The story of "Drug Lord" takes place in Colombia and runs through the 1970s and 1990s. Gloria in "Modern Family" is from this country. If the chaos, danger, and street gunfights she recalled were just a little bit of jokes in "Modern Family"; what is presented to you in "Drug Lord", then It was naked blood, explosions and panic. Some critics said that "Drug Lord" is likely to be "the bloodiest, darkest, and most shocking series" produced by Netflix.
Unfortunately, this "bloody, dark, and shocking" story is based on real events. Pablo Escobar, the "King of Cocaine", created a profitable cocaine business and created the "Drug Kingdom" Medellin drug cartel. In the 1980s, Miami alone contributed billions of profits to him every year.
Escobar is one of the richest criminals in history. His drug network was valued at 30 billion U.S. dollars, and his daily profit exceeded 60 million U.S. dollars. The establishment of his Medellin drug group was based on the massacre of police, government officials, local celebrities, judges and politicians. He is the most famous "king of cocaine" and "drug terrorist" in history. In the heyday of his drug group, 80% of the cocaine consumed in the US market came from his group.
Escobar's business not only emptied the pockets of many people, destroyed the families of countless people, but also caused blood to flow in the streets. Between 1979 and 1984, more than 3,200 people were killed in the United States because of his drug business. At that time, the Dade County Mortuary was "full of corpses" and had to rent cold-chain trucks to transport the corpses in Burger King's transportation system.
The life and death of the "king of cocaine"
On December 1, 1949, Escobar was born in Rio Negro and grew up near Medellin. He went to university for a period of time, but did not obtain a degree; after that, he began to engage in various criminal activities. In the early part of his criminal career, he smuggled cigarettes, made fake lottery tickets, and stolen vehicles. In the 1970s, he began to work for various smuggling gangs and accumulated criminal resources through hijacking and kidnapping.
In 1975, he opened up the smuggling route into the US market. Because of the huge demand for cocaine in the US market, his business has achieved exponential growth in a short period of time. It is estimated that in the 1980s, he would transport 70-80 tons of cocaine into the United States every month.
In 1982, in the Free Choice Movement, he was granted the status of a member of the Colombian House of Representatives as an "alternate". Then under this status, he built many football fields and residential houses in western Colombia for local residents to use. It was this kind of "good deeds" that made him gain the support of a large number of civilians.
In 1993, Estepa was shot and killed by the Colombian National Police in his hometown.
At the peak of his power, he once asked the government to amend the law to exempt cabinet ministers who he disliked, and he could even ask the president to resign. Escobar also bombed the Colombian Supreme Court, killing more than half of Colombian judges. Before his death in 1993, 3.3 million people in Colombia fell to his knees.
While the Americans were still struggling with marijuana, Escobar had built his own drug laboratory in the rain forest of Colombia. Within a few years, this laboratory could already produce 10,000 kilograms of cocaine per week. At that time, each kilogram of cocaine could sell for $50,000. Not only did he own the entire police system, but he also pulled out one by one the thorns in his reluctance to co-operate: he killed more than 1,000 police officers during his apparently guilty career in drug production and drug trafficking.
The real video materials at the time were interspersed in the series, and we could see Escobar's frontal photos repeatedly. The makers of the series, Chris Blakato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro, created a more complete image of Escobar for us. The bad effects of Escobar's actions spread throughout the South American continent and the continental United States. Perhaps if there were not more than 3,000 Miami citizens killed, the United States had not realized how much money Escobar’s drug empire made in the United States.
The fusion of a tragic story and a satirical plot
is the Brazilian actor Wagner Mara who plays Pablo Escobar in "Drug Lord". The character he portrays is evil but not exaggerated, quiet but frightening, pragmatic but somewhat idealistic; he loves his family and is smart. Mara took Escobar's ambitions, money, and power's unscrupulous expression of ferocity. When he arranged murders and explosions over the phone on his lawn, the relaxed tone did not make people think that it was a murderous act.
In fact, for this role, Mara deliberately gained weight and developed a big belly that fits the prototype better. He also moved to Medellin, the hometown of Escobar, to live there for a while, learning Spanish with a local accent, and gaining a deeper understanding of the real life of Escobar. It was also this personal experience that made him understand many important changes in Escobar's life.
Although some people say that the Escobar portrayed by Benicio del Toro in 2014's "Drug Lords" is more credible; but what we have to pay attention to is that in the "Drug Lords" series In, Mara has more time and space to ruminate the depth and breadth of the role. Escobar shaped by Mara is obviously more complete. For example, at the beginning of the series, when Escobar persuaded the Colombian police to turn a blind eye to his smuggling behavior, he proficiently said the name of each soldier and the situation in everyone’s home. . On the surface, Esteba is caring about "sick mothers" and "children who are learning to drive"; but behind this greeting, there is obviously a naked threat. In other words, if the soldiers refuse to let them go, it is not just themselves, but also the family members they love.
The narrative logic of "Drug Lord" is different from the series we usually see. General American dramas pay attention to the dramatic presentation of the character's psychological journey, inner motivation, and self-salvation. "Drug Lord" focuses on how the character's behavior affects the people around him. Its vision is global and not so personal.
