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Writing out prescriptions: hyper-realism and the chemical regulation of mood
journal contribution
posted on 2023-06-07, 21:13 authored by Alan Bleakley, Margaretta JollyMargaretta JollyAlthough many patients resist prescriptions for mood disorders and many doctors are open to alternative therapies, this paper explores the powerful ideological framework that normalises prescription dependency as part of everyday life in America and, arguably, Britain as well. Using a literary critical methodology, we read novels by American hyper-realists such as Bret Easton Ellis, David Foster Wallace, and Rick Moody as symptomatic of prescription culture. Though we argue that these writers brilliantly understand the dangers of mood-medication, they do not escape its logic, rather, writing it out at the same time they write against it. Indeed, we propose that their novels bear ironic similarities to medical texts such as The British National Formulary, usually seen as a neutral handbook for doctors guidance. We explicate their method as that of deconstruction, which, in contrast to more obvious critiques of chemical treatment, such as therapy, neither analyses nor cures. Though this method underplays the possibility of pragmatic resistance exemplified by alternative formularies such as the feminist health manual, Our Bodies, Ourselves, we argue that its very ambiguity uniquely exposes the complex determinisms associated with prescribed medication. We thus propose the value of introducing deconstructive literature to healthcare contexts
History
Publication status
- Published
Journal
Advances in Health Sciences EducationISSN
1382-4996Publisher
KluwerExternal DOI
Issue
5Volume
17Page range
779-790Department affiliated with
- Centre for Community Engagement Publications
Research groups affiliated with
- Centre for Life History and Life Writing Research Publications
Full text available
- No
Peer reviewed?
- Yes