A few bong hits, and you’re ready to inflict physical harm in rage of jealousy. Three guys share a joint at a party,
and, next thing you know, they’re holding up a 7-Eleven. There, in their cannabis-induced madness, they rob the clerk at gunpoint, all the while making “moo…moo” noises.
Is this Reefer Madness hysteria of the 1930’s? A High School Confidential type movie of the 1950’s? No, it’s Six Feet Under, which is about the biggest hit of the year for HBO, and, I have to admit, a great show. But come on, producers! Is this really an accurate representation of the effects of cannabis? I know it’s gotten stronger since I partook regularly, but, as I mentioned here a couple of years ago, I did have the opportunity to try it a few times recently. I really didn’t like it, but it certainly didn’t make me violent. And to say that the guys at the party had also consumed alcohol, or even that one of them was a known heroin user, is just being evasive. It’s the marijuana that’s being emphasized here.
I don’t think marijuana is directly to blame for inciting armed robbery, but the original “moo” prank (without the gun) reeks of “stupid stoner stunts 101.”
You can argue all you want that marijuana is harmless when used recreationally and responsibly by the vast majority of people. However, marijuana (and alcohol, and other drugs) do not contribute to advanced reasoning powers and improved judgement. Unfortunately we all know people who have done something incredibly stupid while under the influence, usually in the teen years. I thought last night’s show was less a message about the evils of pot then a portrayal of a fucked-up kid’s self-destructive behavior in general.
I thought the exact same thing in the scene at Brenda’s house. All the while, as Nate kept on taking the massive bong hits, I was saying to myself, “please don’t”, because I knew he was going to do something really, really stupid.
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I never (well, hardly ever) knew someone who did that sort of stupid thing while on pot, although I did know a few who surrendered to the druggie lifestyle, and I think that’s more the potential harm than a random stupid act. If it were my choice, I would have had things play out so that Gabe and the others were caught driving under the influence of both pot and alcohol, rather than doing the robbery.
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Poor Gabriel…he may be fucked up but if he’s doing trig he got a lot farther in high school math than I did, much to my regret.
I think the armed robbery was supposed to be symptomatic of Nate (the boyfriend) being a very unstable personality, not a pot thing.
The stupidest thing, in my opinion, about that scene was the two friends making fun of Nate for getting laid.
“While you were getting your toes sucked, we were mooing a six-pack.”
Seriously, when I was that age getting-laid was the all-important be-all and end-all (sorry for the hyphens) of everything. I don’t think Nate would have been, as he was in the episode, taking the attitude of “I wish I’d been there.”
I don’t think that the point was “Pot makes you violent”. I think the point was, as others have pointed out, Gabe is unstable and self-destructive inherently. Add alcohol and pot, both inhibition-removers, and voila! Note that his goofy friends didn’t get crazy on pot, so I think ** javaman**, you might be feeling just a tad defensive on pot’s behalf.
The other thing that stuck out was right in the very beginning of the episode. When Brenda opens the door for Billy, we gaze upon her bright neon green lawn. It just screamed filmed on a soundstage and ruined the whole scene. Wah.
I say give Billy his boxcutter and Gabe his gun. Lock them in a room, wait for their respective pharmaceutical agents to wear off and let nature take its course.