Pablo Escobar

 Our discussion on Pablo Escobar and visit from Dr. Jason Ruiz was fascinating and eye opening. I my opinion one of the most interesting aspects we discussed was how differently “Narcos” – a United States produced series – versus “El Patron Del Mar” – a Columbian produced series – presents Escobar. In the American presentation of Escobar DEA agents expose him, and Escobar is presented in a glamorized and palatable way. On the contrary, the Colombian presentation of Escobar is more historically accurate, and journalists and historians expose him. I find the different representations of Escobar problematic because whether we like it or not much of the public consumes Latin America through tv shows like this. How people like Escobar are portrayed is what the public is going to believe to be true about him and what happened in his life. We need to be careful about the stereotypes that we are perpetuating in the media, because the more these stereotypes are seen the more they will be believed to be true.

            Further as viewers of media like this we need to be aware of the biases and motivations that the producers of these shows hold. In class Dr. Ruiz discussed how the producers of “El Patron Del Mar” are decedents of people who were killed by Escobar. This is a significant bias they bring to the production and when viewing the show, we need to remember that these people are going to have a very specific political stance that is shown in their portrayal of the events of Escobar’s life. While other producers may not bring emotional biases to their productions, Hollywood productions are always motivated to a certain extent by money. They have to produce a show that is going to attract and engage viewers therefore producing a profit. This often leads to over dramatization of events which as viewers we need to keep in mind. In conclusion, I found this discussion of Pablo Escobar and his portrayal in television shows a fascinating look at how characters are presented and the stereotypes this might perpetuate.