Portraying Dollie Drug Use?

I had planned to make some funny (weed, liquor and mustard) jokes but the doll I am getting simply doesn't fit them at all!

 

i think that it is totally fine. The person who owns the doll has the creative right to coe up with whatever back story they want. As far as young people on the board goes, in my opinion, every young person i have ever met knows about drugs in some form or fashion. I think that parents should be aware of what their children are looking at to the best of their ability, and most people would refrain from putting something really graphic on here. At least i hope they would.. Just my two cents.. As a side note, lots of people use dolls and other creative outlets to help deal with situations in their lives, so maybe if someone has a doll with an addiction that person is using it as a means to cope with a friend or family member (or themselves) who has an addiction of some kind...

 

Not sure if I already replied to this...

I think although, yeah some kids have a notion of what drugs are, etc there should still be a warning. Especially if it's posted here or some other forum/website where there are people of all ages. It's not so hard to put "Drug use/mention" in the title or whatever. That way people who don't want to see that or are offended won't get a nasty shock. Same with everything I suppose, sexual situations, yaoi, rape, abuse, etc. Just put a warning on it.

However if it's on a personal journal, website then it's fine to post whatever you like. Also I'm not opposed to people doing whatever they want with their dolls. Go for it Just when you make it public, please put a little warning for those of us who may not want to see.

 

I'll read it. Why not? It's only dolls, they're exakly looks like their owner wants. If owner got addics problem, that's not my business

 

i think it is portraying something that is real in our lives, but not necessarily a good thing though.

 

How would you feel if you saw a photo story of a doll who had some kind of drug addiction? Would you read it, or skip over it and move on, or even be offended?
I'd look at it. It would be interesting how you could portray drug use in a BJD. Nobody's perfect, and sadly, drug and substance abuse is in our world. It's portrayed enough on TV, and you see how these people's lives slowly start to fall apart. One of my dolls is supposed to be an ex-addict who sometimes falls off the wagon, so I'm not bothered by it.

Unless it was used as some way to promote the behavior (telling the viewer drug/substance abuse was OK, or using that drug was OK), then I wouldn't find anything offensive. When the mind is under the control of a substance like those in question, you damage your body in some way. Sure, some drugs might do less damage right away, but they all do damage - there's no question about it.


Would it make a difference if the character in question was addicted to alcohol or if they were addicted to heroin? How about a made-up drug?
I would have difficulty following a character doing a made-up drug because it's made up. I didn't get any education in what the made up drug does, but I have been educated as to what marijuana, nicotine, alcohol, and everything else does.


Is drug use/addiction too "gritty" for the BJD world?
Drug use has been a fact of life for centuries. Little dolls portraying it now wouldn't make the practice any worse.

 

Has anyone seen Limitless (2011) starring Bradley Cooper & Robert de Niro? For me, that's the kind of drug use portrayal that makes me skip a story. The NZT as a wonder-drug that kicks in within 30 seconds, and by the end of the film is purportedly perfected as to eliminate side effects. Blegh.

For me, bringing drug use to BJD-storytelling is no different to using vampires. One must, however, be aware of the mythos surrounding the element they wish to include in their stories. Diamond-encrusted vampires, anyone?

Now, I just want to say that not all doll-stories are fictional. I, for example, take Frei to many places and have him interact with real objects, sceneries, and even real people. His story is a travelogue, a non-fiction documentary. And for that reason, I will not have him anywhere near a recreational drug, real or imaginary.

My bottomline for writers who wish to incorporate drug use in their stories is: know what you are doing.

P.S. Now I'm deadly curious if anyone would take a crack at a BJD retelling of Aronofsky's Requiem for a Dream.

 

Yes, research can only do you good. If one is dedicated enough to telling the story of a doll's character's drug problem, there are textbooks for substance abuse college courses available. They give a good explanation of how certain drugs wreak havoc on your system, and even the psychology of addiction.

It's always important to research. Who knows? If you write about a real drug being used by your doll's character, and don't get all your facts straight, you can get called out by someone who may be a recovering addict and is reading your story.

 

Honestly, I probably wouldn't be interested in seeing that, because it isn't a subject that interests me.

 

How would you feel if you saw a photo story of a doll who had some kind of drug addiction? Would you read it, or skip over it and move on, or even be offended?
The only thing that would keep me from reading/viewing a photostory like this is if they were irresponsible about it. Drug addiction actually happens to people and it's a SERIOUS thing and I think if you (general you) are to portray it, that you should research it and portray it accurately and respectfully or don't do it at all. Otherwise, you're just a bad storyteller and I would rather not read your story anyway.

Would it make a difference if the character in question was addicted to alcohol or if they were addicted to heroin? How about a made-up drug?
Nope! Though, if the drug was made up, in theory it could make people react any way the storyteller wants them to. But all drugs (legal or otherwise) have side-effects and/or consequences to using them. So, if the drug is made up, I would expect those elements to be there.

Is drug use/addiction too "gritty" for the BJD world?
Nope! For this forum? Maybe. But for the BJD world as a whole, no. I don't believe there IS a subject too gritty, it just needs to be in the right place for people who WANT to see it.

 

I can see a doll's character having a drug problem and it working very well or very poorly, depending on the way it was done and how much research the creator put into it. I don't think anything is 'too gritty' for dolls, it just depends on each person's tastes. If someone was going to post something like drugs, I think it would be very important to clearly label it; because it is controversial, there are people who are struggling with these issues in real life, and no matter how well you police there will be kids viewing. But if someone does decide to view the image(s) and has an issue with the subject matter, there's always back buttons and ignore.

