Binge drinking among young Canadian women is the topic of a new CBC documentary.
Girls’ Night Out, directed by filmmaker Phyllis Ellis, first aired on CBC on Feb. 25. The entire 44-minute documentary is free to watch online.
The film addresses what Ellis calls the “not so new culture” of heavy drinking and features first-person narratives of eight women exploring their experience with drinking.
Ellis’ film examines themes such as underlying feelings of acceptance, self-worth, and body image when consuming alcohol. The film also reveals some of the factors influencing excessive drinking: the glamorization of drinking through the media and by celebrities, escape from social pressures and anxieties, and a widespread drinking culture.
Another theme of the documentary highlights the role of social media in adding addition social pressure on people to drink.
“What we are wearing, doing, who we are with, puts a lot of excess pressure,” Ellis said. “Socializing at a party, to look good, and to fit in, are inescapable pressures.”
Marketing towards a younger generation has been much easier, she said. Commercials for cheaper “high content” and culturally targeted drinks are present in everyday life.
Companies and campaigns emphasize “how normal the overuse of alcohol is,” she said.
The film was inspired by Drink: The Intimate Relationship between Women and Alcohol, authored by Ann Dowsett Johnston.
Ellis said there are more normalized occasions to drink: from holidays, to just making it to Friday.
Binge drinking is defined as consuming four or more standard drinks in a single night. According to the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, 18 per cent of high school students admitted they binged at least once in the last month while 32 per cent of Canadians aged 20 to 34 binged at least once a month in the last year.
Excessive drinking is associated with health problems including alcohol poisoning, liver disease, and neurological damage. Also, people who drink before the age of 15 are 11 times more likely to experience unintentional injuries such as drowning or falls, according to the Centre for Alcohol Marketing and Youth.
Ellis said she hopes university students will be empowered by the women in Girls’ Night Out.
“They tell the truth about their experiences . . . It is something to be admired,” she said. “I do think that continuing the conversation is important, change happens over time.”
“It’s a choice to drink so much,” she added. “Nobody is funneling [alcohol] down your throat.”
You can watch the CBC documentary here: http://www.cbc.ca/firsthand/episodes/girls-night-out
