Abstract
Breaking Bad was an internationally acclaimed TV series about the methamphetamine industry. In 2018, a Tumblr microblog author used the show as the inspiration for an online discussion on the pleasures of using the drug. This chapter explains how the decision to speak of taboo pleasures on Tumblr reflects a history of thought on drug use as a cultural practice. Sociology taught us that drug pleasures are learned through the knowledge users share through their networks. Media studies taught us that popular culture has long been tacitly sympathetic to drug use, because of its affection for excessive consumption. Displays of excessive intoxication are de rigueur, when it comes to alcohol. Add in the anonymity that Tumblr offers, and it is far from surprising that the platform has become the place where drug users express ideas that are prohibited elsewhere.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Cultures of Intoxication |
Subtitle of host publication | Key Issues and Debates |
Editors | Fiona Hutton |
Place of Publication | Cham Switzerland |
Publisher | Palgrave Macmillan |
Chapter | 12 |
Pages | 263-282 |
Number of pages | 20 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9783030352844 |
ISBN (Print) | 9783030352837 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 2020 |