 

it depends how present it is in the story and the reason behind it. if the character is all "YOLO!!" and takes all the drugs for the heck of it, then no. just no. it is not a behavior I approve for humans so I don't like it on characters either.
but if the character and story has a cetain depth & that his drug addiction is not the main topic maybe I will read and enjoy it.

 

I'm not a fan of drugs AT ALL.
But we're talking about made up characters displaying a real problem.
Everyone has struggles and some people like to bring light to addictions with their dolls.
It's sort of a good thing, it gets people thinkin, helps raise awareness.
These dolls were intended for mature owners. So ofcourse they may have darker themes to them.
Kids have these dolls too, and might end up on this site reading photo stories but it's up to the parents to moderate their online activity. I don't think anyone would start using just because a dolls character uses.
We're not talking about a child's favorite cartoon character saying smoking is cool after all, lol.

But over all, NO I wouldn't be offended at all.

 

I actually DO have a few addicts/users in my crew, but I haven't done any photoshoots or stories about it except for one time when I had Loki with a bottle of pills. It was very mild. However, in my role play, it does get played out.

I'm fine with it, as long as it's realistic. I'm not into fantasy stories or over the top "look at me and give me attention" drama or shock value. If it is part of your character's story or personality, sure, go for it. But do it accurately. If you want to show the drug use as a problem, it needs to be more than "Oh, haha he's trashed lalalala" There should be side effects, emotional consequences, withdrawal, etc. The story needs a purpose, not just shock value. and should not be taken lightly, as there are people here that do/have had addictions that really don't need to feel like it's all a joke or trend.

Though the intensity of it that I'm talking about is really not appropriate for this forum, I don't think. I agree with others. If you DO show it, put a warning on it. Not everyone is comfortable with dark realism and would prefer to keep to the happier side of the hobby.

 

It wouldn't bother me, too. Perhaps I would read the story if it was interesting, now matther what the theme was. Anyway, dolls using drugs/alcohol/tobacco isn't the worst thing you could see

 

I can't really see someone being offended unless they've had to deal with the demon personally. For example, I come from a clean family where no one even lit a cigarette or drank an alcoholic beverage. So to me drugs are almost a fiction. I've never seen them being used or been around anyone that had been using. So I've only read about them in books and seen them on TV. And to me they're pretty fascinating on that level. I'd probably actually enjoy reading someone's doll fiction with an addict character. I'm just rather drawn to dark things...in fiction.

But it would likely be an entirely different story if I'd grown up in a household where drug abuse was going on, or ever been close to someone with that type of problem, or had a drug problem myself. I can easily see a person in that situation reading someone's fic and being angry that something so serious and devastating was being used as entertainment.

 

One of my dolls, Ryan, is a total pot-head. He is a heavy user, though not addicted. It suits the character and works for the story. I don't have a problem with it of course, since I have a character like that. I do think that we should treat the subject with respect and do our due dilligence and research it. If we're going to do it, then we should do it right and know our facts. I intervewed several people who smoke weed and sat and talked with them at length about it. But again, that's just me.

 

The only thing I'd be worried about is if some recovered addicts, who had used the drug I was describing, called me out on not being straight with my facts. I wouldn't want someone to point to a significant discrepancy in my story that could jeopardize most - or all - of my plot.

I know that if I saw someone trying to portray a disorder or something that I had, and was doing it wrong, I'd let them know - and if it was in a way that made the issue look different from how it really was, I'd make sure they changed it.

I remember, on the TV show Shameless, Emmy Rossum apparently got some email from people who were pot users, saying she didn't depict it right.

 

I've had pretty emotional issues with a few of the other people who live in my Complex.

One of my Littlefees is actually 17, going on 18, years old, and two people walked by me doing a photoshoot of her in our Apartment Gardens.

Pip had a cigarette in her hand, and the two men told me that while they knew I had dolls, they did NOT know that I had "child-like dolls" whom "smoked" and they voiced their opinions and told me that "that was very gross!"

I calmly told them that they had a right to feel what they felt, despite it being my doll. I also laughed a little and pulled off my dolls' hair, and showed the two men Pip's elf ears.

I explained that Pip is actually a kind of Faery, specifically a Faery that's a kind of Imp, and that's why she was so short. I then let them know that Pip is based on a 18 year old girl. After they saw the elf ears, they calmed down a little. One of the men told me "that it made sense that a Faery smoked a cigarette!" and that he read a book about a Faery who did opium, so he thought it was better if Pip just smoked a cigarette. I think he was talking about "Alice in Wonderland" maybe.....

Anyway, He make a joke....the joke was, that he hoped that Pip didn't get addicted to Opium, and "he better not see a tiny Hokah anytime soon!" and he wagged his finger at me. It was sweet that they were so worried!!

I was very polite in explaining my situation. If the two men didn't understand what was happening and they continued to disagree, I would have been sad, but I wouldn't have been greatly bothered by their being angry about my doll, either. Still, I'd hope that I could help educate them. I personally would be distraught if I saw a child-like BJD doing "drugs" and so I was kind of relieved that they were worried about my Pip!

Almost everyone in my Apartment complex knows I have dolls. We have a Garden that I take photos in, and it's public, so everyone who lives here can sit down in our Garden.

We've also had Meet-ups in that Garden.

So that helps.

It was really sweet that my neighbors worried about my doll!