Smoking and eating the flowers of the Thames 2014

bnr#72 => Smoking and eating the flowers of the Thames 2014

Prozac

Object: 46

Prozac

Date of origin: 1974 (approved for public use in 1987)
Author/inventor/context: Eli Lilly and Company

Prozac is an antidepressant of the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) class. It was marketed as a means to help the alienated and the marginalized sculpt their less than desirable personalities, habits, and dispositions into socially acceptable ones designed for maximum strength linkage to work and family. With prior drugs, a user could control depression and anxiety, but the same inept and unappealing self remained in place. With pharmacological engineering à la Prozac, it was claimed that the client would be “better” in every sense of the term.

Critical Art Ensemble (CAE)