Environment and situations are integral
parts in influencing substance abuse. It provides the necessary motivation for
people to engage in such behavior as a response to these challenges. Integrating
this concept in the movie The Rum Diary,
the characters who Kemp (Johnny Depp), Sala (Michael Rispoli) and Moberg
(Giovanni Ribisi) offer viewers with different ways to contextualize the impact
of substance abuse. To carefully understand how substance abuse is portrayed,
careful consideration must be made in the varying challenges encountered by the
characters in the story alongside their collective problems that provided the
motivation for their preference for substance abuse.
Setting
Critical in helping ascertain the impact of substance abuse would be
to highlight the setting of the film. Looking closely, the Rum Diary is located
in San Juan, Puerto Rico during the 1960s (Depp & Robinson, 2011). It was a
period when the place was still undergoing changes to modernity. Likewise, the
film portrayed Puerto Rico as a location where Americans find ways to earn and
make a living. An example of this would be how Kemp with his new job saw that
majority of the staff in the newspaper are Americans.
On the other hand, there is of
course the corresponding setting where locals dominate society. In particular,
majority of the infrastructure presented in the film are rural. There is a
mixture of modern and countryside feel to the story. Apart from the buildings,
the setting also provides a natural view of Puerto Rico’s wonderful beaches and
islands. Arguably, the setting is also significant in shaping the plot of the
Kemp. It served to cultivate his character and provide the necessary challenge
as he addresses angry locals and clashes with the corruption happening in the
country (Depp & Robinson, 2011). In a way, this can become a focal point to
understand the role of substance abuse to characters such as Kemp, Sala, and
Moberg.
Kemp
Kemp is considered the main protagonist in the story. He arrived in
Puerto Rico seeking to fulfill his dream of becoming a writer due to his
inability to publish a book in New York (Depp & Robinson, 2011). Upon
meeting the editor, he realized that his work only revolves around making the
people happy by writing about things that are wonderful in Puerto Rico (e.g.
bowling and beaches). Throughout the film, viewers can see Kemp to be an
alcoholic like Moberg and Sala, though they remain to be different in terms of the
amount of their intake. Arguably, the motivation of Kemp to engage in substance
abuse came as a response to the complications he and Sala had to face
altogether. For Kemp’s case there is his inability to write what he wants, the
broken deal with Sanderson, the problem with authorities and the challenge with
his love interest Chenault (Depp & Robinson, 2011). All these issues
prompted Kemp to try a hallucinogen and experience getting high. In addition,
Kemp didn’t have any negative ramifications for the substance abuse. Rather, he
had an epiphany of what he intends to do in response to what happened. Lastly,
there were no instances of Kemp seeking treatment in the film.
Moberg
Arguably, the character that best depicts the physical manifestation
of substance and alcohol abuse is Moberg. Though his role is supportive
throughout the film, he remains to be essential in the development of the story
because he shares his experience with Kemp particularly on areas related to a
reporter’s life, the challenges of living in Puerto Rico and the struggles he
had to face in order to survive (Depp & Robinson, 2011). Assessing then
Moberg’s character, his portrayal clearly demonstrates the negative
ramifications of both alcohol and substance abuse. Arguably, he remains to be
most of the time drunk and somewhat intoxicated with drugs. In addition, there
seems to be no indication that he wants to quit or seek treatment for his
addiction.
Sala
Sala’s character also has a supportive role in the film. He remains
to be one of the close people associated with Kemp and is the one responsible
for many of the mishaps the protagonist face. Looking closely, Sala is the
photographer of the newspaper where Kemp works and also has an impulse for
drinking alcohol (Depp & Robinson, 2011). Based from the story, Sala’s
character may be an alcoholic but not necessarily a substance user. However,
due to piling problems, such as their issue with the locals and authorities and
losing his job when the newspaper closed down, Sala was prompted to try illegal
drugs. Getting motivation from Moberg, Sala tries a hallucinogen where the
substance is a liquid that is dropped in the eyes and causes the user to
hallucinate (Depp & Robinson, 2011). It can also be argued that there are
no negative ramifications to Sala when he used this substance. There were no
indications in the film that he continued using illegal drugs nor was there any
attempt by this character to seek treatment. Arguably, treatment isn’t
necessary because Sala and Kemp only attempted the thing once.
Conclusion
Overall, the role of the environment and issues are critical in
shaping decisions to engage in substance abuse in the film The Rum Diary. Though there were limited scenes that depict such
scenario, these scenes give viewers the ability to contextualize and appreciate
the motivation of characters in doing so. Even if Kemp, Sala and Moberg have
their own individual reasons for substance abuse, it remains to be a response
to the compounded challenges they had to face. They show the preference for
substance abuse as a temporary escape to problems and not necessarily because
of their addiction, except maybe for Moberg’s case.
Bibliography
Depp, J. (Producer) & Robinson, B. (Director) (2011). The Rum Diary [Motion Picture]. United
States: GK Films, Infinitum Nihil and Film Engine.
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