Beautiful Boy

Historical Background

 

The 1980’s was a time where more drug abuse came about in the United States when Ronald Reagan became president. The campaign his wife made, Just Say No, was a starting point to zero tolerance policies around the usage of drugs. In 1985, drug abuse was seen as a problem by 2-6% of Americans, but soon rose to 64% in 1989. When Bill Clinton became president, he also took part in the drug war.  In 2000, the Drug Policy Alliance was created.

 

The Just Say No campaign in 1982 was made by Nancy Reagan because of the her friends’ children were using drugs.This campaign was made to help prevent children from taking drugs. She made this because there was a drug outbreak in the eighties. Nancy’s voice got heard by the help of her husband and the supporting parents nationwide. Her campaigned sparked an increase in awareness for the prevention of drugs. However some people still thought the campaign was hypocritical .

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Heroin Chic was a 1990s fashion that populated quickly. This look was supposed to be “healthy” and “appealing” to others. Although, the look contained the characteristics of pale skin, dark circles under their eyes, baggy clothing and the sight of bones sticking out. Even though this look consisted of a person that looked somewhat as a “slob” these people gave off the impression of confidence. This look sparked by Calvin Klein’s model of Kate Moss who looked like a pretty face drug addict. This fashion drew in much criticism by anti-drug groups. Models like Kate Moss were most criticized since they were seen to be “glamorizing” this look.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This music in the 1980s through the 1990s was very different than it is now. The grunge rock movement started in the 1990s in Seattle and soon became popular in more places. Grunge rock is music that has a lot of guitar and vocals that are not very apparent. It is a mix between harcore punk and heavy metal. Bands like Nirvana, Alice in Chains, and Stone Temple Pilots’ were really popular. A lot of the songs talked about drugs and alcohol and this had an influence on what people thought about drugs. In conclusion, grunge music was very in.