I fully understand why you guys always told me to never do drugs and to always resist the love of money, but mom and dad, according to Narcos, Pablo Escobar did it in such a unique and interesting manner that he was able to garner the support of an entire nation. In the first two episodes, the viewer is presented with an image of Escobar that displays him in an extremely ideal light. He is mentioned and shown to be a family man and a man of honor among other things. It seems as if Pablo’s drug dealing allowed him to present two different sides of himself; there was Pablo the drug dealer, money launderer, and clever businessman, and Pablo the kind, thoughtful citizen who stood for the people and wanted to serve the people. Nonetheless, the personality dichotomy that Escobar possessed and how that contrast presented itself in the relationship he had with the people of his country, his cohorts, and his enemies offer plenty to the show.
Beginning with Escobar’s drug operation and the sheer size of it, his intentions with the money he was making became clear, Escobar wanted to serve the people of Colombia. During episode 2, it was mentioned that the magnitude Escobar’s earnings were so great that they were too large for a country the size of Colombia. In order to subvert governmental consequences, Escobar and his team turned to laundering in order to wash the dirty money. A few shots later in the same episode, there was a rally where Pablo was well-received by the people of Colombia. They chanted his name while he was being interviewed on television. During the interview, Escobar mentioned, to the camera, that he had no political aspirations, but he did speak on the hardship of the poorer Colombian citizens. He mentioned that the wealthy elites made their fortune by exploiting the poor while “leading” the nation. Escobar expressed that he knew the dreams of the people and the could better relate to him. It is important to recognize at this point that the people of Colombia knew nothing of the illegal business that Escobar was conducting, and Escobar had no intention of having them find out anytime soon. Here, the distinction between the two separate halves of Escobar should be noted, Escobar the drug dealer and Escobar the kind citizen. It should also be noted that even with the money that Escobar had, he was still willing to put it towards the people of Colombia. It is interesting to see how Escobar displays both sides of his character and how that plays out throughout the series.
Specifically in episode 2, the morality of Escobar is displayed in several ways. A few shots after the rally where the people of Colombia chanted his name, Escobar is shown to be having an affair with the woman who interviewed him. During their affair, the women whom he was having the affair with said something in regard to Escobar’s wife, Tata. Immediately after, Escobar refuted her statement and told her to never disrespect his wife. Here, Pablo makes the distinction between him disrespecting his wife and someone else disrespecting his wife. In one way, this shows the high regard he has for his family, but also how he indirectly shows that he is the only one who has authority to do so. Later in the episode, while Escobar and his cohorts were using an area in a park, they overhear a woman and her child also in the park. Escobar mentions that he had the park closed for the entire day. One of his cohorts says that he will take care of the issue, but Escobar refutes him saying that it’s only a woman and her child. Escobar then calmly escorts her out of the park. Again, how Escobar displays both “sides” of him contribute to the storyline that the show presents and adds a special dynamic to his character.
Drugs and the love of money can easily corrupt an individual, but the way in which Escobar carries himself throughout the show makes it a bit more complicated than that. While Escobar has money, power, influence, and the means to make money, his underlying motive, to protect the people of Colombia, is his main focus. The drugs and money are, apparently, the means to achieve his goal. It will be interesting to see where his business takes both the series and his character in the future.
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ReplyDeleteAlthough highly favored by the people of Columbia for his “good deeds” and family persona, it remains that Pablo Escobar was responsible for bringing the blood bath, death and destruction to the people of Colombia. He was one of the worst narco-terrorist and drug lords in the world, who satisfied his thirst and hunger for money at the cost of many lives of the people that he made claim to have loved so much. Further, his cartel alone was responsible for 80% of cocaine that was smuggled into the United States and we all know the severe impact and consequences that our country suffers from as it relates to the war on drugs. Consequently, with all the money that Escobar accumulated over his 20-year criminal streak, his fate still ended the same as any other criminal-dead at age 44. Therefore, the moral of the story is ultimately you can make all the money you want, but it is how you earn it while maintaining your dignity, pride and self-respect.
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ReplyDeleteI agree that Pablo Escobar used his money and power to legitimize the illegal drug industry among the “people”. To the poor, he was “Robin Hood”. Even though blood literally ran down the streets and into the sewers. Narcos really did an excellent job of bringing the country of Columbia and its people to life. There was a lot a death, but I didn’t feel it was gratuitous violence, it was exactly what you would have seen in the newspapers and on television, at that time. In fact, the program incorporated much of the archival footage of the day into the segments to help tell the story.
“Absolute power corrupts absolutely”.