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[Bragr]

It's good, I watched it all, but I find it dishonest. For starters, the cartels aren't just some drug crime gangs, they are terrorist factions, who compare to isis more than what we consider gangs. They aren't only killing other gang members but there are reports of them killing children and random civilians by the thousands. While the show is extremely brutal, it's also not showing the depravity that is really going on. It's rather normal that drug cartels target civilians for terror purposes, there are stories where they stop busses and butcher everyone aboard.

It's normal practice to capture random women and rape them for sport. This ain't really the sort of people you create a popular crime show about that people sit and watch on a Saturday afternoon.

You might as well make a show about how nazis kill jews and try to present it as some dark interesting crime drama, I find the whole thing really strange. These gangs are destroying nations, and millions suffer under the effects of brutal drug cartels, how does this get presented as just another Netflix show? I would imagine that for many people living there this must be the most perverse show possible.

 

[RJMacready73]

You are aware there are differing cartels, some more barbaric than others also this a TV show FFS they ain't gonna sell many series round the world if they show children being raped and women being skinned alive now are they??

Also it's a class show and does what it does well, besides it's plenty brutal

 

[*Nightwing]

Reality often does not fit into the narrative of cinematic storytelling

 

[DragoonKain]

It's not a documentary, it's not supposed to be honest it's supposed to be fun to watch.

 

[Bragr]

It's not a documentary, it's not supposed to be honest it's supposed to be fun to watch.

But that's the problem, this is not the sort of story you make into a fun-to-watch tv show. There are moral limits to how much you twist evil into commercial products.

 

[ArtemisClydeFrog]

But that's the problem, this is not the sort of story you make into a fun-to-watch tv show. There are moral limits to how much you twist evil into commercial products.

Apparently you haven't heard of Alan Jackson.

 

[DragoonKain]

But that's the problem, this is not the sort of story you make into a fun-to-watch tv show. There are moral limits to how much you twist evil into commercial products.

Maybe to you there are moral limits, but not to 99% of the rest of the world.

 

[belmarduk]

It's good, I watched it all, but I find it dishonest. For starters, the cartels aren't just some drug crime gangs, they are terrorist factions, who compare to isis more than what we consider gangs. They aren't only killing other gang members but there are reports of them killing children and random civilians by the thousands. While the show is extremely brutal, it's also not showing the depravity that is really going on. It's rather normal that drug cartels target civilians for terror purposes, there are stories where they stop busses and butcher everyone aboard.

It's normal practice to capture random women and rape them for sport. This ain't really the sort of people you create a popular crime show about that people sit and watch on a Saturday afternoon.

You might as well make a show about how nazis kill jews and try to present it as some dark interesting crime drama, I find the whole thing really strange. These gangs are destroying nations, and millions suffer under the effects of brutal drug cartels, how does this get presented as just another Netflix show? I would imagine that for many people living there this must be the most perverse show possible.

They absolutely show the brutality. I mean, they have Pablo Escobar lying to a kid to get him onto a plane and unknowingly detonate a bomb to kill everyone on board. The show doesn't gloss over that these were horrible people.

 

[godhandiscen]

It is questionable TV that humanizes terrorists. I feel you OP. I wouldn’t be surprised if someone used it as a propaganda vehicle.

 

[MastaKiiLA]

Were the cartels doing all those things back when the shows are based? I thought the terror aspects only became more common in the past decade or so. I thought the shows covered the 80s-90s, the rise of the Medellin and Sinaloa cartels.

 

[bitbydeath]

Eh, it’s all entertainment.

 

[daveonezero]

The only reason the most violent of people go into the drug war and in turn use it to fund other things is because some people think it’s ok to make said substances illegal and push them to the black market.

 

[IntentionalPun]

Don't they murder an entire club full of people in the first scene of Season 1?

And of course there's the whole 'blowing up an airliner to get one guy who wasn't even there" thing.

They show plenty of brutal stuff in the Mexican Cartel season too.. it's just not set in modern times, it's based generally on how those original cartels acted... they were a loose band of pot growers at the beginning of that season... chronologically it takes place before the events of the other seasons.

 

[mortal]

You make some interesting points, but to be fair Narcos the Netflix series was never meant to serve as a documentary reflective of reality.
It's very much dramatized and romanticized to some degree. It's a form of entertainment and art, so creative freedom will be involved with storytelling like that.

Maybe you would've appreciated a drug cartel drama that was more realistic and better captured the very disturbed emotional and psychological effects involved in drug cartels and the effects they have on the societies they inhabit.
Although you'd have to remember you're still trying to tell a compelling story to an audience here and have portray interesting characters. It's still a form of art, not the journalism or the news.
Don't fall into the mistake of wanting it to be something it was never intended to be, simply because it's exploring very morbid or taboo subjects.
You can extrapolate that very same argument to just about any movie, series, or even video games. War dramas, action films, even military shooters like COD for instance.

This ain't really the sort of people you create a popular crime show about that people sit and watch on a Saturday afternoon.

Lmao yea no fucking kidding. Anyone that's seen their share of images or videos from drug cartel murders understand it's not exactly pleasant to view like a tv show.
To say it's not for the faint of heart would be a gross understatement


Although I do agree, it is rather strange that we do this as a species. We're strange animals, man.

 

[Porcile]

You should watch l The Corner if you want a realistic portrayal of how drugs damage communities and people. I believe it was uploaded to Youtube last time I checked.

 

[Hulk_Smash]

I kind of agree with you OP. It really is impossible to show everything without getting banned in some countries.

But, I think the show makes its point about who the villains really are and how evil they truly are.

Another scene that happens I think in season two is he hires some revolutionaries to bomb the Supreme Court just to destroy evidence against him... and then brutally murders the revolutionaries.

