Pharmakon

Pharmakon is a short film that speculates on the biopolitical implications of the medicalization of grief in a post-Covid-19 context. After decades of research, in March 2022, Prolonged Grief Disorder (PGD) was added to The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM), as an official diagnosis. Among other symptoms, PGD is characterized by an intense yearning for the dead and a feeling of not knowing who one is without the deceased. But medical jargon aside, not much separates PGD from ‘normal’ grief.

Currently, trials are underway in which Naltrexone Hydrochloride, a drug originally formulated to treat alcohol and opioid addiction, is being tested on those who have been diagnosed with PGD. The film focuses on the juxtaposition of the vast knowledge and power networks that are stakeholders in the medicalization of grief, namely the pharmaceutical industry and the state, versus the pill’s impact on the individual. It speculates on an increasing shift, from grief as a normal part of life to grief as a pathology, and shows how the onus is increasingly put on the individual to return to their pre-grieving state. In short, the film argues that the medicalization of grief serves to artificially reform the mourner as a useful, productive member of society. In doing so, it subdues the outrage that oftentimes accompanies grief, shifting the focus away from the social injustices that may have led to the bereavement . Ultimately, the film asks the audience if the price that must be paid to effectively ‘treat’ grief is worth it.

The short film is entirely comprised of shots made of a series of five maquettes that acted as sets for the short film.