Pop Culture & Drug Addictions

            Trainspotting is filled with vibrant characters who are distinct from each other in every single aspect of their personality; Rents is, at heart, a caring person, especially towards his best friend Tommy; Sick Boy is, as his nickname points out, a twisted man who places himself on pedestal above others, claiming numerous times that he was going to kick dope; Spud is the fool of the crew of friends, shyly injecting his remarks into the conversation without expecting direct responses; Tommy is the ‘responsible’ figure in the group, limiting himself to speed until breaking up with Lizzy at which point he becomes a junky; and Begbie is a belligerent, spiteful man with a knack of causing turmoil and chaos. The characteristic that is common within all of these vibrant and colorful characters is that of an addiction. Though they all have a physical addiction, Rents/Sick Boy/Spud/Tommy all do heroine whilst Begbie is a drunk, they are also addicted to popular culture.

            Tommy’s obsession with Iggy Pop pushes him to purchase concert tickets instead of buying birthday present for his girlfriend, Lizzy. His negligence of his lover’s desires inevitably leads Lizzy to dump him, knowing that she could do better. Sick Boy is interested in one thing, getting the ladies. Therefore, it is only natural that his idol would be no other but Sean Connery, the slyest of the womanizing Bonds. Spud is the whipping boy of the group, and for whom everyone feels a necessity to protect. Evidently not a bright person, Spud is grasped by the materialist world pushing himself to do petty crimes of shoplifting.  Begbie is most definitely a masochist, looking for a fight every time he enters a pub. He adheres to social norms of the heavy drinking Scot who doesn’t take shit from anyone, though he gives others a lot of shit for not apparent reason. He believes to be better than his friends who do heroine, claiming that alcohol only does well to him.

            Trainspotting emphasizes every individual’s addiction to popular culture, our dependency on it for daily living. Welsh demonstrates how dependence on pop culture can be as harmful, if not more, to the a person’s soul.