Film Review 4: Generation Rx 8 March '12

Film Review 4: “Generation Rx” 8 March ‘12

In class on March 8, we watched the film “Generation Rx.” The main thesis is the discussion of how different prescription drugs affect children; especially medications prescribed for ADHD and depression, and that the medications may do more harm than good. The argument is presented by many different professionals in the medical field.

One of the main arguments that supported the thesis was the actual accounts of families who have dealt with this issue; and in many unfortunate cases lost their children to suicide or an overdose due to the side effects of drugs like Prozac and Zoloft. Another argument that supported the thesis was seeing the actual statistics of how many child deaths have resulted from children being on these drugs, and the numbers are very high.

In my opinion, the film relates to the course in the aspect that deviance is pretty much straying from the norm; and in this case, parents often agree to have their children put on these medications because society (and their children’s doctors) tells them this is the best and quickest way to fix any behavioral problems you may have with your children.

The arguments I found most convincing was the fact that there were actual doctors that have evidence that things aren’t all what they seem when it comes to putting your children on these drugs. Although there were other professionals in the film arguing for the use of these drugs and not against them; these professionals were not able to support their argument, which is relatable to the audio clip, “What’s A Mental Disorder? Even Experts Can’t Agree” (www.npr.org), because as much as we’d like to think that everything is black or white, medical professionals have very different opinions on what is accurate and what isn’t.

I am hesitant to say there were any arguments that were unconvincing; however, the fact that there are so many disputes in the medical field about this issue makes me feel like I can’t trust doctors all the way, which is something that is quite scary to me.

The argument that stood out the most to me was when the question, “Are we sacrificing our kids to make them consumers of these psychiatric drugs?” was asked. That is something I would be very interesting in knowing. Instead of having the parents be the ones to be the spokespeople, I would be more interested in hearing from the kids who were on the drugs and how they feel they were affected. These kids have been told that they need this medicine to be normal. But as pointed out in the article “Being Sane In Insane Places”, anxiety and depression will always exist but it doesn’t mean you aren’t normal or there is anything wrong with you (Rosenhan, par. 3). How sad for these kids to feel that no one understands them, and they need drugs in order to “fix” what’s wrong with them.

Works Cited
Rosenhan, David L. “Being Sane In Insane Places.” Readings in Deviant Behavior. p. 133, par. 3. Alex Thio, Thomas C. Calhoun, Addrain Conyers.

“What’s A Mental? Even Experts Can’t Agree.” http://www.npr.org/2010/12/29/132407384/whats-a-mental-disorder-even-experts-cant-agree