Revised Four Modes

My visual and textual elements are all describing the struggles that college student have with the illicit use and abuse of prescription stimulants, primarily the prescription medication Adderall. Because of the pressure in our society for students to be over achievers in all aspects of their lives (both academically and socially), the use of these drugs is becoming increasingly tempting and more popular among students.

 

Visuals:

I included two pictures for my visual that are on my poster and in my power point. My first picture includes a pile of several different pills with a caption underneath stating “Medication – Sometimes the world just needs a break from the real you”. The concept of this photo is that medication is stripping us from our own individual self and turning us into what society thinks we should be.

This photo relates to the appeal of logos because you realize how overmedicated we are as a society and realize that these medications are taking away peoples individuality. It also deals with Ethos because ethically the over use of these medications in our society may go against many peoples values. We are so worried about being perfect that we will go to any resort to fix what we consider to be “flaws” by constantly taking medication to correct them even though these flaws may be typical human behavior.

            Another photo I used was a photo of a student studying, a book opened in front of him with a pile of pills pouring out on top of the text. This photo shows a situation that many college students endure. Sometimes when students have to study they are faced with the choice to take medication in order to keep them up and concentrate late into the night.

This shows the ethos appeal because you realize that students are so focused on being overachievers that they resort to taking pills in order to feel that they can succeed, although this is not at all the case. The fact is that taking these medications may be in fact harming them instead of helping them.

 

Book: Prozac Nation, Elizabeth Wurtzel

            The book I chose is called Prozac Nation by Elizabeth Wurtzel, the book is a memoir about what Elizabeth went through as a young a woman in college.

Elizabeth was a talented writer at Harvard University and dealt with these pressures by abusing drugs and alcohol. This book is a good depiction of what college students can go through if struggling with the pressures of school and life all together. Elizabeth tried to balance her schoolwork, her newspaper column, her family life, her love life and her partying life until finally breaking down and going into a depression where she began to depend completely on medication.

The book deals with Ethos appeal because the credibility is very apparent within this book. The book is written by Wurtzel herself and through her own experiences that we learn from as readers.

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Movie: Prozac Nation (2001)

            Although reading the book can be very impacting, actually visualizing it is a great way to understand the character as well. The character Elizabeth is played by Christina Ricci whose pain you experience throughout this film.

One quote in particular that really struck me in this film was when Elizabeth was at the doctor’s office and stated, “I call this the crack house where I come to score, and Dr. Sterling is my dealer. Seems like everyone’s doctor is dealing this stuff now… sometimes it feels like we’re all living in a Prozac nation.”

This quotation expresses the fact of how easy it is to gain access to prescription drugs. The reference to the doctor being a “drug dealer” shows that people are using these medications not only for health reason but for recreational purposes as well.

Although the movie doesn’t deal exclusively with Adderall, it does deal with the issues of how stressful college life is for students and more importantly how overly medicated we are as a society. Although some people really do need it, it seems like these days anyone can get their hands on these medications.

This movie definitely has a pathos appeal to it because you feel for Elizabeth who seems to have it all until it all just comes crashing down. You see her achieve, you see her make mistakes, and you see her become dependent on drugs that are available to all of us.

 

Song: Amphetamine by Everclear

My other textual is the song Amphetamine by Everclear. This song describes the life of a girl who has changed so much because she is dependent on amphetamines (an ingredient in Adderall). The writer could tell she “used to be happy”, however now she is just a hollow shell of someone who used to be happy. Now she thinks she continue using in order to make her life better. This also will show how serious this epidemic is and how more awareness should be shed upon this issue.

 

“Yeah, you just take your pill

And everything will be all right

She looks like a teenage anthem

She looks like a magazine girl

She looks like a teenage anthem

Like she used to be happy in another world”

 

This song deals with pathos because the writer feels bad for this girl who once was happy but now must rely on a pill in order to make her feel like everything is okay.

 

           

           

 

Volunteer Blog!

Volunteer Blog:

For my volunteer work I was able to help my brother who is an Assistant District Attorney in Nassau County, Long Island. More importantly than helping him during the day was what I able to observe during this entire experience. By looking at his every day life at his job, I was able to receive a better understanding of the legal system and how it relates to my project on prescription medication.

At the Nassau County Court house I reviewed my brothers drug cases and afterwards was able to actually witness how the criminal system worked from arrest, to an arraignment, to how a file ends up on the desk of an ADA.

My brother and I first went to arraignment court to observe where people who have been newly arrested are brought before a judge to decide weather or not bail or how much bail should be set. Here I observed numerous cases of driving under the influence as well as the sale and possession of narcotic drugs including prescription medication.

I learned that paperwork on these cases are then turned to files for the ADA to handle, my brother handles exclusively drug cases and he was able to show me files and arrest reports indicating what crimes took place. I was also explained the process in which a lab report is created in drug cases in order to convert a misdemeanor complaint, which is the accusatory instrument usually used to start a criminal proceeding, into a misdemeanor information, which is the accusatory instrument needed to bring a case to trial.  However, if the crime charged is a felony a grand jury must be convened and the case must be presented to them in order to obtain an indictment which is the accusatory instrument needed to prosecute a felony charge. For many people selling and using these drugs, a felony charge was granted.

Some things I learned about prescription drugs such as Adderall is that it is a schedule three controlled substance and is a class C felony which means a heavy fine and jail time as well as a criminal record whether you are selling or giving it away to a friend, because in the eyes of the law giving away is equivalent to selling the substance. I also learned that driving while under the influence of these medications if not prescribed is a felony as well because it is considered a DUI. I had no idea that the law had considered this to be such a serious issue up until now.

This was a good opportunity for me to observe the legal process and understand the gravity of using prescription medication illicitly. By seeing regular people who were held in jail go to court for these instances was a very impressionable on me who sees these crimes take place on a regular basis and now understands the gravity of what can occur if someone is caught using, selling, or giving away prescription medication.