Drug And Alcohol Addiction In The Movie Flight

The movie flight does not only show the horrific effects of a plane crash but a mans long struggle with drug and alcohol addiction. Although the plane crashed because of mechanical errors, while on the flight the Captain was drinking vodka and been snorting cocaine the morning of. Through out the movie the captain battles cocaine abuse, family issues, and the harsh reality of the cycle of addiction. At the beginning of the movie for a brief moment it looks at how drug use affects family life. Captain Whitaker gets a call from his ex wife regarding their son and in which he completely disregards them. Trying to get the conversation done as quickly as possible because he has a line of cocaine waiting to be snorted. For a drug user, the drugs …show more content…
Before getting on the plane, Captain Whitaker stumbles getting on the plane and once the plane is in the air decides to take a nap from exhaustion. Another consequence that the movie shows is the feeling of confidence. When in the storm, the Captain decides that it is a good idea to take the plane off auto pilot because he could fly the plane. The overuse of drugs and alcohol has such a toll on the body both psychologically and physically. Alcohol affects the way the pathways in our brain communicate making coordination off, mood problems and since alcohol is a depressant it causing the person to relax. Biologically alcohol creates fat build up on the liver, increases the risk of cancer, leads to heart burn and ulcers, irregular heart beats, low blood pressure, and damaged kidney. Alcohol can also weaken your immune system, making it so chronic drinkers are more likely to get diseases such as pneumonia and tuberculosis even 24 hours after getting drunk. (https://www.niaaa.nih.gov/alcohol-health/alcohols-effects-body) Cocaine also has serious affects on the body. Some short term affects of cocaine include increased heart rate, contracted blood vessels, dilated pupils, disturbed sleep patterns, behavioral problems, euphoria, anxiety and paranoia. Longer affects of cocaine include permanent damage to blood vessels, high blood pressure, liver and kidney damage, transmitted diseases …show more content…
The movie flight portrays these very well showing how dangerous the over use of drugs can be and how once you become addicted, your life goes down hill. This is portrayed well by showing his work scene and showing the Captains use and everything it takes to overcome