The Films Miss Bala and El Infierno - Essay Example

Drug War Introduction In Mexico, the government has struggled for many years to fight drugs rather than other forms of war that one can think of. When other nations are fighting against other nations for freedom, power, oil and other aspects, Mexicans are fighting amongst themselves. This trend has been in existence for more than twenty years. The war in Mexico revolves around drugs which in turn give rise to other sorts of crimes. Since the war on drugs started in Mexico, drug-related deaths, arrests and drug smuggling across the American border have been reported. The issues that erupt as a result of drug trafficking have created numerous problems, both in the Mexican and the American border. The drug war in Mexico tends to strain economy, hence drawing government’s attention. The movies “Miss Bala” and “El Infierno” describe the war on drug arena from two different perspectives as discussed in this paper. Discussion Miss Bala “Miss Bala” gives an account of the narco drugs victims’ war while “El Infierno” revolves around cartel as well as government’s corruption. In “Miss Bala”, a very violent opera coupled by brutal drug wars among the Mexican gangs are revealed. Brash, loud and muscular aspects are brought out in the movie. Stephanie Sigman uses Laura, who is a very beautiful young woman as the film’s main character (Bradshaw 1). The movie describes the woman as determined to pull herself out of poverty by all means possible. The context of the movie describes Laura in a local beauty context. Laura eventually becomes a member of gangsters. Her life changes when she mixes herself with very scary gangsters. The gangsters tend to take a shine on Laura. The gangsters arrange how Laura will do the unexpected, especially in this corrupt competition. Laura was focused on the sale of clothes which was her source of livelihood. The gangs understood that Laura does few errands and can also use her celebrity to their advantage. She turns out to be in an ironic position in that seemed to deserve the beauty queen crown that ended up being tarnished by the drug war that came on her way. Laura eventually becomes a victim in the whole drug war context in this movie (Bradshaw 1). She was also determined to improve the life of her brother. She was on the lookout for anything that would promise her a better life. This is the main reason Laura was struggling for this pageant. Laura is closely followed by the drug gang up to the pageant audition. She, however, met her friend in the pageant by the name Suzu. Laura ends up being accepted as a contestant. Laura tried to look for her friend in the club that evening throbbing with dancers and music (Malkin 1). Laura starts staring at figures that were placed against the theatre’s wall. She realized that that the stage evoked a visual sense from the dimmed theater wings to the lighted stage. At some point, there is a creepy scene whereby the drug cartel invaded the club. They started shooting people in the club and killed many the partying drug execution agents inclusive. Laura finally manages to escape. However, the leader of the cartel by the name Lino notices her. It became evident that everyone who was taking part in the drug war had a role to play (Bradshaw p.1). The cartel, the military, the police, as well as the dead in the streets, had specific roles for them play. Eventually, Laura becomes the victim of the drug war by being forced by this cartel to enroll in the intrigues. She is perceived as the one in control of the entire drug gang. She came just for a beauty contest and ended up as a member of the cartels. She becomes ensnared in drug war she had not planned for. She is revealed in the movie curling her long body in a bathroom to hide. This was in the club when the drug gunmen bumped in the club and started shooting people in the club. In the attack time, there was a quaking soldier who was waiting for this gang attack (Malkin p.3). The drug boss also decided to tape some packets of cash on her waist while the soldier was looking. The film “Miss Bala” indicates very well how one can become a victim of a drug war unknowingly. Laura was just looking for means to improve the lives of his father and brother. She, however, becomes a victim of the war and on top of it a member of the gang in a situation that she could not relieve herself. The whole scenario shows that the drug cartel had great power to influence the Mexicans and transform them the way they wished. The soldier who was there could not act in any way contrary to the drug gang’s wish. They, however, killed people the way they wished, recruited Laura as per their plan (Bradshaw 1). This indicates that any Mexican was not safe from becoming a victim of the drug war as well as the members of the cartel without their will and consent. However, the leading cause of the drug business is the high levels of poverty among the Mexicans. The main reason as to why Laura became a victim of the drug cartel was in search for means of improving her life and the lives of her close relatives. This shows that the government of Mexico has to start addressing the poverty issue before starting to kill the drug gangsters (Malkin 4). This is the sole way of dealing with this whole issue. El Infierno “El Infierno” is another Mexican film that revolves around the war on drugs. It was directed by Luis Estrada and produced in the year 2010. It can be termed as a political satire revolving around organized crime, drug trafficking as well as the Mexican drug war. This film revolves around the political aspect when in matters concerning drug trafficking. Corruption in the government agencies is the leading factor that allows drug trafficking to gain strength in Mexico (Miller 1). The stronger the business, the more the war on drugs becomes tough. Unlike in “Miss Bala” film which entailed victimization this film analyzes the real drug traffickers and the way they interrelate with the government