Heroes of our time. The figure of the drug-trafficker in Colombian narcotelenovelas

Authors

  • Diana Palaversich Spanish and Latin American Studies, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21301/eap.v11i2.7

Keywords:

narcotelenovelas, Colombia, Pablo Escobar, savage capitalism

Abstract

This paper examines the representation of drug traffickers in Colombian narcotelenovelas. While the Colombian official discourse treats these characters as the embodiment of evil and cruelty, narcotelenovelas treat them as models of social mobility in countries characterized by social injustice. The figure of drug trafficker (narcotraficante) represented in Colombian TV series is constructed at the intersection of two myths: the ancient myth of the social bandit, a brave macho man who steals from the rich and gives to the poor, and the contemporary myth about the capitalist entrepreneur (a self-made man) who rises from poverty and marginality to a position of power and wealth.

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Published

2016-06-20

How to Cite

Palaversich, Diana. 2016. “Heroes of Our Time. The Figure of the Drug-Trafficker in Colombian Narcotelenovelas”. Etnoantropološki Problemi Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology 11 (2):457-75. https://doi.org/10.21301/eap.v11i2.7.

Issue

Vol. 11 No. 2 (2016): Issues in Ethnology and Anthropology: Thematic Issue - Anthropology of Horror

Section

Scientific Articles

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

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