Film review: "Generation RX"

The thesis of the 2008 documentary Generation RX is that prescription medications for youth do more harm than good for their well-being. The film presented interesting information, but its over-the-top scare tactics (like some information that was given without evidence) made it sometimes feel cheesy and unconvincing. 

Generation RX provided countless examples to support its thesis. One of their strongest points was that mind and mood drugs are given to children even though they were not designed for them. These pills were instead made for adults whose brains have already developed fully. Parents and scientists fear that this will hurt the child’s brain development and alter the person that they were supposed to be; after all, if a child has been on a hormone-changing prescription all of his/her life, how does one know who the child is beneath these medications? This lack of research can also have detrimental and currently unknown consequences, like future problems with kidney disease, diabetes, weight gain, violent thoughts, and suicide.

Another strong point made in Generation RX was that there is a general lack of biological research that supports the notion that prescriptions like these re-balance the chemicals and hormones in the brain. In fact, some scientists think the drugs may actually imbalance the brain further. The film similarly cites a 2006 Oregon State University study about the lack of supportive research for children on the ADHD medication Ritalin. This academic project examined over 2000 studies regarding prescription usage in youth. The study concluded that there is no quality research to show that young people on Ritalin have improved their lives because of the drug. In fact, it may cause more harm than good by possibly resulting in more lifetime diagnoses, drug addiction, and suicide.

Points like these helped the film demonstrate that behavior-changing prescriptions can have serious consequences for youth. Not all of the film, however, was this convincing. The first 20 minutes of the film felt fairly over-the-top and consequently unpersuasive. At one point, when talking about the negative effects of prescriptions on youth, big words flashed on the screen: Diabetes, suicide, weight gain, and violence were among them. Similar dramatic effects were used throughout the movie, where “scary” words would come onto the screen but without any further explanation at the time. These parts of Generation RX felt too focused on scare tactics to actually convince a single point.

Generation RX relates to sociological deviance because it shows that what a society “knows” about science is socially constructed. Expected behaviors about children, like their manners and school abilities, are based off of societal values about education and politeness. When a child does not fit into the expected norms related to these values, they are put on medication to “fix” them, even though their behavior may be adequate in another society or home environment. Katherine Harmon’s article “Are some ADHD-labeled kids just young for their grade?” also brings up the idea that society sees some children in need of “fixing” because of their age; younger children within a grade may be diagnosed with ADHD not because they actually have a disorder, but because their fidgeting and disruptive habits are seen as a brain problem, not the fact that they have had less time to mature than their classmates. This shows again that societal expectations of children affect how they are viewed in a society and whether or not they will be given mind and mood changing drugs.

The apparent need to “control” disruptive students is moreover related to the socially-constructed importance of a thriving economy. The charity RSA made a video about how “education is modeled on the interests industrialization.” This means that expectations about children’s ability to pay attention in school is believed to relate to their ability to contribute to the economy later in life. When it is perceived that children may not value education and may consequently not contribute to this economy, they are put on medication to “fix” them so that they will fit into these expectations.

I found it particularly interesting that there is a lack of biological research to support the notion that mind and mood drugs actually fix brain imbalances that cause ADHD or depression. I would research this point but taking chemical and/or hormonal samples of adults before they begin a mind or mood medication. I would then take the same sample every three months afterward to assess any changes. This would show if the medications do rebalance hormones and bodily chemicals like they are expected.

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Works Cited

Generation Rx: Reading, Writing, and Ritalin. Dir. Kevin P. Miller. A&E Networks, 2008.

Harmon, Katherine. "Are Some ADHD-labeled Kids Just Young for Their Grade?" Scientific American Blog Network. Nature America, Inc., 17 Aug. 2010. Web. 1 Mar. 2012.