Big Bucks, Big Pharma

A staggering number of individuals in America, particularly seniors, are taking multiple prescription medications. Of course, it did not always used to be this way. Big Bucks, Big Pharma: Marketing Disease and Pushing Drugs takes a deep dive into the hugely profitable pharmaceutical industry to explore how DTC (direct-to-consumer) marketing and other industry practices have normalised and glamorised the use of prescription medication.

By examining specific marketing practices and drawing on research from media and health experts, the documentary helps demystify the pharmaceutical industry, its dangerous practices, and its connections to media and politics. It also poses significant questions about the dangers of society’s dependence on a for-profit industry for overall health and wellbeing. To make its argument, it draws on interviews with numerous professors and health professionals, including Dr Marcia Angell of Harvard Medical School and Dr Bob Goodman of Columbia University Medical Center.