"Drug Lord" also successfully merged the tragic plot and satirical elements. On the one hand, Americans spend billions of dollars to fight against drugs and drug dealers. On the other hand, the United States is also the largest consumer of these drugs.
Who is the bigger enemy?
The fight against the Pablo Escobar drug cartel is one of the most important battles in the history of the US Drug Enforcement Administration. The two anti-narcotics police officers in the play, "Gringo" Steve Murphy (Boyd Hobrook) and Latino Javier Panna played a very important role in this battle. The latter's actor, Pedro Pascal, previously played the role of "Red Viper" in "Game of Thrones."
Hobrook once said that the two of them are not partners in the strict sense; and "Drug Lord" shows not only their struggle against Escobar, but also the process of his own growth. "At the beginning, the ability to seize one kilogram of marijuana was already worth celebrating; and after a while, they were able to seize 60 kilograms of cocaine a day. This is very frustrating, because behind the 60 kilograms of seized drugs, there are Another 600 kilograms of cocaine was successfully sent to Miami." The
"Drug Lord" series faced a big challenge, that is, how to make the police action and pursuit less boring in the complicated drama of Escobar— —Escobar's own story is too powerful. Grasping Escobar is the top priority for both of them. But in the end, when Murphy's action team finally killed Escobar on the roof, the fat man wearing jeans and flip-flops was somewhat disappointing.
Obviously, "Drug Lords" has surpassed the category of "a TV series about drug lord". It also explored the political and economic situation of Latin America where Escobar was located at the time, as well as the various entanglements between Colombia and the United States because of the drug empire. In the TV series, we saw video clips of the then US President Ronald Reagan and the President's wife Nancy. Compared with Escobar's brutal rule, the president and his wife's condemnation of the drug empire appears weak. He would hang the betrayer on the tree and take pictures. He had so much money that he could only be scattered among the tropical rain forests, and even hid the money in his mother's sofa. ("Pablo, it's not very comfortable to sit up," his mother said.) Moreover, in order to fulfill his political ambitions, in the process of modeling himself as "Robin Hood in the slum," he spent a lot of money to buy it. A local citizen of Medellin.
The core background of the occurrence of "Drug Lord" is Colombia "under the rule" of Esteba; but the storyteller is Steve Murphy from the United States. In the late 1970s, Murphy, as a member of the American DEA, was sent to Colombia to start work. Especially in the first half of the episode, the director used Murphy's narration extensively in order to elicit various roles. In the second half of the episode, as the story unfolded, the frequency of narration became less and less. What Murphy’s narration tells us is not only that Escobar’s raw material to make cocaine is coca smuggled from Chile, but he also shows us the political game of the South American continent in the mid-1970s-the Chilean dictator at the time. Gusto Pinochet was, in fact, a puppet of the Nixon administration.
Murphy and his partner Panna's struggle with drugs and drug dealers in Colombia showed another ironic quality. The war on drugs was emphasized by both the Nixon and Reagan administrations; but from the perspective of the distribution of CIA and military resources, the attack on communists is obviously more urgent. The immediate leaders, including Murphy and Panna, take it for granted that all wars are between communism and democracy.
When Escobar ran for the Colombian Senate as a leftist, these people began to feel confused. And they refuse to admit that the drug king has reached some sort of deal with right-wingers and communists. When Murphy pointed out that Panamanian dictator Manuel Noriega was actually one of Escobar's largest drug distributors, they even threatened to fire Murphy. In their eyes, Noriega is a fighter who has the courage to dedicate himself to freedom.
In the Colombian general election in May 1990, Gaviria Trujillo became the new president. In "Drug Lords", we saw the meeting of American Ambassador Noonan and Gavilia. When talking about their common enemy, the Medellin drug cartel, the U.S. ambassador was quite tough. She strongly urged the Colombian government to accept the support of the U.S. military because "Colombia is completely out of control." Gavilia also pointed out tit-for-tat, “Recent data shows that Americans consumed 660 tons of cocaine last year. If you can solve the domestic drug problem in the United States, our fight against drug dealers will not be so difficult.”
After Estepa's death, the business of the Medellin drug group was taken over by the Cali drug group. This is also the story told in the third season of "Drug Lord". In the episode, we see Esteba's mother, refusing to admit the crimes committed by her son, and asking "Why can't people see the football stadium he built, and the poor people he helped?" Actually Not only his mother, but also his wife Maria Enao has always been his supporter, even though she had reminded him to "avoid violence."
After Estepa's death, his family first sought refuge in Mozambique, then went to Brazil, and finally settled in Argentina under a pseudonym. Later, Maria became a successful real estate merchant until one of her partners discovered her true identity. After being exposed, she was detained by the local police station for 18 months. During the investigation of her accounts by the local police, there was no evidence that her income was related to drug trafficking. So the police released her.
In the eyes of Estepa’s son, the father is a “person with a mischievous smile on his face. For his mother, he is a perfect lover. I was deeply moved by his generosity and love. Go everywhere to build schools and help the poor. From beginning to end, he is a gentleman." In the
eyes of a thousand people, there are a thousand Escobar. Perhaps Escobar was not born a demon, but the times guided and shaped him.
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