Trainspotting, the effects of addictions
it is a 1996 British film directed by Danny Boyle. He is a long icon of European cinema that had a sequel 20 years later. The truth is that, as it passes, it is difficult to forget its emblematic characters, its particular reflections on life and the dark world in which they evolve. Trainspotting isn’t a movie for everyone and doesn’t want to be, isn’t it a drama, but it’s not a comedy either?
- Trainspotting is something else.
- It’s an outsider.
- It’s the portrait of a society that has become addicted.
- Especially heroin.
- May you introduce us to some of us? Philosophers xx century who choose to live on the margins of society.
- Whose only aspiration in life is to “collapse”.
- All this may seem very violent.
- But watching the film.
- We discover a fascinating world.
- A vision rarely treated so deeply.
- In the movies.
Trainspotting is aggressive, direct and sarcastic. The characters are well designed and the scenes are as varied: we have the streets of Edinburgh, scotland’s worst bath, an overdose, the disturbing baby scene, etc.
Without a doubt, an unforgettable film that speaks openly about a controversial theme, and animated by a successful soundtrack, a true work of art of the twentieth century.
“At the same time, Spud, Sick Boy and I made the healthy, documented and democratic decision to connect with heroin as quickly as possible. -Renton, Trainspotting-
The film focuses on four characters, each with very different motivations and life perspectives:
The idea of life we face is a kind of slavery: working to pay the bills, having a giant TV, choosing a partner, friends, a trade . . . Everything seems to be based on elections, but these are conditional choices that fit the established. Social mold: what about those who do not want to choose ?, decide to choose to live totally outside of this system.
“Take the best orgasm you’ve ever had, multiply it by a thousand and you won’t even be around. “Renton, Trainspotting
For Renton to follow the social model is very complicated, boring and empty, so he decides to become addicted and his only concern is to get money to be able to consume Trainspotting brings us closer to another philosophy of life, brings us closer to the addict’s point of view. Renton himself explains that his choice is very simple, it is pure pleasure, nothing more. He knows that the consequences of his addiction will not be good, he knows the risks he runs when he enters this world, but still decides to enter it.
We are therefore faced with a kind of contemporary hedonism, outside the established, where happiness and the purpose of life are sueded in one thing: pleasure, and the pursuit of absolute pleasure is carried out through consumption.
Despite all this quest for pleasure, Renton explains that everyone, or almost everyone, at some point decided to get away from drugs, return to the real world and have what is considered a “normal life. “The bathroom scene is crucial to understanding This decision, as it is a kind of portrait of Renton’s life. It’s an unpleasant scene, but very complex. Bathing is a reflection of your life, your relationship with heroin.
puts before our eyes another perspective of life and explains the context of this election. For these characters, the real world is synonymous with slavery, unhappiness; they decide to escape this reality and immerse themselves in a new state of mind, another way of life that arises precisely as a reaction to the system.
“When you are addicted, you have only one concern: to consume; and when you’re sober, do you suddenly have to worry about many others?-Renton, Trainspotting-
Trainspotting brings us closer to the reality of the addict, all that ‘underworld’ that we don’t see, but that’s it. Trainspotting is not an attempt to exalt drugs, but rather a portrait of a generation and the impact of addiction on it. Heroin was a kind of epidemic at the end of the 20th century, attracted many young people and stole countless lives, not only because of abuse, but also because it led to the spread of diseases like HIV. All this, combined with the philosophical reflections of the characters, appears in Trainspotting.
Trainspotting is Renton’s journey, the journey of addictions: from ecstasy and initial euphoria to misery and a fall without a parachute. In the middle of all this story appears the character of Diane, a young teenager with whom Renton has a relationship. Despite her youth, she will be a kind of conscience for Renton, she will be the person who gives a bit of reality to his life, she will make him see that the world is changing, that the music he listens is no longer fashionable and that There are more ways to go.
The world moves at breakneck speed; everything changes, from tastes to trades, however, in the world where Renton and his friends live, it seems that time has stopped, living on the margins of society, they do not realize what is going on around them, all these changes, of course, also happen with drugs. At the end of the 20th century, the star was heroin, while other drugs, such as cocaine, have now gained ground, this was highlighted by Diane, but we also see it very well reflected in the film’s sequence, T2: Trainspotting.
It also brings us closer to the difficult process of detoxification. Renton prepares carefully to survive the withdrawal crisis in the best possible way, locking himself in a room full of an arsenal of “anti-abstinence” products, including Valium. Renton says he got it, through his mother – which is also, in his intimate and socially acceptable, drug addict – questioning the use of certain drugs.
Trainspotting immerses itself in the addict’s perspective in a very daring way, encompassing absolutely everything: from first contact, total addiction, detoxification, relapse and an almost poetic overdose. From an unpleasant situation, a fascinating film is designed that allows us to understand a reality that is often alien to us.
“I chose not to choose life; What are the reasons?There’s no reason, you need reasons when you have heroin ??. – Renton, Trainspotting-