Jim Carrolls Drug Addiction in the Movie The Basketball Diaries by Leonardo Dicaprio

Jim Carrolls Drug Addiction in the Movie The Basketball Diaries by Leonardo Dicaprio The movie The Basketball Diaries by Leonardo Dicaprio has a close basis on the same name. It is a transposition of the adolescents of the late 60s brought up in a time, when the author Jim Caroll grew up to a period of about 15 years. It later infuses a period of rock music as experienced by the author.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Jim Carrolls Drug Addiction in the Movie The Basketball Diaries by Leonardo Dicaprio specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The catholic school basketball team of, which Jim is a member is the best team in New York. However, one of their friends has leukemia and languishes in hospital for most of the time. On certain occasions, Jim engrosses himself on note taking for his journal and participates sexual activities as well as beginning to use drugs. This movie is an effective exploration of drug addiction with the performance of Leonardo DiCaprio granting it the position of the greatest proof of heroin addiction with a message for the negative impacts of drugs. The use of drugs in the film is easily misinterpreted for the first sessions of the movies, if one does not take keen interest in understanding the context. It is easy to think that the movie appreciates teenage use of drugs. However, towards the end of the movie, the message becomes clear and the message against drugs shows clearly and adequately placed. The performance of Leo in The Basketball Diaries, effectiveness of its message and its excellent cinematography gives it an edge in presentation of teachings through entertainment. After the bursting of Jim and apprehending of his friends, using drugs red handed by the couch, disintegration starts taking place in the group and most of the boys lose their essence for being thrown out of the team. Out on the streets, Jim takes advantage of the time without the guidance of his schooling. He becomes a betrayer, trickster and robs stores. All these are for the fulfill ment of his heroin addiction that is slowly overtaking his life and he must find a way of sustaining. Nothing seems to work for him and even Emmie Hudson (Reggie) who is a former addict is incapable of helping Jim in curing his addiction. His great basketball friend and drug friend is Mark Wahlberg and in such influence, he becomes an addict cameo to an extent that he ritualizes heroin shooting in a catholic mannerism. Given the background of the film, there is a missing aspect pertaining to the psychological constructs and denominational beliefs of Jim. The boy suffers from some inner conflict and that leaves him emotionally derailed given that his upbringing demands a different opinion towards drugs. This was a good catholic boy indulging into drugs and there is definitely emotional and psychological aspect leading him into trouble just like many kids of his age. At first, he is part of the hottest basketball team. Before any match, the team inhales heroin. They demoralize opponen t teams by beating them up and on some occasions even steal from them. However, the obsession Jim has with his journal entries sets him apart from his group. This is a point occasionally addressed through a voice over, though his indulgence in heroin taking before matches comes out pronounced leading to their expulsion from school and even leads to his mothers sending him away from home.Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This process takes Jim through several episodes of development stages. He soon realizes that his drugs addiction is overwhelmingly out of control and finds himself moving in with his mother once again. The movie brings out discussions over drugs abuse in a manner that journey with the struggles of Jim in his addiction. For example, when the boys talk about Wilt Chamberlain as the best basketball player, and later refer to him as â€Å"skinhead†, th ere is a divide between their attitudes regarding the best player around. The must be seeing him as a threat and that is why they look for a means of negating his capabilities through demeaning comments and references. The movies also takes a shot on the skimpy relationships Jim has with his friends while at the same time, it goes off his personal circles of daily dwellings. The presence of his mother only ensues into their arguing and the priest only presents questioning of the upbringing of Jim. There is definitely something missing about his parenting religion and schooling and these three aspects led to his acquired character in a manner that leaves questions regarding their specific contribution into shaping the boys life since he ends up as a drug addict and a delinquent in the society. This was a talented boy but his challenges presents him differently even through film. There ere occasions when he looks older and at times, he is a young teen in need of guidance. This contras ts his characterization depending on the situations. He becomes anguished in time when he despairs and this descent produces an obligatory feel regarding his realization of his drugs situation. Through psychosocial development, the advancement of age leads to development of resolutions resulting from interactions of environmental challenges where there is the battle between ego and integrity. This is evident in Jim and his team mates and as his ego takes control he lets down his integral guard by going contrary to initial beliefs (Whitbourne, Zuschlag, Elliot Waterman,1992). Through the recording of his feelings, Jim indulges in drugs and develops a self- defensive nature for his character. This is a period when there is defiance to all authority figures such as the priest’s rigidity at school and his mother. They enjoy being tough at opponent teams, jumping off risky cliffs and indulging in drugs. The recordings help him to keep track of his practices leading to his point o f realization and desire to quit drugs.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Jim Carrolls Drug Addiction in the Movie The Basketball Diaries by Leonardo Dicaprio specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The coming of Emie into his life builds the autonomy of his drug abuse leading him into the creation of an initiative for trust in his mother who plays a key role in accepting his return back home (Bolland, Whitehead Oldham, 2008). He manages to make a resolution and this is a point when his ego goes down and he has to behave in readiness for making changes for his mature years (Whitbourne, Sneed, Sayer, 2009). In the movie, the entertainment contained within lasts for as long as the young boy displays the childish activities of Jim and his group. This fun goes as far as that sort of situation remains intact until the descent of the teams succumbing into drugs onsets such as through Bobby. It is the point of descent in the movi e caused by his downfall as it makes the efforts of portraying the frustrations triggered by teenage addiction to drugs. This shows the worsening of his relationships, though it never gets it right with episodes of his struggles turning overly melodramatic. His running out of money makes the life tough for him and for the audience to a point when it is eminent that there is need for recovery. There are also gay characteristics in the movie reeking possibilities of homophobia and this can easily be related to the single parenting background of Jim and the environment they join. The turning point of the whole situation comes when the hustle becomes tough for Jim as the gay community takes advantage of him at a toilet just so he can get drugs. The neighborly Emie Hudson guides Jim to a turning point. Jim obviously notices the problem he has and that is his reason for going back home. He can no longer contain the homophobia and clearly desires to clean-up. References Bolland, K., Whiteh ead, J., Oldham, M. (2008). A Safety Monitoring Procedure for a Clinical Drug Development Program, with Application to the Assessment of a Novel COX-2 Inhibitor. Journal Of Biopharmaceutical Statistics, 18(4), 737-749. doi:10.1080/10543400802071410 Whitbourne, S., Sneed, J. R., Sayer, A. (2009). Psychosocial development from college through midlife: A 34-year sequential study. Developmental Psychology, 45(5), 13281340. doi:10.1037/a0016550 Whitbourne, S. K., Zuschlag, M. K., Elliot, L. B., Waterman, A. S. (1992). Psychosocial development in adulthood: A 22-year sequential study. Journal Of Personality And Social Psychology, 63(2), 260-271. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.63.2.260Advertising Looking for essay on art and design? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More

