Is Euphoria Glamorizing Drug Addiction?
A Review of HBO Max’s “Euphoria”
By Nicole Ruiz
HBO Max’s hit show “Euphoria” recently ended its second season, and throughout its run, it was all anyone was talking about.
According to the Hollywood Reporter, an average of 16.3 million viewers have been tuning in every Sunday to continue the storyline of these fascinating characters. The show follows the life of the main character, Rue, played by Emmy award winner Zendaya.
“I’m a really big fan of her [Zendaya] and I heard a lot of people talking about it so I definitely wanted to check it out,” said Madison Tappa, a sophomore at Palm Beach State College explained as to how she got into the show.
This show also touches on very sensitive topics like drug abuse, body image, and toxic relationships. The premise of the show follows the ups and downs of Rue’s drug addiction and how it takes a toll on her life and the people around her. Certain scenes in the show could be too much to handle for some viewers as the show goes into detail about how drugs can take over a person and control the way they live their life and impact the ones around them.
“While the show is very graphic in my opinion, it is real life and balances out throughout each episode. It shows the truth about drug addiction and is not so sugar-coated like most shows and movies,” said Brandon Sporn, a senior at Lynn University, says about the show’s R rating.
However, even though the show exhibits the pain and sadness of dealing with drugs, it also shows the “fun” side of it. In season one,1 a scene involves two characters doing MDMA (Molly) at the town carnival. In season two,2 they have characters simply smoking marijuana (weed) as a background activity when hanging out with friends.
“If you’re in a tough place mentally, whether it be drug abuse, depression, anything else…the show would be harder to watch because it does have scenes that are triggering. So, the show could definitely convince people to want to do drugs because they’re seeing their favorite actors doing them, thinking it is okay,” said Ava Tuchiarolo, a junior at Lynn University.
With millions of viewers watching, “Euphoria” will continue to have a strong influence on the younger generation as they wait for the third season.
