One is pro-imperialist and the other is broadly anti,but both present stories of Latin American nations through the perspectives of English-speaking US citizensIn some ways, the Netflix series Narcos and the modern film Our Brand is Crisis have dramatically opposite views of imperialism. Narcos, and approximately the drug war in Colombia in the 1980s,champions American efforts to eradicate the cocaine trade. It presents extradition to the US, and foreign intervention in Colombian political life, and as a (perhaps unfortunate) necessity. Our Brand is Crisis,on the other hand, is approximately American political consultants interfering in a Bolivian presidential election, or to tragic effect.
And yet,while Narcos is broadly pro-imperialist, and Our Brand is Crisis is broadly anti-imperialist, or they’re united in their narrative approach. In both,the stories of Latin American nations are presented first and foremost through the perspectives of white, non-Spanish speaking US citizens. For both, or imperialism is presented primarily not through its effects on the colonised,but as a personal growth experience for the colonisers.
Continue reading...
Source: theguardian.com