How Cinema and Drama Deconstructed the Code of the Relationship Between the State and Cartels?

SadaNews - Amid escalating clashes in Mexican cities like Guadalajara, cartel movies and series return to the forefront as a dramatic mirror of the long-standing conflict between drug gangs and state institutions.

Cinema and dramatic works do not just provide action films and entertainment; they interpret the complex relationship between official power and the "Shadow Economy", where the geography stretching between Mexico and the United States becomes an unforgiving battlefield, rediscovering concepts of justice and corruption in times of great collapse.

A number of television and cinematic works have excelled in penetrating the depths of the relationship between regimes and cartels, achieving widespread popularity.

Sicario

The events of the film "Sicario" (2015) take place in the border area between El Paso, Texas, and Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, a region historically known as one of the most dangerous hotspots in the drug war.

Director Denis Villeneuve presents through this work the story of FBI agent "Kate Macer", who discovers that her joining a secret government task force was not for law enforcement purposes, but to carry out mysterious assassinations aimed at "creating chaos" within the cartels to rearrange them in a way that serves American interests.

The film explains how the state in this conflict no longer represents "absolute good"; instead, it has become a pragmatic player that uses hired killers like "Alejandro" (played by Benicio del Toro) to carry out dirty tasks that official laws cannot cover.

One of the most memorable scenes for the audience is the "border bridge scene", where the security team is trapped amid a crushing crowd of vehicles, and the tension manifests itself in a suspicious silence before violence suddenly erupts in broad daylight, proving that terror does not reside in darkness, but in the randomness that may strike at any moment.

The final scene and the cold confrontation at the dinner table that summarizes the meaning of "rough justice" cannot be forgotten.

What is most famously said about the film is that director Villeneuve described it as a "dark poem" about the vortex of violence, while screenwriter Taylor Sheridan indicated that the film aims to "pull the audience into hell" to understand the twisted moral logic of a state in a war without a hero.

Traffic (2000): Deep Failure and the Conflict of Visual Colors

"Traffic" (2000), directed by Steven Soderbergh, traverses multiple geographies including Mexico, Washington, and Ohio, sketching an intertwined map of addiction, corruption, and politics.

The story intertwines between a conservative American judge appointed as head of the drug enforcement agency, discovering that his daughter is a victim of these poisons, and a Mexican police officer trying to survive with his integrity amidst a security apparatus steeped in collusion.

The film does not present a conflict between "police and gang", but a failure in the structure of state policies that try to address the drug issue with weapons, while at its core, it is a public health and economic issue.

The iconic scene in cinema history is Soderbergh's use of color filters; where the Mexico scenes appear with a scorching yellow hue suggesting heat, corruption, and confusion, while Washington appears in cold blue colors suggesting bureaucratic stagnation and disconnection from reality.

What Soderbergh notably said about the film is that the criminal approach to the war on drugs has failed, and the film is an attempt to understand the "ailing body" of society.

The majority of critics agreed that "Traffic" is the first work to dare to say that the cartel is not an external organization, but part of the daily fabric of American families and politicians alike.

El Infierno (2010)

The film "El Infierno" (2010), directed by Luis Estrada, represents the other side of the truth from a purely Mexican perspective, unfolding in a rural Mexican town living under the weight of "poverty and gunpowder".

The story revolves around "Benny", who returns from the United States after twenty years only to find that the only way to survive and secure his livelihood is to join the local cartel.

The film presents a merciless political satire, portraying the cartel as a quasi-political entity replacing the absent state, where it provides jobs, distributes gifts, and establishes its own brand of justice amidst celebrations of the "Centennial of Independence" which in the film appeared as a national funeral.

One of the most striking scenes is the town’s national holiday celebration amidst hanging corpses on bridges, a visual paradox summarizing how "national pride" intertwines with "public terror".

One of the most famous statements about the film is Estrada's comment to the "Los Angeles Times" that there is no hero or hope in this work, and that it is not meant for entertainment, but for a shocking confrontation with reality.

The film succeeded in being a political mirror exposing how the state has become so infiltrated that it fully merges with gangs, to the extent that the director refused to accept an award from the Mexican government due to the "realism" of his film that embarrassed authorities.

Miss Bala

"Miss Bala" (2011), directed by Gerardo Naranjo, is one of the films that humanizes the cartels' conflict, set in the border city of Tijuana.

The story centers around "Laura", a young girl aspiring to win the title of Miss, who suddenly finds herself caught as a tool in the hands of a drug cartel leader who uses her to smuggle money and weapons.

What distinguishes this film is that it places the viewers in the position of the (civilian) victim who has no choice but to comply, showing the state and security as an impotent or infiltrated force, blurring the lines between "police" and "gang" completely before Laura's eyes.

One of the most memorable scenes is the shootout in the nightclub, where the camera follows Laura in a long shaky shot, conveying to the audience a sense of suffocation and the panic caused by gang wars in public places.

What is most famously said about the film is that it presented an angle "without a weighty moral tone", with a pace that positions the camera as a participant witness. Director Naranjo confirmed in several interviews that the film attempts to portray "the great hostage", which is Mexico itself, describing the general climate as "mass panic" in which everyone lives at the mercy of powers that abide by no law or moral logic.

Savages

Director Oliver Stone takes us in "Savages" (2012) to Southern California and the Mexican border, examining how cartel violence has moved to live in the "backyard" of the United States.

