Leena Watts
In the film *Requiem for a Dream*, Sara Goldfarb is addicted to prescription diet pills. She receives a phone call telling her that she has been selected to appear on her favorite TV game show. Wanting to lose weight so she can fit into a red dress, she goes on a crash diet and visits a doctor who prescribes her amphetamines (diet pills). She soon becomes addicted to the pills, which give her lots of energy. However, when the energy wears off, she starts taking more than the prescribed dosage, leading to hallucinations and delusions. Her addiction to the pills causes her to undergo electroshock therapy, and by the end of the film, she is an emotionless shell of her former self.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Diet pills, ["uppers""speed"</co: 9,16> |
| Ingredients | Amphetamines, barbiturates, steroids, thyroid medication, methamphetamine |
| Effects | Weight loss, increased energy, hallucinations, delusions, waking nightmares, teeth grinding, psychosis, disorganized thoughts, anxiety |
| Addiction | Yes, both physically and psychologically |
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What You'll Learn
Sara Goldfarb's diet pills are amphetamines
In the film "Requiem for a Dream", Sara Goldfarb (Ellen Burstyn) is a retired widow living in a small apartment in Brooklyn. She spends most of her time watching her favourite TV show and dreams of appearing on it. To lose weight and fit into a red dress, she goes on a crash diet and starts taking pills, which are revealed to be addictive and harmful to her mental state.
In the film, Sara's addiction to amphetamines leads to an increased dosage, causing her to experience hallucinations and delusions. She also takes a sedative to help her sleep, but this combination of stimulants and depressants further contributes to her deteriorating mental state. The repetitive jump cuts in the film emphasise the cycle of addiction, with Sara checking her weight, taking a pill, and then anticipating a letter from the TV show, only to take another pill.
The portrayal of Sara Goldfarb's addiction to amphetamine diet pills in "Requiem for a Dream" highlights the dangers of prescription drug addiction and how quickly it can spiral out of control.
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The pills are prescribed by a doctor
In the film Requiem for a Dream, Sara Goldfarb is a retired widow who spends most of her time watching TV. She dreams of appearing on her favourite game show and decides to lose weight to fit into a red dress. She goes on a sugar- and fat-free crash diet, but when this doesn't work, she visits a doctor who prescribes her amphetamine diet pills.
The pills are successful, and Sara loses weight. However, she soon becomes addicted to the pills, taking them to gain energy and then a sedative to help her sleep. As she builds a tolerance, she starts increasing the dosage and taking the pills out of order, leading to frightening and painful side effects. She experiences hallucinations and delusions, such as her refrigerator appearing to advance towards her like a monster. Eventually, she undergoes electroshock therapy and is left an empty shell, devoid of emotion.
Sara's addiction to the pills is portrayed as a descent into madness, with repetitive jump cuts in the film emphasising the cycle of her addiction. The pills are referred to as "The Seed of Satan" by doctors, highlighting the dangerous and harmful nature of these drugs. This is further emphasised by the director's use of unsettling and disturbingly realistic imagery.
Sara's story in Requiem for a Dream serves as a cautionary tale, illustrating how easily prescription drugs can lead to addiction and the devastating impact this can have on an individual's life. It also highlights the fine line between "approved" drugs and those peddled on the streets, both of which can destroy lives.
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They cause hallucinations and delusions
In the film *Requiem for a Dream*, Sara Goldfarb's addiction to diet pills causes her to experience hallucinations and delusions. The pills are prescribed by a doctor, who gives her three sets of pills in different colours to be taken morning, noon, and night. As the film progresses, Sara increases her dosage and barely eats at all. This lack of nutrition and overconsumption of pills lead to hallucinations and delusions, which ultimately result in her undergoing electroshock therapy.
One of the side effects of the diet pills is increased energy, which becomes a problem when the energy wears off. To combat this, Sara is also prescribed a sedative to help her sleep. However, as her body develops a tolerance to the pills, she starts taking more than the prescribed dosage, leading to an even greater disconnect from reality.
