alcoholism

The belief of most of the Unites States used to be that alcoholics were mean spirited, good-for-nothing, lazy, wretched men who liked to fight frequently and swear in excess. With the stereotypical television drunkard being homeless, a gambler, or just a plain loser, this myth was perpetuated. The myth was perpetuated until Cheers came along. It gives unrealistic portrayals of alcoholics in politically correct and friendly ways. The alcoholics never hurt anyone or say anything offensive in the Cheers universe, and this is how the viewing audience is beginning to view alcoholism as a whole; not as a disease, but as a source of lighthearted humor. They are wrong, very wrong.

The audience sees the cast of Cheers drink their sorrows away on every episode. The bar patrons and servers do not react in a realistic way to the alcohol that they’ve been imbibing. They neither feel it’s affects immediately nor do they ever exhibit the signs of either an alcoholic or even a lifetime drinker. All of the characters appeal to a certain part of the viewing audience and are easy to form a strong connection with, and thus influence the entranced viewer. Exposing the characters for what they would be like if they existed in the real world and not j

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Alex Trebec asks a question concerning the similarities of three historical figures. All of the characters are geared towards a certain type of viewer which they can easily influence with their unrealistic portrayals of alcoholism. She went a long way towards proving that a flippant attitude towards beer was the cause of the problem that will be discussed here. He is too shy to confront his daughter about her sleazy fiancé (October 28, 1982) and needs an inspiring pep talk from the others to get the courage. He is also very shy and self-conscious at times, being unable to speak to women.

Norm: Wow, four beers and you’re this drunk?

Woody: No, four sips. He encourages alcoholism as an escape from what is bothering a person, and as an excuse to make rash and foolish decisions. He almost threw everything away when his ex-postal-worker-lover came back from Canada, but a hummed rendition of "America the Beautiful’ from the other patrons kept him from leaving (October 19, 1989).

Sam Malone, the only one without a drinking problem. During the January 19, 1984 episode he would have been spending too much time with Sam and Diane for a different reason, be it inability to cope with the world or being to drunk to function, and would have been much more angry when he found out that they were trying to get him off if their backs. She gives the impression that she can work as a barmaid and still support ten children. He still lives with his mother and the first naked woman that he saw blinded him (Also October 19, 1989). His exploits teach the lesson that it’s perfectly acceptable to have a low tolerance for alcohol as long as one occasionally overindulges. After that there will a section explaining what problems and basic personality changes the character’s alcoholism would cause him/her in the real would, and taking that into account the previously discussed examples of behavior and how the real-world problems caused by an addiction to alcohol would cause them to react differently.

Approximate Word count = 3337
Approximate Pages = 13 (250 words per page double spaced)

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