Bigger, Stronger, Faster
I saw the new documentary about steroid use in America, Bigger, Stronger, Faster this weekend. I must admit to being somewhat flummoxed by the film; on the one hand, I feel like it’s intellectually dishonest, suggesting steroid use is okay because it’s not as bad for your health as some argue while basically ignoring the fact that it’s recreational use is illegal and against the rules in pretty much every sport. The film’s director/narrator/Michael Moore figure, Chris Bell, also comes across as someone disillusioned with America because of his own failures: his failure to get as jacked as Ahnuld, as big as Hulk Hogan, as famous as Sly Stallone.
And yet, and yet…It’s simultaneously moving, funny, and informative. Consider it the libertarian case for taking steroids (or, at the very least, decriminalizing them). I’m in no position to fact check the claims within Bell’s work, but he argues that steroids are not that bad for you and the negative effects tend to be reversible. If a grown man (or woman) decides to take them–regardless of the reason he (or she) chooses to do so, be they for athletic success or concerns of personal appearance–why shouldn’t they?
He also raises an important point that he never really examines, namely the question of what a famous person on steroids owes to the children who idolize him. Everyone agrees that children, especially those who haven’t finished growing, probably shouldn’t use ‘roids. But he takes Hulk Hogan to task for telling kids to “eat their vitamins and say their prayers” while he juiced for a dozen years. I appreciate the hypocrisy embodied by the Hulkster, but later in the film his own brother does the same thing; as a defensive coach for the local high school’s football team, Chris’s brother Mark simultaneously tells kids he’s huge without the aid of drugs while taking steroids. Isn’t he a hypocrite?
Probably, but he’s the good kind of hypocrite. He’s setting a good example (that of a law abiding citizen) for those under his care. Would it be better if he told the kids “Hey, I’m this big because of steroids”? Would it have been better if the Hulk had said “Hey, ignore those vitamins and start injecting junk into your butt”? Of course not. The most impressionable among us must be protected. I’m sorry if that leads to disillusionment when you get a little older, but it’s better you be disillusioned as an adult than suffer permanent physical injury as a youth from steroid abuse.
I was hoping that writing this post would help me clarify my feelings on both the movie and steroid use in general. It hasn’t. I guess I think of steroids kind of like I think of marijuana–they probably should be legal for adults, but kids should definitely be kept away from them. Check out the trailer, and check out the movie if you get a chance; it’s worth your time and money.