TRAFFICKING IN MEDIA: EUPHORIA
*WARNING: EUPHORIA SEASON 2 SPOILERS AHEAD*
EUPHORIA HAS TAKEN OVER MEDIA PLATFORMS SINCE THE VERY FIRST EPISODE. WHEN NEW EPISODES AIR, TWITTER TRENDS ARE SOLELY FOCUSED ON IT, AND TIKTOK IS LITTERED WITH THEORIES, CRITIQUES, AND FAN EDITS ALIKE. I QUITE LITERALLY GOT HBO MAX SOLELY TO WATCH IT! THE CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED SERIES HAS BEEN PRAISED FOR ITS HONEST AND RAW DEPICTION OF DRUG ADDICTION AND THE HEARTBREAKING DESTRUCTION IT LEAVES IN ITS PATH. IT HAS ALSO BEEN CRITICIZED FOR ITS OVER-SEXUALIZATION OF TEENAGE GIRLS, ESPECIALLY THIS SEASON, AND THE SHEER AMOUNT OF DRUG USE SHOWN IN THE SHOW. I HAVE MANY OPINIONS ABOUT WHETHER THE SHOW IS PRODUCTIVE OR HARMFUL, BUT I WANT TO FOCUS SPECIFICALLY ON A STORYLINE INTRODUCED IN EPISODE 5.
IN EPISODE 5 OF SEASON 2, MAIN CHARACTER RUE’S (PLAYED BY ZENDAYA) STORYLINE COMES TO AN ALL-TIME LOW. EARLIER IN THE SEASON, SHE AGREES TO TAKE $10,000 WORTH OF DRUGS TO TRY AND SELL FOR AN EERIE DRUG LORD, LAURIE. WHEN GIVING RUE THE DRUGS TO SELL, LAURIE WARNS RUE THAT IF SHE CANNOT GET THE MONEY, “[SHE WILL] HAVE [RUE] KIDNAPPED AND SOLD TO SOME REALLY SICK PEOPLE.”1 THIS THREAT ALONE INSINUATES THAT LAURIE WAS PREPARING AND EVEN RELYING ON RUE’S FAILURE TO SELL THE MASSIVE AMOUNT OF DRUGS. IN EPISODE 5, AFTER DESTROYING EVERY INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIP SHE HAS BUILT FOR THE PAST SEASON AND A HALF, RUE GOES TO LAURIE EMPTY-HANDED. LAURIE MANIPULATES HER AND ENDS UP GETTING HER HIGH ON MORPHINE, A DRUG THAT RUE HAS YET TO DABBLE IN.
WHAT COMES NEXT IS WHAT GOT THE INTERNET TALKING. WE SEE A VARIETY OF SCENES SHOWING A LOCKED DOOR IN THE BACK OF LAURIE’S CREEPY HOME WITH SCRATCHING SOUNDS COMING FROM THE INSIDE, ALLUDING THAT THERE MAY BE SOMEONE LOCKED BEHIND THE DOOR. WE ALSO SEE LAURIE INJECT RUE, MULTIPLE TIMES, AND BATHE HER. THE NEXT TIME WE SEE RUE, SHE IS IN DIFFERENT CLOTHING, WITH IV BRUISES ON HER ARMS, UNAWARE HOW LONG SHE HAS BEEN DRUGGED UP.
AFTER THIS EPISODE AIRED, THE INTERNET ROARED. TIKTOK WAS FILLED TO THE BRIM WITH THEORIES AND CONSPIRACIES OF WHAT HAPPENED TO RUE. DID LAURIE DRUG HER MULTIPLE TIMES? WAS THIS LAURIE FOLLOWING THROUGH WITH HER EARLIER THREAT? HOW LONG HAS SHE BEEN OUT? WHY WAS RUE IN DIFFERENT CLOTHES? AND MOST IMPORTANTLY: WAS RUE TRAFFICKED? THE WEIGHT OF THIS QUESTION IS IMPORTANT NOT TO GLOSS OVER. EUPHORIA IS AVERAGING 16 MILLION VIEWERS PER EPISODE,2 WHICH MEANS THAT MILLIONS OF YOUNG ADULTS ARE BEING EXPOSED, IN A MAINSTREAM MEDIA LIGHT, TO THE DANGERS OF TRAFFICKING.