The story revolves around two American marijuana farmers who come into direct conflict with a Mexican cartel led by a steel-willed woman (Salma Hayek).

The film deconstructs the notion of the "distant enemy" and shows that the conflict is one of interests and crossing borders, with everyone acting with "savagery" to maintain their market shares, and the state (represented by intelligence agents) appearing merely as a broker trying to mediate between the warring forces rather than eliminate them.

One of the most memorable scenes is the innovative "double ending", where Stone presents a tragic realistic ending followed by a dreamy Hollywood ending, allowing the audience to choose the fate they find logical in a world governed by weapons and money.

What is most famously said about the film is Stone’s declaration that he does not place a "straightforward perspective" representing the state or good, but focuses on the fact that everyone in this war has become "savage".

The film sparked considerable controversy for its ability to depict the cartel as a brutal capitalist enterprise possessing political and military tools that surpass local security forces' capacity to control, making it a cinematic document of international "injustice".

Narcos

"Narcos" (2015-2017), produced by Chris Brancato and Carlo Bernard, stars Wagner Moura as Pablo Escobar and Pedro Pascal as agent Javier Peña.

The series is set in Colombia, documenting the rise and fall of the Medellín cartel. It does not portray Escobar merely as a smuggler but as a quasi-political force that possesses an army and builds neighborhoods to gain the people's loyalty.

One of the most memorable moments is Escobar sitting in the Colombian parliament. One of the most notable comments made about the series is that it "reshaped the image of the narco in global consciousness", explaining how the cartel can compete with the state for actual sovereignty and popular loyalty by presenting itself as a savior for the poor against a powerless state.

El Chapo

The series "El Chapo" (2017-2018), produced by Netflix in collaboration with Univisión, stars Marco de la O. The series traces the life of Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán from his beginnings to his global apex.

The work focuses on the complex relationship between the growth of the cartel and political corruption at the highest levels of Mexican power. The most notable scenes are those depicting "El Chapo" escaping from high-security prisons.

What is most famously said about the series is that it presents the cartel as a "parallel power system", depicting "El Chapo" not as a legend, but as a skilled tailor in weaving relationships with heads of states and ministers, making the state seem merely an employee in his own company.

Queen of the South

The story of the series "Queen of the South" (2016-2021), starring Alice Braga as Teresa Mendoza, tracks the journey of a woman from poverty to the pinnacle of the criminal hierarchy through Mexico, America, and Spain.

The series transforms the cartel into a standalone dramatic space with strict economic rules. The stories here are not just about bullets, but about how to manage international trade.

The most important scene in the work remains Teresa’s transformation from a terrified fugitive to sitting on the throne of power.

Some critics have written that it depicts the cartel as a "cross-border shadow economy", indicating that true power lies in the economic and logistical structures that surpass the authority of customs and the official borders of countries.

Ozark

"Ozark" (2017-2022), which Jason Bateman starred in and produced alongside Laura Linney, is set in Missouri, following the Bird family that is forced to launder money for a Mexican cartel.

The series highlights how cartel influence extends into the very fabric of American economic and political life, from small hotels to funding electoral campaigns. The stuck scene is those cold negotiation moments between the family head and cartel leaders in quiet American suburbs.

The series reveals the "absence of clear boundaries between the state and the illegal market", indicating that the cartel has become a silent partner in cross-border American capitalism.

La Casa de Papel

"La Casa de Papel" (2017-2021), created by Álex Pina and starring Álvaro Morte as “The Professor” and Úrsula Corberó as “Tokyo”.

The series is set in Madrid, where a mysterious man plans the largest heist in history by breaking into the "Royal Mint" to print billions of euros (billions of dollars) for them.

The story is less about money and more about "rebellion"; the professor sees himself not as a thief, but as a "resistor" practicing the "quantitative easing" that central banks employ, but for the people’s benefit.

The scene where the gang sings the Italian resistance anthem "Bella Ciao", transforming the masks (Dali mask) from a tool for disguise to a global symbol of protest against capitalism and the overreach of regimes, cannot be forgotten.

It has been written about the amazing ability of the work to evoke the "romance of crime"; Álex Pina succeeded in making the audience cheer for the thief to the point of sympathizing with him against police and intelligence agencies.

The deep significance lies in how the series presents the cartel (or gang) as an alternative moral space; while the state in the series appears ready to torture prisoners and use dirty tricks to maintain its prestige, the gang is shown to adhere to an internal code of honor.

What is most famously said about the work is that it is a "visual manifesto against the global financial system", with critics interpreting its overwhelming success as an investment in global public discontent with official institutions that have failed people in economic crises, making "the professor" appear as a folk hero redistributing wealth in his own way, breaking the traditional image of the criminal and transforming him into an icon of liberation.

The power of these works lies not in action scenes or revenge plots, but in their ability to strip away the veneer of the "logic" that modern wars are managed by.

Both cinema and drama have succeeded, through these works, in transforming the cartel's struggle with the state from just a "breaking news" item in news bulletins to an "ethical dissection" of entities where interests have become so intertwined that they are almost impossible to untangle.

The cinematic vision has revealed that the state is often not a neutral party or protector of the law, but a "pragmatic player" that raises its moral ceiling based on the balance of power, while the cartel appears as a "parallel system" feeding on the void left by institutions caught between bureaucracy and impotence.

Source: Al Jazeera