Annotated Bibliography

Angell, M. (2009, January 15). “Drug Companies and Doctors: A Story of Corruption.” New   York Review of Books.  http://www.nybooks.com/articles/2009/01/15/drug-companies-doctorsa- story-of-corruption/

This article discusses the greed-driven corruption that is omnipresent in the pharmaceutical world. It talks about how doctors have begun diagnosing younger children and prescribing them powerful drugs that were not even approved by the FDA. It also exposed how much money the pharmaceutical companies paid doctors to push certain medications. It also detailed how certain clinical trials were rushed or did not go through the necessary processes for collecting data before certain drugs were brought to market. I’ll use this source to provide support for the fact that economic inequality is connected to corruption and prejudice in that the rich and powerful abuse those below them. Rich and powerful pharmaceutical companies use their money to bribe doctors and push drugs onto patients. There is a heavy stigmatism against mental illness in society, so people are quick to turn to medication to be seen as “normal.” 

Healy, D. (2004a). Let Them Eat Prozac: The Unhealthy Relationship Between the Pharmaceutical Industry and Depression. New York University Press.

This book by author David Healy analyzes the history and development of SSRIs, selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. He looks at the marketing campaigns publicizing these drugs and all the controversies around them, questioning how beneficial they actually are to patients struggling with depression. These drugs initially seemed like miracles, but upon further investigation, there a dark side. Some patients taking theses medications ended up with side effects worse than the disease, and, in some cases, drove people to suicide. I will use this text to further analyze the corruption and prejudice that emerges out of economic inequality. Depression and mental illness in society is so stigmatized that people go to extremes to rid themselves of it. Medication is seen as a quick and easy solution, so people often turn to pharmaceuticals to solve their problems. Major pharmaceutical companies know this, so they use their money and resources to play off of this and convince doctors to push their drugs onto patients. 

Loffreda, Beth. “Selections from Losing Matt Shepard: Life and Politics in the Aftermath of Anti-Gay Murder.” The New Humanities Reader. By Richard E. Miller and Kurt Spellmeyer. 5th ed. 236-255. Print.

This essay looks at the murder of a gay college student from Laramie, Wyoming and the aftermath in the media that followed. I will use this source to analyze that there are many different prejudices in society, which leads to inequality. As a gay student, Matt faced prejudice and was ultimately murdered for his sexuality. In the media coverage of the event, it quickly became clear that certain aspects of the story were not lining up, and the media was skewing the perspective to shift the focus to what it wanted people to believe. The media has more power than the general public, as they have the most knowledge. The inequality in this case was not of economic origins, but more of social ones. The LGBTQ+ community faces prejudice regularly, and in this case, the general public of Laramie did as well, as the media used their power to hide the truth from the people.

Stiglitz, Joseph E. “Rent Seeking and the Making of an Unequal Society.” The New Humanities Reader. By Richard E. Miller and Kurt Spellmeyer. 5th ed. 394-409. Print.

This essay analyzes the inequality of America and how it developed into what it is today. It talks about how it did not just appear out of nowhere; it was created. The 1% continues to increase the scale of the inequality, making the gap grow larger and larger. The 1% aside, the government also perpetuates some of this inequality. I will use this source to analyze the economic inequality in the America and show what this growing divide does to the people.

Watters, Ethan. “The Mega-Marketing of Depression in Japan.” The New Humanities Reader. By Richard E. Miller and Kurt Spellmeyer. 5th ed. 513-529. Print.

This essay began with a discussion about pharmaceutical companies and the expenses they went through to get doctors to meet with them and agree to push their drugs to their patients. It went on to mention the high suicide rates in Japan and how in Japan, mental illness often goes without being talked about. I will use this to analyze the stigmatism mental illness holds in society and economic inequality furthers this prejudice as rich and powerful drug companies are able to continue to push for the overuse of their pharmaceuticals.