While looking over the globalization presentation, I was interested in how audiences from different locations would be catered to. The telenovela I have been watching was Pablo Escobar: El Patron del Mal. This telenovela is a Coloumbian production that is shown through small details and accuracy of the time period. Narcos is a Netflix original series that premiered in 2015. For many Americans, this U.S. series brought Latin American culture into their living room, likely for the first time. Pablo Escobar El Patron del Mal was ahead this curve by 3 years. While both productions are focus on the same topic and the historic figure Pablo Escobar, both are different in their approach.
I invested some time watching Narcos. I was interested on how they varied from one another. As I watch Narcos the appeal is immediately toward an American audience. The narrator of the series is an American DEA agent speaking in English. The way they present the subject is a way I would call a manhunt. The drug trafficking business is, of course, illegal and that is why I believed that they approached this topic in that manner. When they first introduce Escobar he is already established his name and his business. They include Spanish when the characters are actually use the language as their native tongue.
Comparing the two productions next to each other was fascinating to me. Pablo Escobar El Patron del Mal is a stand out telenovela. The telenovela carries the characteristics of a telenovela with the cast adding suspense and drama. For me, Narcos lacked a certain flair that brought Latino culture into the spotlight. I think that is intentional due to Narcos focusing on an American audience. The telenovela's intention was to give the background and story of Escobar. While Narcos sets up this focus on the DEA agent and his mission to stop the drug trafficking. I think the globalization of the story was present between these two productions. I enjoyed both these productions, however Narcos did not pull me to the edge of my seat as the telenovela did.
You bring up a very interesting point about the differences between the same story line, just portrayed in different cultures. When you say that "Narcos" did not pull you to the edge of your seat the way that "Pablo Escobar" does, I wonder what cultural differences would come into play for that to be the case. Due to the fact that Latin American citizens are so accustomed to the telenovela industry, are they more used to the high-intensity drama and "edge of seat" storylines, more so than Americans are? I wonder if Americans are not as used to the drama the way the other culture may be, so the writers re-wrote the narrative. Also, Americans are much more focused on the idea of legal justice, which I am sure is why they changed the narrative from learning about Pablo, to the chase of the drugs themselves.
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