I am a big fan of HBO's mini-series drama BIG LOVE. In Hollywood today it is common place to see studios and producers plugging product to supplement revenue for operating costs and profit.
We often see actors’ driving specific brand vehicles or wearing certain watches. We know what brands of soft drinks they reach for to quench their thirst. In the HBO mini-series BIG Love it has become evident of late what pharmaceuticals the producers prefer; Pfizer, Inc.
Right out of the gate in season one episode two of BIG LOVE (preceding the pilot) we have a story called "Viagra Blue". Throughout the series mothers are pushed to cope with stress with the use of Xanax. In season four episode forty two an actor goes as far to tell the attending physician to prescribe Lipitor. It is not hard to catch on to the Pfizer "fever" here.
My first instinct would be to object to the connection between large pharmaceutical companies and producers Tom Hanks, Gary Goetzman, Mark Olsen and Will Scheffer. My next instinct would be to conjure images of the "Evil Corporate Empire" yet again making its way into our daily subconscious.
While researching these connections I am reminded of the outreach and philanthropy that companies like Pfizer do every day. I am not talking about the big things like the fight for HIV/Aids or Pfizer Inc. six years in a row earning the Highest Score In Human Rights Campaign Foundation LGBT Ranking.
Sometimes it is the small things like their donations to The Youth of Harlem RBI or the crossing of medications to our furry friends to help with epilepsy and obesity in dogs.
Find me in the middle of the road with the dead armadillos on this one. What began as a diary on the conspiratorial links between BIG Love and big PhRMA became a reminder of the good that people do. I am not in any way affiliated with the pharmaceutical industry other than being a consumer of the many products they provide from daily pain relief to allergy medications. Big PhRMA I hate you and I love you. Go figure.