officials. It is worth noting that poverty is attributed to the war on the drug in this film as it was in the film “Miss Bala”. “El Infierno” revolves around the story of a guy known as Benny Garcia. This man left his mother and his younger brother and immigrated to the United States. He was deported back to Mexico after twenty years. We find an American border guard telling Benny to move along as he entered his country and warned him on returning to the United States. These two countries are contrasted in the film, and the United States is termed as a land of opportunities while Mexico is referred to as a gang-torn nation. On coming, he found things had changed and found that his brother had become a dealer before his demise (Miller 1). He died as a result of some violence. He had, however, married a hot prostitute who was a smoker and they had a son. Benny decided to pick up the pieces and started taking care of the family of his brother. He, however, got more than he had bargained for. Besides the obvious perks and sexing up the old lady of his brother, he became the father figure to this boy. There was nothing much was left in their hometown. This means that if you need money, he had to deal with drugs while Don Jose Reyes was the local kingpin in this sector. Benny’s desire to provide for the family unit that he had newly acquired led him to drug dealing. From that point, things started accelerating significantly. Money started rolling in for him. He hence continued sinking deeper and deeper in the narco trade (Hernandez p.2). Bodies started piling up around him. In the entire film, greed and corruption carried its better part and infected even the character types that were most innocent including the priests and the police. The aged and the young teens were also not left out in this trade. Benny became a little greedy, and he even started paying the price in blood. The film’s story was delivered in the void of irony. The film that initially turns out to be very funny turns out to be very violent. Shooting then erupts. The film exploded ultimately with a blood bath of the drug cartel turf war. All the men who were involved in the cartel got scathed. All the deaths that took place were earned, and it paid off with great moments in the final scene. For about 15 minutes, the film paid the audience with a hellish fury of the gangland conflicts (Miller 4). The movie depicted acts of extreme violence that took place in the drug war in Mexico. People got beheaded, and heads were revealed being rolled in a public space. The hit men chopped off their enemies’ fingers or ears, or they appeared stuffing their fatalities into barrels of acid (Miller p.3). One man is left by the roadside while dead and sitting against a tree and wearing a sombrero. One of the films scenes depicts the main capo of the town in a very friendly photograph with Vincent Fox, the former Mexican president, and Pope John Paul 2. Another film’s scene depicts the office of a corrupt federal investigator who is very corrupt. This investigator swipes directly at President Felipe Calderon whose portrait was hanged on the wall. The investigator is also depicted making a call directly to a drug lord (Miller 2). The film hence pinpoints the unexpected people as inside this business. The fact that the former president is revealed having a friendly photograph with men in the drug cartel reveals that is a lot of inconsistencies in the officials. The former president should be in the front line condemning drug trafficking rather than having in friendship with the drug lords. It could be right to argue that the former president is among the drug cartels since the birds of the same feather flocks together. This becomes a clear indication that the government officials are also facilitating drug trafficking rather than fighting it (Hernandez 3). The pope was also not left behind in taking a friendly photograph with a drug trafficker. The only friendship that is expected to be between a man of God with a drug trafficker is when he has changed from drug trafficking. Another friendship beyond that is questionable. He is supposed to be in the first line condemning these acts, as well as these guys, so as to change their ways. It hence turns out to be very ironical. Finally, the investigator is revealed calling a drug lord. This turns out to be the biggest irony in this film. These are two people who are not supposed to be seeing each other or communicating in any way. He is the person responsible for dealing with the drug lords, but he is busy being on good terms with them. This clearly reveals that drug trafficking has become such strong as a result of corruption among the government officials who are obligated to fight it (Hernandez 4). Conclusion The two films that have been discussed above reveal that the war on drugs can be analyzed from various aspects. In the film, “Miss Bala” one is capable of viewing how one can easily become a victim of the drug war without one’s consent or will. In “El Infierno”, on the other hand, the film indicates that the government officials usually collaborate with the drug lords. This is caused by the corruption aspect. This gives the drug lords a golden opportunity to execute their business in an environment that is favorable to them. This, however, should not be the case. The two films disclosed that poverty is among the factors that drive people into drug cartels. This, therefore, need to be addressed if they wish to succeed in the fight against the drug lords. Works Cited Bradshaw, Peter. “Miss Bala – review” Gerardo Naranjo's Hollywood-inflected film about a beauty queen is sexed up rather than sexy. New York: Wiley, 2011. Print Hernandez, Daniel. "El Infierno." Los Angeles: Los Angeles Times, 2010. Print Miller, Neil. “Fantastic review: ‘el narco’ deals style, humor and violence in equal measure.” Boston, MA: Wiley, 2011. Print Malkin, Elisabeth. “In the Crossfire of the Mexican War on Drugs”. New York: New York Times, 2012. Print Read More