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The Portrayal of Women in the Movie Traffic

In Traffic, Steven Soderbergh illustrates the inefficiency of the war on drugs. Two female characters, Helena Ayala and Caroline Wakefield, are challenged and affected by the complexity of drug trafficking. At six months pregnant, Helena Ayala, chooses to involve herself in the illicit drug trading business ,in which her husband ran. Caroline Wakefield is an intelligent sixteen-year-old girl, third in her class, and the daughter of the drug czar of the United States; she, too, is challenged with making a critical decision affecting the way drugs impact her life. Soderbergh’s portrayal of women in Traffic highlights and demonstrates the negative impact of drug trafficking businesses on all members of society. Through the critical decisions they make, their unique forms of addiction, and the complexity of their characters, Soderbergh portrays the role of women as players in the game drug trading.

Helena Ayala, played by Catherine Zeta-Jones, makes a decision to become involved with drug trafficking, which negatively impacts her family. Once her husband is arrested for drug trafficking, Ayala is alienated by her country club friends and harassed by the press along with the DEA. Helena desperately longs to get back to the lavi


Caroline Wakefield, played by Erika Christiansen, is negatively impacted by drug trafficking, as a result of making a critical decision, in a similar way to Helena. As a sixteen-year-old girl in high school, Caroline is angry about her relationship with her father, so with the encouragement of her peers, Caroline turns to drugs . Ironically, Caroline is the daughter of the new drug czar for the United States of America. Caroline’s choice to further participate in using drugs affects her lifestyle. When introduced to new drugs, Caroline could have said “no,” but because she said “yes,” she only grew to like the drugs more. Caroline went from a happy, intelligent daughter around her family, to an angry and heavy drug user around her friends. Her mind was not set on how well she could do in school; her central focus was how she could get more drugs. For example, when she and her friends and were sitting around a table participating in drug use, one of her friends overdosed. They took him to the hospital and dropped him off at the door. Because of poor decision making, they were arrested when some nearby policemen, who were parked in the hospital parking lot, saw what they did with their friend. The effect of their drug use resulted in her being arrested, which caused more problems with her family. Caroline Wakefield is a prime example of negatively being impacted from making a wrong decision.

The complexity of Helena’s character illustrates the true effect the drug trade can have on a person’s life. Helena is a wealthy, loving wife and mother, who spends her time and money at country clubs having fancy lunches with girlfriends, and who cares for her family. In today’s society, people classify women like Helena as prosperous people without worries. When someone hears about the negative affects of the drug war, people automatically blame lower-class citizens who are, struck by poverty, typ

Some topics in this essay:
Traffic Caroline, Caroline Wakefield, Carlos Ayala, Caroline Wakefield’s, DEA Helena, America Caroline’s, Erika Christiansen, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Unlike Helena, Helena Ayala, drug trafficking, critical decision, caroline wakefield, drug czar, negative impact, unique addiction, drug trading, drug czar united, helena’s addiction, drugs caroline, helena ayala, illegal drug trading, impact drug trafficking, negative impact drug, daughter drug czar,

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Approximate Word count = 1296
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)


  

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