STANFORD STUDY: FILMS SHOW DRUG USE, OMIT CONSEQUENCES

U.S. agencies to seek changes in movies, music

WASHINGTON -- In the movies, many characters abuse drugs and alcohol without
worrying about consequences, a groundbreaking federal study released
Wednesday shows.

The study, conducted by Stanford University researchers, looked at the 200
most popular movies rented in 1996 and 1997. It found that 98 percent of the
movies showed characters using tobacco, alcohol or drugs, yet only 12
percent showed long-term consequences of risky behavior.

Even when the impact was shown -- such as the late actor Chris Farley
falling down drunk in the film ``Tommy Boy'' -- the effect was often played
for laughs, said Stanford University communications Professor Donald F.
Roberts, the lead researcher.

Many American teenagers have a casual attitude toward drug, alcohol and
tobacco use that some see reflected in the entertainment industry. Changing
that has become a major focus for the White House Office of National Drug
Control Policy and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which
sponsored the $400,000 study.

The agencies hope to use the research to change the ways drug, tobacco and
alcohol use is portrayed to young Americans who are avid consumers of movies
and popular music. While people under 20 make up just 16 percent of the
population, they buy 26 percent of movie tickets.

Some 98 percent of all the films studied included some depiction of
drinking, smoking or drug use. Alcohol and tobacco appeared in more than 90
percent of the films, and illicit drugs in 22 percent, the study found.

Movie warnings about graphic content, adopted in 1990, were often
incomplete, the study found. In nearly half the PG-13 and R-rated movies in
which illicit drugs were used, the Motion Picture Association of America's
remarks failed to note drug-related content, researchers said.

Although music was much less likely than film to include questionable
content, with 27 percent of all songs mentioning drugs or alcohol,
researchers found that when these subjects did come up in songs,
particularly in rap music, the users were rarely described as suffering any
ill effects. Only 19 percent of songs describing or depicting drug use, and
48 percent of the films, showed any consequences to the user, the study
said.

Drug czar Barry McCaffrey said he had already begun meeting with film and
music leaders to drive home the dangers of depicting drug use as ``normal''
and risk-free.

The question of whether exposure to an illicit activity such as drinking or
drug use actually makes children more likely to undertake it has been hotly
debated for years, and McCaffrey was careful not to draw any direct
connections.

But noting that some children spend hours a day listening to music, he said
parents ``need to know what these products are.''

One out of four young people under the age of 18 have used illicit drugs in
the past month, a proportion that has stayed the same over the past few
years, according to statistics from the federal Office of National Drug
Control Policy.

The best way to prevent young people from copying much of the violence and
substance abuse they see in movies and on television is to make them
informed viewers, said John Murray, a professor of human development and
family studies at Kansas State University.

Murray, who has been studying the issue of violence in the media since the
1960s, says schools need to teach students how to be critical of what they
see.

``It's important to do more talking about how the media influences us,'' he
said.

The Los Angeles Times contributed to this report.