The repetitive jump cuts in the film emphasise the cycle of addiction that Sara finds herself in. The unsettling atmosphere created by the cinematography portrays the disturbing reality of drug abuse. One of the most notable examples of this is a scene where Sara checks to see if she can fit into a red dress. When it doesn't zip up all the way, she takes a diet pill, and the camera cuts to her adjusting the scale, then eagerly awaiting a letter from the game show, all the while popping more pills.
The diet pills in *Requiem for a Dream* are referred to as "methamphetamine 'uppers'" or "speed" by Sara's son, Harry, who is alarmed by her grinding her teeth uncontrollably. Despite this warning, Sara denies that she is addicted, arguing that the pills were prescribed by a doctor. However, as her addiction progresses, she experiences frightening and painful side effects, including waking nightmares and hallucinations.
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They are highly addictive
In the film *Requiem for a Dream*, Sara Goldfarb becomes addicted to prescription diet pills. She starts taking them to lose weight and fit into a red dress for a television appearance. The pills are amphetamines, also known as 'uppers' or 'speed', which are highly addictive stimulants.
Amphetamines are known to cause dependence and addiction. In the 1970s, 5% of Americans—approximately 9.7 million people—used prescription amphetamines, and 3.2 million were addicted. Amphetamine dependence, elevated blood pressure, and stimulant-induced psychosis were also on the rise.
In the film, Sara's addiction to the pills leads to her taking more than the prescribed dosage, causing her to experience side effects such as hallucinations and delusions. She also takes the pills out of order and sometimes combines different types, further increasing the risk of addiction and adverse effects.
The pills give Sara a lot of energy, but when that energy wears off, she takes another pill. This cycle of pill-taking is shown through repetitive jump cuts in the film, creating an unsettling atmosphere. As her addiction progresses, Sara starts to disconnect from reality and experiences a "descent" into psychosis.
The director of the film, Darren Aronofsky, wanted to showcase how prescription drugs can be just as harmful and addictive as illegal drugs. He does this by portraying the devastating impact of addiction on Sara and the other characters, highlighting the toll it takes on their lives and emotional well-being.
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They are referred to as The Seed of Satan
In the film *Requiem for a Dream*, Sara Goldfarb is addicted to prescription diet pills, which she takes to lose weight. Her addiction to the pills is portrayed as extremely harmful to her mental state, causing her to experience hallucinations and delusions, and ultimately leading to her undergoing electroshock therapy.
The diet pills are referred to as "The Seed of Satan" by doctors. This is likely due to the severe negative impact they have on Sara's life. The pills are amphetamine-like stimulants, which cause an increase in physical activity and a suppression of appetite, leading to weight loss. As Sara's tolerance to the pills builds, she begins to take more than the prescribed dose, causing her to become wired. To counteract this effect, she takes a prescribed sedative, which only serves to increase her dependence on the drugs.
The pills are described as "rainbow diet pills", indicating that they are multicoloured. This is confirmed by a description of Sara's doctor prescribing "3 sets of pills in different colours that must be taken morning, noon, and night". The multicoloured pills contribute to the unsettling atmosphere of the film, with their bright hues contrasting with the dark subject matter.
The repetitive jump cuts between the pills, a scale, a mailbox, and a red dress that Sara tries to fit into, emphasise the hold that the drugs have over her life. The pills are portrayed as a false solution to Sara's problems, promising an escape from her dull existence but ultimately leading to her destruction.
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Frequently asked questions
The diet pills in 'Requiem for a Dream' are amphetamines, also known as "speed" or "uppers". They are prescribed to Sara Goldfarb by a doctor to help her lose weight.
The pills give Sara energy and help her lose weight, but when the energy wears off, she experiences withdrawal and takes more pills. She also takes them out of the prescribed order, sometimes taking three different types at once. This leads to an addiction and causes frightening and painful side effects, including hallucinations and delusions.
Sara's addiction to the diet pills causes her to undergo a descent into madness, resulting in her disconnection from reality. She eventually ends up undergoing electroshock therapy and is described as an empty shell of a person.
