Danny Boyle's era-defining Trainspotting was not always as widely accepted as it is today. When it was first released, it created a great deal of debate both in the United Kingdom and United States. Although the film isn't light on foul language and sex, it was its depiction of heroin use which got people talking. Was the film glamourising or condemning drug use? For a lot of people, the movie showed heroin use/abuse in a far too positive light, bordering on romanticising the drug. Scenes such as Renton's trip, scored by Lou Reed's deeply ironic Perfect Day, said to them that heroin is a wonderful drug and the worry was that it would cause punters to leave the cinema and shoot up. US Senator Bob Dole even got in on the act, condemning the film for this supposed glorification of drug use... despite the fact he'd never seen the film, which he admitted some time later. Erm, just what film were they watching, exactly? Trainspotting hardly makes secret of the very real, damaging effect that heroin has (the death of a baby, Renton's own horrifying cold turkey withdrawal, Tommy's death from HIV). Some simply couldn't look beyond the style to see the substance.
