Global Trafficking Networks on Film and Television : Hollywood’s Cartel Wars

This book draws on a multi-method study of film and television narratives of global criminal networks to explore the links between audiovisual media, criminal networks and global audiences in the age of digital content distribution. Mapping out media representations of the ongoing war on drugs in Mexico and the United States, the author delves into the social, cultural and geopolitical impacts of distribution and consumption of these media. With a particular emphasis on the globalized Mexican cartels, this book investigates three areas – gender and racial representation in film and television, the digital distribution of content through the internet and streaming services such as Hulu and Netflix, and depictions of extreme violence in film, television and online spaces – to identify whether there are fundamental similarities and differences in how Hollywood productions reproduce stereotypes about race, gender and extreme violence. Some of the movies and television series analysed are Breaking Bad, __Ozark__, __Weeds__, __Rambo: Last Blood__, __No Country for Old Men__, __Sicario__ and the Netflix series __Narcos__, __Narcos: Mexico__ and __El Chapo__. Taking a unique interdisciplinary approach to the study of cartels in the media, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of media studies, film, television, security studies, Latin American and cultural studies. Cover Half Title Series Page Title Page Copyright Page Dedication Contents Figures Acknowledgements Introduction: Cartel media Cartel mediascapes Orientalism in cartel media Book structure: understanding Hollywood's cartel wars References Films cited Television shows cited 1. How Touch of Evil set the rules for Hollywood cartel cinema Seedy border tales Charlton Heston doing brownface in dark, exotic, dangerous Mexico Mike Vargas and the "lawful cop" trope From Welles' Touch of Evil to Soderbergh's Traffic: the genealogy of Hollywood cartel cinema Conclusion Suggested viewing References Films cited Television shows cited 2. Cartel Westerns: The new frontier (South of the border) "Amexica", the mythic site of the cartel Western No Country for Old Men: brown corpses as background The Last Stand and Rambo: Last Blood: 1980s strongmen fighting the cartels Conclusion: Clint Eastwood's last stand Suggested viewing References Films cited Television shows cited 3. From Weeds to Ozark: The suburbs, threatened Weeds and the pot entrepreneur Ozark and the problem with greed Conclusion: when trafficking preserves privilege Suggested viewing References Films cited Television shows cited 4. Queen of the South: Doing linguistic mish-mash and "Mexican face" Se habla español, but you must speak English Queen of the South, or when any Mexican-sounding dialogue will do Linguistic mish-mash and "Mexican face" in Queen of the South Conclusion Recommended viewing References Films cited Television shows cited 5. Walter White and the use of Brown bodies in Breaking Bad White bodies as worthy Black and Brown bodies as conduits for white salvation Walter's baptism of blood Brown bodies as expendable, subhuman Conclusion Suggested viewing References Films cited Television shows cited 6. The Sicario saga and chromatic othering The border and "chromatic othering" Sicario and the border as infestation of "bad hombres" Sicario: Day of the Soldado: a cautionary tale for the Trump era Conclusion Suggested viewing References Films cited Television shows cited 7. Netflix's Narcos: Cartel media in the age of digital distribution Pablo Escobar: screen icon and cartel media commodity Building El Jefe de Jefes as a cartel entrepreneur Conclusion: Netflix or franchising history Suggested viewing References Films cited Television shows cited Video game cited 8. "El Chapo" gets the Netflix treatment: Theorising cartel mythologies El Chapo in the Sinaloan imaginary El Chapo does Netflix: when cartel crime equals political corruption Narcos: Mexico or the origins of the myth Conclusion: Cartel leaders as media commodities Suggested viewing References Films cited Television shows cited Video game cited Postscript: Cartel media beyond Hollywood Suggested viewing References Films cited Television shows cited Index "This book draws on a multi-method study of film and television narratives of global criminal networks to explore the links between audiovisual media, criminal networks and global audiences in the age of digital content distribution. Mapping out media representations of the ongoing war on drugs in Mexico and the United States, the author delves into the social, cultural and geo-political impacts of distribution and consumption of these media. With a particular emphasis on the globalized Mexican cartels, this book investigates three areas - gender and racial representation in film and television; the digital distribution of content through the Internet and streaming services such as Hulu and Netflix; and depictions of extreme violence in film, television and online spaces - to identify whether there are fundamental similarities and differences in how Hollywood productions reproduce stereotypes about race, gender, and extreme violence. Some of the texts analysed are Breaking Bad, Ozark, Weeds, Rambo: Last Blood, No Country for Old Men, Sicario, and the Netflix series Narcos, Narcos: Mexico and El Chapo. Taking a unique interdisciplinary approach to the study of cartels in the media, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of media studies, film, television, security studies, Latin American and cultural studies"-- Provided by publisher