TAKEN (2008), GROSSED $226.8 MILLION IN BOX OFFICE SALES AND IS WHAT MOST MILLENNIALS THINK OF WHEN THEY THINK OF TRAFFICKING DEPICTED IN A FILM. HOWEVER, THE FILM IS OBVIOUSLY NOT REALISTIC. THE PERSON BEING TRAFFICKED IS RESCUED BY HER SUPER CIA AGENT FATHER WHO KILLS AN OUTRAGEOUS AMOUNT OF PEOPLE TO GET HER BACK. THE REALITY IS THAT WHEN PEOPLE WHO HAVE BEEN VICTIMIZED ARE TRAFFICKED IN THE REAL WORLD, IT IS DONE MUCH MORE UNDER THE RADAR AND LIAM NEESON ISN’T THERE TO SAVE THE DAY.
THIS IS WHAT MAKES EUPHORIA’S REPRESENTATION SO SIGNIFICANT. ALTHOUGH THERE IS PLENTY OF DRAMA IN THE SERIES, THE TRAFFICKING STORYLINE REMAINS RATHER SIMPLE, AND THE CONTEXT BEHIND IT IS ALSO REALISTIC. RUE’S STORYLINE REVOLVES AROUND MENTAL ILLNESS AND TRAUMA THAT LED HER TO DRUGS AND LAURIE. THIS IS SOMETHING THAT MANY OF THE VIEWERS COULD EMPATHIZE WITH, AND IT MADE HER FATE SEEM MORE LIKE A POTENTIAL POSSIBILITY, COMPARED TO NEESON’S STUNT FILLED ACTION THRILLER. IN “HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN THE MEDIA: A CONTENT ANALYSIS ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING FRAMES IN DOCUMENTARIES, MOVIES, AND TELEVISION EPISODES,” BY RACHEL AUSTIN, SHE WRITES, “THE OVERREPRESENTATION OF SIMPLER FORMS OF VICTIMIZATION SUCH AS KIDNAPPING AND DECEPTION IS PROBLEMATIC BECAUSE THESE REPRESENTATIONS COMPLETELY IGNORE THE COERCIVE FORM OF VICTIMIZATION THAT MANY VICTIMS UNDERGO. FOR INSTANCE, MANY LABOR TRAFFICKING AND SEX TRAFFICKING VICTIMS ARE HELD BY PSYCHOLOGICAL FORMS COERCION SUCH AS BEING THREATENED WITH DEPORTATION, BEING THREATENED WITH VIOLENCE TOWARDS THEIR FAMILY MEMBERS, AND BEING HELD BY DEBT BONDAGE (BALES & SOODALTER, 2009).”3 EUPHORIA REPRESENTS THIS DEBT BONDAGE AND SHOWS NO SEXUAL VIOLENCE TOWARDS RUE ONSCREEN, WHICH IS ANOTHER VICTORY FOR THE SERIES AS MANY WOULD ARGUE DEPICTING MORE VIOLENCE AGAINST BLACK BODIES IS UNNECESSARY.
