1 Carl Schjelderup

Binge drinking is good for you

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Attitudes and social norms towards drinking have changed over time. In the light of new science,
that show the dangers of heavy drinking, a debate has overtaken the media and the internet. On
the one hand, some argue that governments should educate people about the dangers of drinking
and perhaps even create regulations against it. On the other hand, some argue that the
government should stay out of such issues and only focus on the people, that have serious issues
with drinking. Perhaps the debate even reflects a deeper issue in society. In other words, how
much should the government be allowed to interfere with peoples’ lives and personal freedoms?

The article, “Binge drinking is good for you, “was written by Jeremy Clarkson, and was published
in 2007. Jeremy Clarkson is best known for the motoring programs Top Gear and The Grand Tour,
but has through his journalism and broadcasting become recognized as a public personality. As a
journalist, he is known for his sarcastic and humorous writing style, which often centers on
libertarian or conservative political views. His columns often focus on what he describes as “ban
culture”, a growing tendency of governmental regulation. It should then be clear that Clarkson is
in favor of personal freedom and against governmental regulation. On the one hand, Clarkson’s
provocative writing-style produces much negative feedback. Additionally, his often very
controversial opinions, such as his commentary on the ban on fox hunting, produce wide-spread
outrage and disagreement. Then again, Clarkson has managed to amass a wide following, with
some people even suggesting that he should run for office. 1

1
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeremy_Clarkson
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Jeremy Clarkson’s article was published in “The Sunday Times”, which indicates that his target
audience aligns with the typical reader of the newspaper.2 “The Sunday Times” is one of the most
sold newspapers in the UK. Its typical readership identifies as center-right or conservative and are
mostly middle to upper middle class. In addition, the majority of the readers are middle-aged or
older. However, it should also be noted that the newspaper reaches quite a wide audience as it is
very popular in the UK. With the use of sarcasm and humor, Clarkson mocks the left of the political
spectrum, that is to say people who generally are for governmental regulation, “WHO ARE THEY?
The people who decide how we should run our lives… Where do they meet? Who pays their
wages?” (s. 1, ll. 1-5). In the example, Clarkson uses in-group and out-group psychology, which he
establishes through the contrasting of “they” and “we”. This common political device, used in
populistic movements, has the effect of creating anger and outrage in the receiver. In particular,
he urges his target audience to consider, “Who are they to take away my freedom?”. Thus,
Clarkson employs pathos by inspiring feelings of disgust towards authorities and campaigners.
Furthermore, Clarkson places, in the out-group, those who are against his idea of personal
freedom, such as animal rights activists and people who campaign against child corporal
punishment, “[the people that say] we can't smoke foxes or smack our children” (p. 1, l. 2).
Therefore, Clarkson mimics typical conservative views, in order to reach his target audience.

Clarkson uses humor and irony to mock the out-group, specifically people who support
governmental regulation. A notable instance that points out Clarkson’s use of humor is the
following, “Rubbish. If a man drinks two small glasses of white wine every day, it's the barman he
needs to worry about.” (p. 1 ll. 28-30). In the example, Clarkson seems to imply that men who
drink white wine are likely to be homosexual. This type of humor can be seen as quite offensive,
and the offensiveness of the joke is no doubt intentional and creates humor for his target
audience. As well as the use of offensive humor, Clarkson frequently utilizes sarcasm, “It's very
obvious that their new target is people who drink alcohol - i.e., everyone over the age of eight.” (p.
1, ll. 7-9). First of all, Clarkson once again establishes the campaigners as an out-group by referring
to them as “they”. Secondly, he belittles their politics as merely switching between targets. Thus,
their political opinions do not really matter, as they only target people to harass them.

2
The Sunday Times - Profile - Hurst Media Company
3 Carl Schjelderup

Consequently, by using sarcasm he shows his contempt for the out-group, that believe campaigns
against alcohol are a good idea. Additionally, Clarkson uses hyperbole to create humor, “They say
that if you go out and get blasted, you’ll die in a puddle of blood and vomit down a back alley long
before you get the chance to catch chlamydia from the barman” (p. 1, ll. 45-49). In the example
Clarkson exaggerates the opinion of the media and creates vivid imagery, which helps to
emphasize his opinion, that the media and awareness campaigns are exaggerating the issue.

In the following example, Clarkson draws ethos from his reputation from the aforementioned
motoring show Top Gear, “We need to make a distinction between someone doing 32mph and
someone doing 175mph.” (p. 2, ll. 80-81). The comparison between drinking and speed driving is a
subtle allusion to Top Gear, but a person familiar with his work would no doubt catch the allusion.
The effect is that Clarkson establishes his credibility, as someone who is an expert in motoring.
Furthermore, he creates identification with the reader, as the readers are likely to be interested in
cars. On top of that, Clarkson appeals to logic, by making the distinction between doing something
to an extreme degree and doing something to a normal degree, and he uses the car analogy to
conclude the following, “Leave the normal people who do normal things alone. Forget about the
people who drink for fun and worry only about those who drink to live” (p. 2, ll. 86-89). Clarkson
uses two rhetorical devices in the example. Firstly, he uses a parallelism to draw attention to the
idea, that the “busybodies” should not target the normal people. Secondly, he uses a metaphor to
portray alcoholics as a contrast to the normal person, that should be left alone.

The writer’s main intention is to critique those who are for governmental regulation, and
specifically those who support anti-drinking campaigns. He uses in-group and out-group
psychology to appeal to the reader’s emotions, but also draws on ethos through alluding to his
appearance on the TV Show Top Gear. Clarkson also appeals to the reader’s sense of reason
throughout the text. Another important aspect is the article’s humorous and sarcastic tone, which
Clarkson uses to mock the out-group, but which also suggests that Clarkson wishes to entertain
the reader.

On the one hand, I agree with Clarkson that personal freedom is important. I believe that the
government should be careful with what it regulates, and not to overstep any boundaries. On the
other hand, I also believe that the government should regulate on certain areas, one of them
4 Carl Schjelderup

being drugs that are harmful on a societal level. Furthermore, research clearly shows that alcohol
consumption is a serious societal problem. Besides, it should be noted that Clarkson’s use of
hyperbole can serve as a straw man argument. Thus, he creates an imaginary opposition, which he
ridicules and mocks. An example is the following, “But now they seem to be saying that all people
must steer clear of all drinks always” (p. 1, ll. 11-13). No one says this. In fact, moderate drinking is
widely regarded as quite healthy. The problem is that research clearly shows that if you drink too
much, then it becomes a problem. Then again, I do occasionally enjoy binge drinking, and would
agree with Clarkson that it is “jolly good fun”.

Rigtig flot og velskrevet Carl – også med dine fokuspunkter, som jeg kan se kommer til udtryk i dit
essay  Du har desuden mange gode pointer, og en rigtig fin struktur.

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