10 Terms of Gender Identity

10 Terms of Gender Identity 10 Terms of Gender Identity 10 Terms of Gender Identity By Mark Nichol Are you confused about the language of gender identity? As we learned from a recent post about ethnic identity, the best way to learn what words to use to distinguish one or more people by their physical characteristics is to ask them. Unfortunately, this approach is not as easy as it seems. Those who wish to describe ethnic identity or gender identity often have a category, rather than one person, in mind, and any two people with similar characteristics (for example, a pair of American Indians, or two lesbians) are likely to have divergent preferences. Likewise, any effort to obtain sanction for one term or another from an organization claiming to represent people with nonheterosexual gender identities (or people with a certain ethnic identity) will not result in universal acceptance of the term by those it is meant to refer to. Why do we even need distinctive terms to discuss intersecting identities with nebulous boundaries? The answer to this question is another question: How can we hope to communicate about sexuality and gender without a common vocabulary? There is such a vocabulary, but, like humanity, it is necessarily fluid. But here are terms and definitions that many people agree on: 1. Bisexual: A term for a person sexually attracted to people of both the same sex and the opposite sex. 2. Dyke: A term for a woman sexually attracted to other women; some people consider it offensive, although many lesbians have reclaimed the word and self-identify as dykes. 3. Fag: A term for a man sexually attracted to other men; some people may consider it offensive, although many gays have reclaimed the word and self-identify as fags. 4. GLBT: An inclusive initialism for those self-identifying as gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transsexual. A more inclusive and as yet uncommon variant is GLBTQ2IA; the additional elements refer to â€Å"queer, questioning, intersex allies.† 5. Gay: An inclusive term for those attracted to people of the same sex or not exclusively attracted to people of the opposite sex, although it is often used in the phrase â€Å"gays and lesbians,† which places men and women in separate categories, and can thus refer either to both genders or men only. 6. Genderqueer: A term for those who refuse to be confined to a single gender role. 7. Lesbian: A term for a woman sexually attracted to other women. 8. Queer: An inclusive term for those attracted to people of the same sex or not exclusively attracted to people of the opposite sex; some people may consider it offensive, although many who that fall under that definition have reclaimed the word and self-identify as queers. 9. Same-gender loving: A self-evident term used by those dissatisfied by traditional terminology. 10. Transgender: A term for a person who presents as having a gender other than their original one. This usage is not to be confused with transsexual, which refers to someone in or beyond the process of gender reassignment involving physiological changes, or transvestite, a word for someone who whether occasionally or frequently, whether publicly or privately, and for any one of various reasons wears clothing associated with the opposite gender. (Transgender inclusively encompasses these and other terms.) In general usage, it is usually safe to refer to â€Å"gays and lesbians† to refer to the entirety of people whose sexuality is not strictly heterosexual. GLBT is a more inclusive term, though it is often used fallaciously in the phrase â€Å"the GLBT community,† as if such a cohesive entity exists. The connotation of this phrase seems to be that there is such a community, but only in the sense of people united in solidarity for civil rights for anyone falling under the GLBT umbrella. However, the phrase would seem to exclude heterosexual people sympathetic to the civil rights concerns of GLBT people. It’s perhaps best to restrict use of the initialism to usage such as â€Å"GLBT issues.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 Idioms with HeartSocial vs. Societal6 Foreign Expressions You Should Know