Antwerp mayor Bart De Wever (N-VA) points the finger at the media. According to him, series like Knock Off in 2 DEZIT contributes to the glorification of drugs. The prohibited substances do indeed flow freely, but one use is not the same as the other. ‘It’s mainly about how it is depicted.’
The winter precipitation above Antwerp has been limited in recent days, but the city has no shortage of snow for the time being. The local port police were able to intercept a record amount of 116 tons of cocaine last year. In To the point Mayor Bart De Wever therefore praised him on Wednesday evening war on drugs, although he did point out that real success results are only achievable if everyone really pulls together. Since there is little chance that the average drug criminal from a South American narco-state will quickly choose a career change, the politician is also targeting the Flemish media. According to him, there are too many programs today that glorify drug use. For example, he refers to the series Knock Off from VRT in 2 DEZIT on Streamz. “They all snort and swallow there and that is associated with being young, beautiful and successful.”
De Wevers’ criticism of the glorification of substance use in pop culture is not new. In an opinion piece from 2011, he was annoyed by the ‘romantic infatuation’ with ‘cuddle junkies’ such as poet Jotie T’Hooft or singer Amy Winehouse. “Drugs should have a loser image instead of a winner image,” he wrote at the time.
Euphoria
Since then, things have changed within the media landscape. Traditional television channels are eagerly looking for ways to engage young people and are therefore producing bolder series that respond more to the world of teenagers. The influence of the extremely popular HBO series Euphoria, in which Zendaya plays a drug-addicted student, can hardly be overestimated. Local series like Season of Sex (VRT), Knock Off in 2 DEZIT all follow in a similar way how young people search for themselves. The temptations of drugs and alcohol often lurk.
In recent years, more Flemish television programs have paid attention to substance use among young people, although this does not necessarily mean that they also encourage viewers to immediately consume the entire contents of the medicine cabinet. “It is mainly about how something is depicted,” says director of the Flemish expertise center for Alcohol and Other Drugs Katleen Peleman. For example, it is crucial not to simply idealize addictive substances and to think carefully about the target audience for which a program is made. For example, in a series for young children it is unnecessary to simply introduce alcohol as they are not yet involved in it. Research shows that a glorifying portrayal of drug use in media can indeed have an impact on the behavior of viewers. Young people are especially sensitive to this.
Media makers are more careful when telling stories about problematic substance use, but at the same time it remains important not to blindly give in to conservative criticism. A game Fortnite doesn’t the average teenager suddenly turn into a mass murderer à la Dylann Roof and an episode of Knock Off is not a commercial for cocaine. The series may even have a dissuasive effect. In the story, the wealthy characters flee into drugs and alcohol to get rid of their problems for a while. Their lives may be glamorous, but above all they are miserable. Between their short highs they continue to struggle with hangovers and dark thoughts.
Hate censorship
“I don’t idealize anything, but show what excessive drug use often leads to,” says Luk Wyns, one of the two screenwriters of Knock Off. For example, one of the main characters ends up in the hospital after an overdose at the end of the first season. Wyns received a lot of reactions to that storyline, especially because he also showed how affected the protagonist’s parents reacted to the news. “The series shows that drugs are ubiquitous in that environment. By deleting it I would be falsifying the situation. And I hate censorship.”
It is a logic that VRT and Streamz also endorse. They do not want to promote alcohol and drugs, but at the same time it is not always possible to keep them out of a storyline. “Fiction often starts from a reflection of current society,” says Hanne Van Looveren of Streamz. For example, 2DEZIT takes place in the student environment, where people experiment anyway. Although the media company ensures that the characters do not go too far over the line. “Normalizing or glorifying harmful behavior is never the intention.”
In recent years, there has been more criticism of smoking and drinking characters in fictional series. It is logical that sensitivity to drugs also increases. In the autumn of last year, Drugs Commissioner Ine Van Wymersch called on television makers to immediately refer to the Drug Line after programs about drugs. Minister of Media Benjamin Dalle (CD&V) also wants to make this mandatory.
The VRT has already responded to the request and is also consulting with the VAD about how the theme can be addressed in youth series. “No matter how you look at it, young people come into contact with drugs in society. We bring up that theme in our offer, but not for free,” says spokesperson Yasmine Van der Borght.
