SOCI 1003 Introduction to Anthropology Final Paper Hung Kwan Yin UID: 3036067298 Tutorial Group: 003 Tutor: Cheryle Wong Trainspotting: How Drug Abuse Can Bring Out Power Relations and Agency 1. Introduction Trainspotting is a film released in 1996, directed by Danny Boyle, starring Ewen McGregor, Ewen Bremner, Robert Carlyle and Jonny Lee Miller. The film was set in the 1990s, depicting the social conditions of the working class and mostly the drug addicts in Scotland. It centres around four Scottish boys, Renton, Spud, Begbie, Sickboy, who are mostly drug addicts and are from the lower working class. They portray the lives of the drug addicts, the marginalised in the society, portraying whether they have the agency and power to make a change in their lives and also the hierarchies in power structure. In addition, it also portrays how colonialism can leave impact on the colonised, as which they would have mixed identity or being alienated, in this case, the Scottish. The film also introduces how globalisation and commodification makes an impact on our daily lives, just as the opening monologue centres on how we can choose different products and services, alongside with the blooming of tourism, bringing people around from the world. In this essay, I would like to focus on the lives and actions of the drug addicts and thus, connecting their behaviours to the bigger picture of how agency of individuals can affect their life paths. 2. Description The characters are Scottish, therefore they carry an accent, differing from what we perceive as the usual English or British accent. As shown in the opening scenes, buildings are with bad interior, i.e. torn wallpaper, lack of furniture except basic bed mattresses, full of litters, reflecting the social status of the characters-- grassroot, and that they are in their twenties. Their language involves a lot of dialect, alongside swear words and certain rather foul words to separate the lower class from the upper ones. There is also heavy involvement in different activities, i.e. football, horse-betting, reflecting difference in terms of the quality and hierarchy of leisure activities, as separated by class. Moreover, their fashion style is also different from the other people, as they mostly wear leisure wears and clothes that reflect social status of working class alongside with that of gangsters, i.e. silk shirts with patterns, earrings, etc. In the film, Renton was a drug addict, who relied on shooting himself heroin as a coping mechanism, using drugs to numb his feelings alongside escaping from daily life matters. He and his friends rob people, stealing books from bookshops and sell them, breaking into cars and taking the valuable assets inside and resell them to earn money. Thus, by committing crime, they can financially support themselves drugs to give them pleasure by “cooking up” the heroin and “giving themselves a shot”. After taking the shot, they slowly collapse onto the mattress and become unconscious. They often engage in different anti-social behaviours and do not conform to the social norms, nor they respect the authorities. Their view towards life is often nihilistic, with a lack motivation of moving up the social ladder. They only hang out with themselves, alienated from other groups in the society, as marginalisation takes place. The pub culture and drinking culture is portrayed here as well, indicating in favour of patriarchal norms, men tend to use violence or aggression. The characters are in a pub, drinking and chatting about their daily lives. Begbie is telling a story of how he managed to get a good shot in playing pool. He finishes his story and his drink. Then he stands up from their seats in the balcony, dropping a glass onto a woman’s head, causing bloodshed and a mess in the pub. Begbie did not apologise and instead started a fight in the pub, and his friends only sit there and watch. This gives significance to how the characters have agency as also shown in the end of the film, Renton betrays his friends by taking their money made by drug trafficking and lead himself to a new life. 3. Reflection and Interpretation Reflecting on how Hong Kong society views drugs and also the strict laws imposed on drugs trafficking, drugs consuming and various advertisements on the bad aftermaths of drug addiction, i.e. constipation, malfunctions of kidneys, urinary bladders, etc. The film shines a light on the emic view, how they are struggling with their lives, and the reasons to take drugs as to escape from reality, to not “choose life”, to not submit to the mainstream authority and power, alongside with the society’s view on drugs, which is rather lenient comparing to our societies, as for them, cannabis is acceptable and a mild drug, but in Hong Kong, it is conveyed to us as of the opposite of mild. This also contrasts to how our society and our parents, teachers, family and friends usually encourage us to live in a fixed way, while also echoed in the film, as of which the main characters are social outlasts, but lastly still succumbing to the social norms and live a normal life. In addition, the identity of being Scottish and drug addicts becomes intersectionality that brings two separate identities together, further marginalising the main characters in the film, which as portrayed, they lack sufficient social support and have to rely on committing crimes to generate income to sustain their addiction. The duality of being a Scottish and also a drug addict adds