave comments on "old posts," but if you see a blatant example of glamorized irresponsible drinking and drunkenness viewed largely by an under-aged audience, please share it here. Please include the date of your observation; title of the show or film; a brief description of the "funny drunk" scene; and the age of the young audience who may have viewed it. Thank you.