Intervention Case

Intervention

As we all know, we live in a world full of deviance. Have you ever stopped to think about where you see a lot of this behavior? Television is the answer. With shows like Swamp People, Billy the Exterminator, and I cannot forget America’s latest favorite show, Here Comes Honey Boo Boo. These shows basically reflect on “rednecks” and their poor grammar, lack of etiquette, and especially their foul language. These types of shows are mainly for our entertainment. Shows like Intervention and Hoarders where people are documented on their addiction to drugs or alcohol, or where they cannot let go of items that we feel are worth giving away. I can go on about different television shows that portray similar, yet different, deviant behavior.

One of my favorite shows to watch is Intervention. They document many different types of deviant behavior. Such as, being addicted to alcohol, opiates, meth, stimulants and the list goes on. This show is extremely graphic. It shows you people that are abusing hardcore drugs. Some show people shooting up heroin basically overdosing and the producers cannot do anything about it. It is quite sad actually. Plus, it’s not like they are showing the same documentary. There is a different story to tell every episode. That way it keeps things interesting. Nobody wants to watch the same story. Each episode follows one or two participants, each of them are addicted to some type of substance. They believe they are being filmed for a documentary on their addiction, but their situations are actually being documented in anticipation of an intervention by family and friends. During the intervention, each participant is given an ultimatum. They have to go into rehabilitation immediately, or risk losing contact, income, or other privileges from the loved ones who instigated the intervention.

• Who is the intended audience for this program? Why did you choose it?

I believe this particular show targets an audience of addicts or family members of addicts. It is for people who can relate to what the person in that particular documentary is going through. As for me in particular, I chose this show because I can relate to some of the family members watching someone they care about go down an extremely long road of addiction. I have watched my own mother battle alcoholism for years. It also gives me some hope that my mother can overcome her addiction, as it does in the program for other families.

• What kind of deviance is featured? Give specific examples of situations, scenes, dialogue, or characters, and explain why they are examples of deviance.

The type of deviance this show features is drug abuse. One example is a documentary I recently watched was about a girl named Brittney. She was addicted to multiple drugs, such as cocaine, bath salts, and other stimulants for