Review Of Documentary Film Heroin: Cape Cod, Usa
The US has witnessed a dramatic increase in the deaths related with the overdose of opiate. This figure has gradually quadrupled. In 2014, there has been over 1,260 deaths in Massachusetts which is also connected with the overdoses of heroin. In addition, 85% of the crimes have been committed in relation to the opiate on Cape Cod. The documentary Heroin: Cape Cod, USA has vividly presented us with a picture about the Cape Cod, exposing this epidemic which has been presently sweeping across the communities as well as the small towns in the United States. In this documentary, the audience are introduced to meet the 8 young addicts in their growth road. They have given a description of how this drug has influenced their life as well as how it is startling eighty 80% of the users of the heroin need to begin with painkillers prescribed after a surgery or an accident.
In this documentary, Ryan talks openly about his habit in Heroin: Cape Cod, USA. He has ideas about how addiction works, how it's a system and how hard it is to stop. He takes Steven Okazaki's camera along on a night's journey, selling drugs in order to support his habit. At his house, his mom barely looks up at him as he walks by her, seated on the couch, TV on in the background. You can't know why they don't interact, exactly, but the interview scene, as Ryan looks directly into the camera, his face drawn, offers an explanation. 'I think that's why parents are scared', he observes, calmly, logically, 'that their kids are gonna die, and that they're gonna lose their kids if they kick them out. But if they kicked me out, I'd probably be doing a lot better than I am'. Ryan can't know this. But his guess, like so much guessing about addiction, presumes that a different state could be an improvement over the present one. He's not happy being an addict, Ryan says, and neither is Benjamin nor Jessica nor Marissa, some of the other heroin addicts who appear in the documentary, running now on HBO after a series of festival screenings. Still, of course, you're inclined to judge. Like the young addicts you see here, like their family members and 'running partners', as Marissa calls those fellow addicts who can never be her friends, you're immersed in a culture that finds fault in addicts in order to explain them.
Because an increasing number of states have been making the marijuana legalized, it seems that the drug cartel in the Mexican have been forging ahead towards the drugs which are harder for making up for the profit which has been lost. They have tried their best to push the cheaper as well as stronger heroin in the new market. The position of the new market has never been known before. This film has really been made compelling and the audience have been touched by the damage that Class A drugs can do, and for those affected close to home, this is a difficult watch. The viewers will have here an unflinching documentary which is no holds barred as the interviewees are the talking heads explaining their exasperations, failures and hopes to kick the heroin addiction. Giving free reign to the interviewees is quite a brave move, but it works and the audience feel that they are learning something. It's good to see it let them paint themselves and not resort to filming tactics to try to humiliate them. One of the most difficult parts is watching the help group for the parents of the addicts. They are honest and straight, and it can be quite heart sinking to see this. There is not necessarily anything ground breaking here, it's a window into a world where those there are in a downward spiral. It's difficult viewing but still interesting. Give it a viewing. A good job done by the documentary makers and hope others follow their example in how to tackle such a subject.
After the groundbreaking documentary The Dark End of the Street,Steven Okazaki, Academy Award- winning filmmaker has focused his attention on the present crisis of opiate-addiction, therefrom arising the film Cape Cod, USA. This film has achieved the effectiveness of being compelling. This documentary lasts for 76 minutes, taking an unsparing perspective on the life of the young addicts in their 20s. They have been living an endless state of becoming high when in a cycle of rehab, recovery as well as relapse. This documentary has made a chronicle of the influence of the epidemic on the young addicts who seek for the easily acquired and cheap heroin. Cape Cod, a gorgeous destination in summer for the quaint village, beaches and lighthouses. However, the young addicts have talked candidly about their habits of heroin and the parents have described how they have struggled to keep their children keep to the point. This documentary has become the unflinching testing of the crisis of heroin in one of the New England Communities. Here, there will be no much happy endings and answers.
The article titled “Why Are Tuesdays Big Opioid Overdose Days on Cape Cod?” is written by James P. Freeman on October 12, 2017. In this article, the author has given an update on the lack of progress made in addressing the epidemic in MA. The following are the main findings in this article. First, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health released its quarterly report showing a 5 percent decline in opioid-related deaths in the first half of 2017 compared with the same period last year. The statistics led The Boston Globe to conclude this was the strongest indication to date that the state’s overdose crisis might have started to abate. However, in August, with overwhelming preponderance and without overlooking prejudice, the opioid crisis still rages unabashed and unabated in Massachusetts. Especially on Cape Cod.
In addition, the figures provided by the Barnstable Police Department, reveal a massive spike in opioid overdoses this past August compared with August 2016 (41 overdoses this year as opposed to 8 overdoses last year). Through the end of September, opioid-related overdoses in Barnstable, which at about 45,000 people is the largest town on the Cape, stood at 148. During the same period last year that number was 82. Overdoses for the combined two months of August and September (61) were the highest for back-to-back months since January and February 2015 (51), when the Barnstable police first began keeping opioid-specific records. That’s when things seemed really bad. Except for May, every month this year in Barnstable has seen an increase in overdoses compared to corresponding months in 2016. Already, there have been more overdoses in just nine months of 2017 than during all of 2016. The death rate on the Cape is rising instead of declining. Barnstable police report that 19 people have died due to overdose through October 10 of 2017. In the same period, just nine people died through the end of October 2016. With superior intelligence trends become apparent — such as populations at risk in an opioid crisis. Young adults are prone to abusing opioids. In Barnstable — an area of 76 square miles comprising seven villages of affluence and affliction — overdoses in 2017 disproportionately affect white males ages 20-29 and 30-39, far more than any other demographic group. Barnstable police statistics show that men are overdosing at nearly twice the rate of women. And for females, white women ages 20-29 and 30-39 show the highest levels of overdose in 2017. These have been trend lines for years. In conclusion, there has been a lack of progress made in addressing the epidemic in MA.
