Forum - Sex and drugs in popular movies

The movie industry influences the perceptions of billions of people around the world. The top 200 movies in cinematic history have grossed in excess of $70 billion US dollars1 in box office takings alone: with globalization and the proliferation of home-based media technologies movies are becoming ever more accessible to wider audiences. Movies often address and depict health-related behaviours and have the potential to model conduct and communicate normative propositions about matters such as unsafe sex and recreational drug use as well as health-promoting messages about these issues.

There were 53 sex episodes in 28 (32%) of the 87 movies reviewed. There was only one suggestion of condom use, which was the only reference to any form of birth control. There were no depictions of important consequences of unprotected sex such as unwanted pregnancies, HIV or other STDs. Movies with cannabis (8%) and other non-injected illicit drugs (7%) were less common than those with alcohol intoxication (32%) and tobacco use (68%) but tended to portray their use positively and without negative consequences. There were no episodes of injected drug use.

Sex depictions in popular movies of the last two decades lacked safe sex messages. Drug use, though infrequent, tended to be depicted positively. The social norm being presented is concerning given the HIV and illicit drug pandemics.