Requiem for a Dream, condensed in 30 seconds.

My roommate mentioned that Darren Aronofsky had recently directed some new ads for the campaign against meth, featured on methproject.org. He released the public service announcements earlier this month.

Aronofsky is my favorite director, ever since I saw Requiem for a Dream (2000). He continued to amaze me with The Wrestler (2008) and Black Swan (2010). He has such a talent for drawing the viewer in and connecting them so closely to the main character, then proceeds to drag them through a train wreck (albeit a beautiful one).

Take his talent for manufacturing an intensely uncomfortable and bizarre scenario, mix it with a bit of terror and disorientation, direct it toward a substance, and you've got a great meth campaign. Brilliant.

“We were thrilled to collaborate with top-tier talent like Darren Aronofsky, the animation house Studio AKA, and photographer Ron Haviv on this campaign,” said Brad Mancuso, Executive Creative Director, Organic. “Darren had a true understanding of addiction as the main character of the TV spots, and his ability to see and bring to life the darker side of the human spirit was inspiring.” (via The New York Egotist)

Some debate that people aren't easily persuaded by scare tactics, but "since the Meth Project launched in 2006, meth use has declined 65 percent in Arizona, 63 percent in Montana and 52 percent in Idaho." (ABC News) That's pretty significant, I'd say. I'm glad to see another way that effective visual media influences culture positively.