Heroin Chic: The Visual Culture of Narcotic Addiction

The Least of These: How Eduardo Diaz's Image of Drug Users in Pakistan Offers an Alternate Media Representation of Addiction

“…Visual representations that support the dominant narratives of drug use are difficult to produce, as it not generally possible to recognize a drug user by appearance alone (Hickman, ). However, “the difficulty of seeing addiction has never stopped either the professional or lay public from trying to make this inherently invisible condition visible—from en/visioning addiction” (Hickman, , p. 120). Therefore, visual representation of drug users has required the construction of a considerable body of semiotic resources that en/vision the drug user in ways that alchemize tangible aspects of an image into indicators of the intangible phenomena that fuel the engine of drug panic, namely moral decay, contagion, otherness, and threat.…”

“…Those users that accept that representation to any extent may view themselves as deserving of what punishments society may mete out for their behavior, and as such are not likely to challenge punishment‐based policies. Other users, as Hickman () noted, are drawn to representations of drug users as romantically self‐destructive countercultural figures, and construct in reality what news media have presented in fantasy. Some users seek to reduce the schism between themselves and society by differentiating between varying degrees of drug use and diverting as much of the stigma of drug use as possible onto other sectors of drug users (Copes et al, ).…”

“…The production of images in support of crisis claims about drug use requires more sophisticated devices than do representations of more straightforward crises such as natural disasters. Visual representations that support the dominant narratives of drug use are difficult to produce, as it not generally possible to recognize a drug user by appearance alone (Hickman, 2002). However, "the difficulty of seeing addiction has never stopped either the professional or lay public from trying to make this inherently Communication, Culture & Critique 10 (2017) 131-147 © 2016 International Communication Association invisible condition visible-from en/visioning addiction" (Hickman, 2002, p. 120).…”

“…Emaciation, dental decay, and skin lesions can result from heavy use of certain drugs, but are not exclusive to drug use. None of those markers is perfectly reliable, but since they all can signify extreme drug use, news drug images use them as indicators of drug use and all its moral implications, allowing spectators the fantasy of expertise (Hickman, 2002;Linnemann, Hanson, & Williams, 2013;Linnemann & Wall, 2013). This is done without consideration of what comorbid conditions may afflict the most extreme user; the drug itself is presumed to be the only disease of significance.…”

Taking a hit: the consumptive spectacle of marijuana in a celebrity visual culture

“…And although no one ever accused Phelps of being an addict (that rhetoric is usually saved for harder illicit drugs), the image does connote a certain repetitiveness in its frozen and perpetual inhalation/display. In fact, as Hickman (2002) argues, "attempts to control narcotic addiction by turning it into a visibly deviant, anti-social lifestyle have evaded the intentions of conservative reformers [and media] and have instead contributed to the construction of an ultimately attractive -and eminently marketable -counter-cultural figure" (123). Whether Phelps is considered counterhegemonic or not, we continue to gaze, regardless (or because) of the oscillation of desire and fear we experience in that act:…”