up to the effect, which the English is dominating over the Scottish, resulting in a hierarchy of power, as we can commonly find ourselves neglecting different counterparts of the United Kingdom as the mainstream media does so as well, for instance, we might only realise that it is England but not the UK as a whole participating in the World Cup last year. Living in a society that is also influenced by British colonisation, I believe that I can understand the struggles of Scottish too, that our culture is also defined by what the British legacy had left us. Yet, comparatively, the Scottish are still living under the rule of the English, their policies are still heavily influenced by London, while we are not. To elaborate on how power and agency is connected to the film, the ending of the film shows individual agency and power to enact and change the current circumstances. Renton chooses to take the money from selling heroin and choose to start a new life. The film focuses a lot on choices, as of in the opening and ending monologue, emphasising agency and individual power. It showcases how people, even in disadvantageous positions, are still able to act and lead a better life for themselves. The power relations portrayed in the film, as of government structures, social structures, social constraints and norms that define the main characters as deviant and the lower class still exists, yet the characters find a way to cope with and solve their current circumstances. Heroin, in this context, also acts as both an agent of constraint and agency, allowing the users to get freedom or pleasure from it, but at the same time, it constrains their competitiveness in the society, limiting their chances of finding jobs to sustain their lifestyles, forming families, having children, as to creating a better future with regards to our societal expectations. This is universal in terms of how individual agency and the power structure affects our lives. The film gives significance to individual’s capability to overcome obstacles, and it also gives insights about how power is prominent in our society, and the hierarchy of authority in daily lives, such as that between teacher and students, parents and children, men and women, etc. 4. Conclusion To conclude, Trainspotting shows us how the power relations are changeable as individuals put in effort to improve the circumstances, thus allowing us to utilise our agency to change the circumstances and create a better environment, promote equity and equality. In an anthropological context, we can understand the culture better as we understand the power relations behind. It also helps us to respect different cultures and thus, allowing a more diversified and respectful atmosphere for cultural exchange and mutual understanding. Moreover, as the subject of the film is of drug addicts with intersectional identity and being further marginalised, this actually gives us more insight into those who are not from a greater culture or tribe, i.e. the Māori people, or a nation, race, etc. The film focuses on Scots and drug addicts, indicating that we can also start to understand different people in our own society first, through understanding the marginalised, neglected minority groups, i.e. South-Asians in Hong Kong, people in Chung King Mansion, etc. This helps us to understand people better by actively observing and participating in different social groups and learning about their unique culture. Furthermore, for possible future research on the topic, I think the film also provides anthropologists with more areas to explore, and allows us to have a deeper understanding about marginalised groups and the drug addicts, alongside with more exposure on catering for the social events, news, and how different social structures are in relation to shape our social norms, etc. Word count: 1499 Appendix Notes of observation 19.04.2023 15:33 Robbery, car theft -> getting money to fuel their addiction Putting themselves off to sleep by injecting heroin Dealing drugs -> making big sum of money The betrayal at the end-> morally grey-> this gives a reason to quit drug and “choose life” Abnormal behaviours Drinking culture (pubs, bars, clubs) Gender stereotypes (i.e. boys-> football; girls-> shopping as their topic in chitchat); misogyny -> the lack of female voices in the film, the man gaze and sexualising them The job interview scene -> lack of opportunities, lack of chances, have to fake their education credentials to get a chance to “get the foot in the door” marginalised, lack of social support, alienation Hierarchies -> shown as by school ranking system + social classes On using drugs: Emic vs etic POV - Our society (HK) -> strict on drugs regulations -> forbidden to even use cannabis - Vs the UK/ Scotland -> cannabis is not such a big deal, rather Canada has already made it legal to use cannabis - Recreational drug use -> ok in Scotland; not in HK identities of Scottish -> dominated by English (i.e. government policies, neglect on how they’re actually different from the English, common misconception, etc.) -> colonialism > and thus lack of power (concerning the hierarchy) - Perception on drug addicts: emic (they have a lot of problems, i.e. lack of resources, social support, discrimination, thus leading them to not integrate into the society that well and become - Power structure -> universal as of how we view the marginalised as well References: Polygram Filmed Entertainment. (1996). Trainspotting. Great Britain.