ALTHOUGH NO SEXUAL VIOLENCE IS DEPICTED AGAINST RUE ONSCREEN, LAURIE MAKES IT CLEAR THAT BECAUSE RUE IS A TEENAGE GIRL, HER BODY IS DESIRED. IN ONE OF THE MOST DAUNTING LINES OF THE SEASON, LAURIE STATES THAT, “IT'S ONE OF THE GOOD PARTS OF BEING A WOMAN: EVEN IF YOU DON'T HAVE MONEY, YOU'VE STILL GOT SOMETHING PEOPLE WANT.”4 THIS QUOTE BRINGS TO LIGHT THE SICKENING REALITY OF HOW WOMEN, BUT SPECIFICALLY YOUNG GIRLS, ARE TREATED IN SOCIETY. OUR EXISTENCE IS SEXUALIZED, FROM A HORRIFYINGLY YOUNG AGE, DESPITE US DOING NOTHING TO WARRANT IT. AS WOMEN, WE ARE SEEN AS OBJECTS, OBJECTS THAT MAY BE BOUGHT AND SOLD. SOCIETY VIEWS OUR BODY AS A COLLECTIVE GOOD THAT ANYONE WHO LAYS EYES ON OWNS A FRACTION OF. EVEN FURTHER, THIS QUOTE HIGHLIGHTS THE DANGERS OF DEBT BONDAGE. LAURIE LURED RUE INTO A VULNERABLE POSITION OF DEBT, IN WHICH SHE KNEW RUE DIDN’T HAVE THE RESOURCES TO GET OUT OF. SHE USED RUE’S VULNERABILITY AND HER MENTAL INSTABILITY AS A WAY TO GAIN ACCESS TO HER BODY.
EUPHORIA DEPICTS TRAFFICKING IN A LIGHT THAT IS MORE REALISTIC THAN ITS FILM COUNTERPARTS. IN EUPHORIA, THE TRAFFICKER IS A WHITE FORMER SCHOOLTEACHER, A WOMAN WHOM YOU’D WALK BY IN THE GROCERY STORE AND WOULDN’T THINK TWICE ABOUT. LAURIE ISN’T AGGRESSIVE PHYSICALLY OR EVEN VERBALLY, SHE IS MENACINGLY CALM AND SPEAKS ENTIRELY IN A MONOTONE VOICE. LAURIE’S MANIPULATION IS THE KEY WEAPON HERE. EVEN MORE IMPORTANTLY, THE PERSON BEING VICTIMIZED IS A 17-YEAR-OLD BLACK GIRL. THIS IS RARE TO SEE IN A MEDIA DEPICTION OF TRAFFICKING. FILMS AND TV SHOWS THAT TELL TRAFFICKING STORIES USUALLY SHOW A YOUNG WHITE GIRL BEING TRAFFICKED BECAUSE SHE DATED THE WRONG GUY OR WENT TO A FOREIGN COUNTRY. THE TRAFFICKERS ARE USUALLY MENACING LOOKING MEN OF COLOR.
THE OVERWHELMING MAJORITY OF THOSE BEING TRAFFICKED PORTRAYED IN THESE WELL-KNOWN FILMS ARE WHITE. IN A JOURNAL WRITTEN BY JONATHAN TODRES, “HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND FILM: HOW POPULAR PORTRAYALS INFLUENCE LAW AND PUBLIC PERCEPTION,’ HE WRITES THAT “[IN] TAKEN, ALL OF THE VICTIMS ARE WHITE, WITH THE EXCEPTION OF PERHAPS ONE GIRL WHO IS ON THE SCREEN ONLY BRIEFLY AND NEVER IDENTIFIED. … IF THESE FILMS WERE A PERSON’S ONLY EXPOSURE TO THE PROBLEM OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING, HE OR SHE WOULD HAVE TO ASSUME THAT ALMOST ALL VICTIMS ARE WHITE.”5
ADDITIONALLY, MANY FILM DEPICTIONS OF TRAFFICKING ARE IN OTHER COUNTRIES AND INSINUATE THAT TRAFFICKING DOESN’T OCCUR IN OUR COMMUNITIES OR OUR TOWNS. ONCE AGAIN, TODRES WRITES, “IN TAKEN, THERE IS A TIERED OTHERING. AS THE MOVIE TAKES PLACE IN PARIS, THE LEAST-WORST ‘BAD GUYS’ ARE THE FRENCH, WHO PRIMARILY PLAY THE ROLE OF CORRUPT AND COMPLICIT GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS… NEXT ARE THE ALBANIANS, WHO ARE THE TRAFFICKERS, AND FINALLY, THERE ARE WEALTHY ARABS WHO ARE THE END PURCHASERS WHO SEEK TO VIOLATE INNOCENT YOUNG GIRLS. AGAIN, IT IS AN AMERICAN WHO PLAYS THE ROLE OF SAVIOR.”5 THIS NOT ONLY MISREPRESENTS THE REALITY OF TRAFFICKING, BUT ALSO PROFILES NON-WHITE INDIVIDUALS AS THE ONLY PERPETRATORS.