“Even to a guy like me, that’s just cold.” - other villains.

 

[Mattyp]

You might as well make a show about how nazis kill jews and try to present it as some dark interesting crime drama, I find the whole thing really strange.

These gangs are destroying nations, and millions suffer under the effects of brutal drug cartels, how does this get presented as just another Netflix show? I would imagine that for many people living there this must be the most perverse show possible.

Honestly sounds like refreshing idea for a tv show, but since it’s killing Jews it’s an automatic no of course from anyone in charge but if it was about communist soviets doing the killing it would get the green light.

Its not a documentary, and once the US stems is drug addiction the amount of brutal violence will drop. So never I guess. Plenty of real life docos if that’s your thing, one thing this show was never billed as but.

 

[haxan7]

OP is 100% correct. Large swaths of the population who consume this media lack any sort of moral compass and only have the most vague idea of the difference between right and wrong. Can't see what evil is when it's staring them in the face, and wouldn't have the capacity to care if it was explained to them in detailed and direct terms.

 

[mxbison]

Agree. Why didn't they give him 12 year old girlfriends in the show? Too authentic?

Same with the Mafia being displayed as something honorable, pimps as cool, etc. etc.

 

[nkarafo]

I saw some videos of what drug cartels do in real life.

Let's say that shit would never make it on TV. It makes 80's bodyhorror movies look like Saturday morning cartoons. Maybe some independent, experimental gorefest "snuff" movies come close.

Would you be OK if they made Narcos that way?

 

[Party McHardy]

I’ve read articles how this series and others like it are highly problematic and align with political agendas. As a non- American I found Narcos entertaining but reaffirming in that I never want to visit the South American continent.

 

[MaestroMike]

I’ve read articles how this series and others like it are highly problematic and align with political agendas. As a non- American I found Narcos entertaining but reaffirming in that I never want to visit the South American continent.

Missing out south america is beautiful and colombia is a lot safer. This story took place decades ago.

 

[QSD]

I’ve read articles how this series and others like it are highly problematic and align with political agendas. As a non- American I found Narcos entertaining but reaffirming in that I never want to visit the South American continent.

I travelled through Mexico, Belize and Guatemala solo at the start of 2019. As a tourist I felt quite safe there.

 

[MastaKiiLA]

I’ve read articles how this series and others like it are highly problematic and align with political agendas. As a non- American I found Narcos entertaining but reaffirming in that I never want to visit the South American continent.

Like with any country that isn't a nation state, you just have to be mindful of where you go. The majority of places will be fine. Ironically, the only place I've ever traveled to, where I encountered crime was Paris. Right there in the Paris Nord station, a girl tried to pick my dad's pocket while getting on a subway. Never seen such a thing before, and I've lived in Brooklyn and Bangkok, and traveled all over SEA. I'd love to take a trip around South America some time.

 

[Bragr]

Maybe to you there are moral limits, but not to 99% of the rest of the world.

I don't think so, most people aren't really contemplating what they are watching because the show is portrayed as just another crime show, and because when people enjoy something, they have a tendency to conveniently come up with reasons why it's ok. This is basically a show about war crimes by drug militias. For some reason, society hasn't flagged drug cartels on the level of say taliban or the like, but it really is more in line with such groups.

 

[Bragr]

The only reason the most violent of people go into the drug war and in turn use it to fund other things is because some people think it’s ok to make said substances illegal and push them to the black market.

No, culture, corrupt institutions.

 

[Bragr]

You make some interesting points, but to be fair Narcos the Netflix series was never meant to serve as a documentary reflective of reality.

Yes, but should you be able to skew these sorts of events for TV? how come it's socially acceptable to write Netflix shows about the suffering of millions (counting victims and their loved ones) into a crime show that tries to portray these people like the cool crazy drug lords of Mexico?

I feel similar about movies about serial killers for example, like the countless movies about ted bundy. Do people really know what a fuck they are watching? I get the sense people are incapable of internalizing the horrors of what they are watching. It's all just popcorn for people, but when it comes to extreme cases like the drug wars in south america, it's should be too extreme to just accept commercial fun tv about it.

People are ready to riot if a tv show features a homosexual slur but love to watch drug cartels murder thousands on saturday night because it got a good fun plot.

 

[Cyberpunkd]

Like with any country that isn't a nation state, you just have to be mindful of where you go. The majority of places will be fine. Ironically, the only place I've ever traveled to, where I encountered crime was Paris. Right there in the Paris Nord station, a girl tried to pick my dad's pocket while getting on a subway. Never seen such a thing before, and I've lived in Brooklyn and Bangkok, and traveled all over SEA. I'd love to take a trip around South America some time.

Well, Gare du Nord is exactly the definition of a place you wouldn’t want to go if you don’t have to.

Regarding cartel portrayal in media - it’s the same as romanticised portrayal of pirates.

 

[Phunkydiabetic]

Were the cartels doing all those things back when the shows are based? I thought the terror aspects only became more common in the past decade or so. I thought the shows covered the 80s-90s, the rise of the Medellin and Sinaloa cartels.

The fuckin guy brought down a commercial airliner...among many other things haha. All in the 80s/90s

 

[Party McHardy]

Like with any country that isn't a nation state, you just have to be mindful of where you go. The majority of places will be fine. Ironically, the only place I've ever traveled to, where I encountered crime was Paris. Right there in the Paris Nord station, a girl tried to pick my dad's pocket while getting on a subway. Never seen such a thing before, and I've lived in Brooklyn and Bangkok, and traveled all over SEA. I'd love to take a trip around South America some time.

I too got harassed by Gypsie kids when I went to that station.