#  Behind Closed Doors 

 





A video testimonial from an adult who grew up as the child of an alcoholic.



 

November 19, 2020

 

 

According to the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, one-fifth of American adults grew up with an alcoholic relative. Compared to their peers, these people are four times more likely to abuse alcohol in the future. This video shares the experience of an adult who grew up with an alcoholic father to encourage family and friends to talk with and provide support to those living with a person suffering from alcoholism.

## Artist

Salomé Garnier (2020)



 

## Artist Lens

My video is in the form of a testimonial from the adult child of an alcoholic, who describes what it was like growing up and what she wishes those around her had done to help. I chose this form because it is much more poignant and relatable than statistics on a piece of paper. There is one sequence, towards the end, in which I use Zoom to illustrate that for each alcoholic, there are many more hidden victims. They have their backs to the audience to symbolize the secrecy surrounding the disease. My goal is for the target audience to initially feel touched by the interviewee’s story, and then to feel a sense of responsibility for the family members they know to be in this situation. Eventually, I hope that the target audience will reach out to these family members, engage in conversation about the issue, check in regularly to make sure that the children and spouse are still safe, help explain the illness, provide an escape, even for a few hours, and generally reassure the family that they have someone to talk to and a place to go if things get bad. This is a call to action at a microlevel, because the environment of the family and the resources they have around them are just as important as macrolevel policies to address alcoholism.

## Media

Digital

[Download Behind Close Doors PDF](/file_url/775)



 

 

 



 

 See also:- [ Mental Health/Addiction ](/topics/mental-health-addiction)
- [ Video ](/type/video)
 
 

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