A Scanner Druggly

Go see A Scanner Darkly now and be sure to drop some acid just before you do.

Watching the movie I was thrown back to earlier drugged days of my own where the daily dialogue amongst friends mirrored something out of a Hunter S. Thompson novel. The movie runs the gambit of a modern allegory for drug use gone rampant in the U.S. more specifically: Black Tar, China White, China Cat, Horse, Smack, Dope, Dog, Hard Stuff, Brown, Mexican Brown, Big H, Charley, H, Junk, and Heroin with a twist of acid as well. The dangers are well known as anyone who has taken a speedball can attest to; don't do it. However, there is a reason why we seek these drug induced euphorias at the risk of death and complete life failure - they feel good, and they also offer an almost complete escape from reality which this movie does well to provide. If you would like to watch a living breathing graphic novel about a futuristic world of drugs and mania then get ready to be pleased.

However, there was one more important theme in the movie I believe has yet to be fully explored; one where both the cure and the cause are sold from the same entity. I'm talking about a world where with every 15th shot of whiskey you get a free tattoo and the tattoo parlor is owned by a tattoo removal clinic, a world where the BBQ is free but the napkins cost $1.99, where music festivals don't cost anything but the bathrooms run $4.00 a squat, a world that challenges our very norms, but more importantly a world of profit yet unheard of. If we work together and push as one I believe we can make this world a reality; think about it, really.