Primary Source #6
These first two 1920s advertisements are promoting drugs that the people of the time clearly did not know the consequences of. The Cold and Grippe Tablet was presumably made and distributed the company of McKesson and Robbins. Unlike ads and commercials today, no mention is made of the ingredients in or possible side effects of these tablets. The target customer here was perhaps any busy adult who simply did not have the time to be sick. It’s likely that many people mindlessly took this drug, but there’s no way to know if it consistently had positive or negative consequences.
The cocaine ad was most likely created by the Lloyd Manufacturing Company, and may have been on display in many pharmacies (by the “druggists”). It’s shocking that what we know today as an incredibly dangerous drug used to marketed to parents to treat their children. During the 20s, drug companies and pharmacists did not have any rules to follow as far as safety, so they may not have known what they were giving people. In turn, people certainly did not know what they were taking or what they were giving to their children. Because of this widespread ignorance, many children became addicted to hard drugs.
Before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was formed, there were no regulations or standards on what drugs companies were allowed to produce and distribute. Customers could only trust what they were being told; they did not know any better. As a result, people were taking medication and giving medication to their children that was highly unsafe. Sometimes there were no negative repercussions, but why take the risk?
Brave New World contains the drug “soma” that people are taking from their trusted government without question. This was a real-life phenomenon shortly before the time when this novel was written. The effects of the unknown ingredients of these drugs was widely unknown at the time, so it’s strange that a novel was created with such a similar concept. Seeing that real people became dependent on drugs they didn’t know they were taking indicates that same could be happening in the novel. The fictional "utopian" citizens have no idea what kind of effect soma is having on them.
The cocaine ad was most likely created by the Lloyd Manufacturing Company, and may have been on display in many pharmacies (by the “druggists”). It’s shocking that what we know today as an incredibly dangerous drug used to marketed to parents to treat their children. During the 20s, drug companies and pharmacists did not have any rules to follow as far as safety, so they may not have known what they were giving people. In turn, people certainly did not know what they were taking or what they were giving to their children. Because of this widespread ignorance, many children became addicted to hard drugs.
Before the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was formed, there were no regulations or standards on what drugs companies were allowed to produce and distribute. Customers could only trust what they were being told; they did not know any better. As a result, people were taking medication and giving medication to their children that was highly unsafe. Sometimes there were no negative repercussions, but why take the risk?
Brave New World contains the drug “soma” that people are taking from their trusted government without question. This was a real-life phenomenon shortly before the time when this novel was written. The effects of the unknown ingredients of these drugs was widely unknown at the time, so it’s strange that a novel was created with such a similar concept. Seeing that real people became dependent on drugs they didn’t know they were taking indicates that same could be happening in the novel. The fictional "utopian" citizens have no idea what kind of effect soma is having on them.
The next two propaganda posters are from the same time period -- the 1920s. The first is a clear campaign for prohibition. This was meant to encourage people, especially mothers, to vote for prohibition. The advertisement has a clear guilt trip message, as well: if you vote against prohibition, this sweet, innocent baby will grow up to be a drunkard. This advertisement along with numerous others helped in the illegalization of the production and sale of alcohol, which in turn lead to an all time high in the consumption of alcohol.
The last poster, a clear attack on marijuana, seems to come from a source with strong religious background (much like the prohibitionist movement did). Like the first propaganda ad, this one is directed at parents. It depicts a smoker in the arms of a green demon (or Satan himself!?) with various negative words around them -- words which are surely more negative to the religiously devout.
While the first two advertisements promote dangerous drugs, while the last two criminalize two different drugs. At this time, it was unknown exactly what cocaine and marijuana could do to a person’s health. One was promoted and sold as medicine for children, while the other was shown to be an unspeakable evil. These last two posters seem to say, either you are a good Christian and you resist the devil’s drug temptations or you will drink and smoke marijuana and burn in hell.
Soma, the drug from Brave New World, is either a dangerous medication (like those shown in the first and second ads) or a metaphor for mindless religious followers (like the target audience for the third and fourth ads).
The last poster, a clear attack on marijuana, seems to come from a source with strong religious background (much like the prohibitionist movement did). Like the first propaganda ad, this one is directed at parents. It depicts a smoker in the arms of a green demon (or Satan himself!?) with various negative words around them -- words which are surely more negative to the religiously devout.
While the first two advertisements promote dangerous drugs, while the last two criminalize two different drugs. At this time, it was unknown exactly what cocaine and marijuana could do to a person’s health. One was promoted and sold as medicine for children, while the other was shown to be an unspeakable evil. These last two posters seem to say, either you are a good Christian and you resist the devil’s drug temptations or you will drink and smoke marijuana and burn in hell.
Soma, the drug from Brave New World, is either a dangerous medication (like those shown in the first and second ads) or a metaphor for mindless religious followers (like the target audience for the third and fourth ads).