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 just a sitcom will lend valuable insight to the television viewers and allow them to see that even their cute alcoholic prime-time role-models should have problems too: Problems that are conveniently never mentioned in the scripts or brought into a realistic perspective by the writers.
             The above problem will be discussed mostly in the following format: A brief description of the actual character should suffice to lend familiarity to the reader who knows little about Cheers. Examples of that characters behavior will be included with episode identification to show instances where the character exhibits those particular traits. After that there will a section explaining what problems and basic person...

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alcoholism. (1969, December 31). In MegaEssays.com. Retrieved 03:26, March 29, 2024, from https://www.megaessays.com/viewpaper/15290.html