The Political Power of Film: Traffic's Impact on Drug Policy Debates

Abstract

This interdisciplinary study advances film effects and policy research by combining multiple methodologies to assess how a film may affect policy debates. Investigating Traffic's effect on press and Congressional drug policy debates, this article illustrates how Traffic was used to push for or against legislation, to reframe the drug policy debate, and to provide symbolic attention to drug-related issues. A framing analysis shows that Traffic framed news coverage of drug abuse, and a discursive analysis illustrates how and why this occurred. Ultimately, this article suggests blockbuster films cloaked in realism, elite attention, and news coverage may shift policy debates in media spheres. It also illustrates the potentials for multimethod research strategies to reveal hegemony at work and flaws in journalistic practices.