I was watching a pharmaceutical commercial last night when I began to wonder why it repulsed me so much.
- First, there is my abhorrence for the profit driven medical/pharmaceutical industry. I think it is an abomination that health care in the US is considered a privilege and not a right.
- Second was the price of the medication. The manufacturer posted on its site, “As low as $25 a month”. When I scrolled down to read the fine print, I discovered that this was a typical copay. The actual price was $6,000 per month.
- Third, was the commercial itself. It was shot in typical Pharma format with a multi-racial couple in slow motion enjoying their day together holding hands at the amusement park and riding on swings, with big shiny smiles on their faces the entire time.
It was the smiles that really got to me.
Suddenly it became clear to me that the fake smiles gave me the feeling I get when I see a “too close to humanlike” robot or doll. It’s called the uncanny valley*.
If you pay attention, you’ll see that the uncanny valley occurs in all pharma commercials. No real person is grins like an idiot incessantly.
And obviously, nobody is having that much fun when they are dealing with serious health problems like unresponsive depression, HIV, stage 4 cancer, high blood pressure, etc.
Well, maybe, there is one exception – the people who the Sackler family and Purdue addicted to opioids. Getting high, I’m told, makes you feel wonderful. Perhaps people high on opioids are smiling.
Or they are until they can’t get a prescription filled, turn to street drugs and ruin their lives.
One of the best things about retiring on a tiny budget is not being able to afford health insurance and high priced medications. I have effectively opted myself out of the entire systems by necessity as well as by choice.
*The uncanny valley is an unsettling feeling people get when humanoid robots closely resemble humans but are not quite convincingly realistic.