Telling the story of the opioid crisis: A narrative analysis of the TV series Dopesick

TL;DR

The TV series Dopesick simplifies the opioid crisis by focusing mainly on Purdue Pharma and its leader, ignoring broader contributing factors.

Contribution

The study introduces a narrative analysis of Dopesick, highlighting its oversimplified portrayal of the opioid crisis.

Findings

Dopesick attributes the opioid crisis primarily to Purdue Pharma and Richard Sackler.

The series downplays other factors contributing to the opioid crisis.

The narrative offers simplistic explanations for a complex problem.

Abstract

Dopesick (2021) is the first TV series whose plot deals exclusively with the opioid crisis in the United States. The current study uses narrative analysis and framing theory to explore this series, discussing its portrayal of the people and themes involved in the opioid crisis. Our analysis found that although Dopesick attempts to portray multiple dimensions of the opioid crisis, its narrative oversimplifies the story in attributing the cause of the problem almost exclusively to Purdue Pharma and its director Richard Sackler, while downplaying other factors that contributed to the opioid crisis. Thus, the narrative in this TV series tends to offer simple explanations to a complex problem for which simple solutions are likely to be inadequate.

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