Notre Dame Student | Teaching Assistant, “Drunk on Film”
Maggie Murphy is a student at the University of Notre Dame and a teaching assistant for the popular interdisciplinary course “Drunk on Film,” which examines how alcohol is portrayed in movies and television and how those portrayals influence real-world drinking culture.
After taking the course as a student, Murphy returned as a teaching assistant, helping facilitate discussions about alcohol’s role in media, social life, and college culture. Through the class, she and her peers began looking more critically at the way drinking is normalized in entertainment — from party scenes in college comedies to romantic storylines where alcohol is portrayed as a gateway to confidence, connection, and belonging.
Murphy represents a generation whose relationship with alcohol is shifting. While drinking has long been seen as a central part of the college experience, younger adults today are increasingly questioning that assumption. Surveys consistently show that Gen Z drinks less than previous generations, with growing interest in alcohol-free lifestyles, moderation, and non-alcoholic alternatives.
Through her experience with Drunk on Film, Murphy became especially interested in how cultural narratives influence behavior — particularly the ways movies and media shape expectations about drinking long before students ever arrive on campus.
In Please Drink Responsibly, Murphy provides the perspective of a younger generation navigating a changing social landscape around alcohol — one where conversations about moderation, intentional drinking, and alcohol-free choices are becoming far more common than they were even a decade ago.