FINALLY, EUPHORIA’S CHOICE TO ADDRESS AND ALLUDE TO TRAFFICKING ALSO SEEMED TO SPREAD AWARENESS OF WHAT RED FLAGS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN MANY YOUNG VIEWERS. AFTER THE RELEASE OF EPISODE 5, MANY VIEWERS TOOK TO TIKTOK TO EXPRESS THEIR SURPRISE WITH THE INTERNET VIEWING LAURIE AS THE “BAD GUY.” LAURIE IS A NON-THREATENING AND UNSUSPECTING VILLAIN, AND HER MANIPULATION WENT UNNOTICED BY MANY. FANS EXPRESSED HOW CONCERNED THEY WERE THAT THEY HADN’T CAUGHT ON TO LAURIE’S RED FLAGS AND GENUINELY THOUGHT SHE WAS TRYING TO HELP RUE. THIS SHOWS US THAT AS A SOCIETY, WE HAVE DESENSITIZED THE PUBLIC TO THE TRUE DANGERS AND RED FLAGS OF TRAFFICKING BY FILLING THE MEDIA WITH OVER-DRAMATIZED OR OVER-SIMPLIFICATIONS OF A VERY REAL ISSUE.
HOPEFULLY, CREATOR SAM LEVINSON WILL ADDRESS MORE OF THE LAURIE STORYLINE IN SEASON 3, AS THE FINALE LEFT IT OUT COMPLETELY. HOWEVER, EVEN IF EPISODE 5 WAS THE LAST WE SAW OF LAURIE, I THINK THE CONVERSATION THIS EPISODE STARTED IS WORTH CONTINUING.
SOURCES
LEVINSON, S. (2022, JANUARY 23). EUPHORIA. EPISODE, HBO.
MAAS, J. (2022, MARCH 1). 'EUPHORIA' IS NOW HBO'S SECOND-MOST WATCHED SHOW BEHIND 'GAME OF THRONES'. VARIETY. RETRIEVED MARCH 8, 2022, FROM HTTPS://VARIETY.COM/2022/TV/NEWS/EUPHORIA-SEASON-2-FINALE-RATINGS-1235192015/
AUSTIN, R. (2016). (THESIS). HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN THE MEDIA: A CONTENT ANALYSIS OF HUMAN TRAFFICKING FRAMES IN DOCUMENTARIES, MOVIES, AND TELEVISION EPISODES. RETRIEVED MARCH 8, 2022, FROM HTTPS://REPOSITORY.LIBRARY.NORTHEASTERN.EDU/FILES/NEU:CJ82N4337/FULLTEXT.PDF.
LEVINSON, S., LESHEM, R., & LEVIN, D. (2022, FEBRUARY 6). EUPHORIA. EPISODE, HBO.
TODRES, J. (2015). HUMAN TRAFFICKING AND FILM: HOW POPULAR PORTRAYALS INFLUENCE LAW AND PUBLIC PERCEPTION. READING ROOM FACULTY PUBLICATIONS , 101(1). RETRIEVED MARCH 8, 2022, FROM HTTPS://READINGROOM.LAW.GSU.EDU/CGI/VIEWCONTENT.CGI?ARTICLE=3303&CONTEXT=FACULTY_PUB.