Like Mzansi, Mexico has a high crime rate and a section of the population is worried that TV shows “glorifying it” are making the problem worse.
TV shows such as Yizo Yizo which was based on the life of gangsters and The Queen’s drug trade storyline has cast the spotlight on illegal activities over the years.
Netflix’s Narcos: Mexico which tells the story of the Mexican drug cartel and the rise of notorious drug boss Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo can be added to that list.
While audiences will no doubt fall in and out of love with Miguel during the course of the show, the actor who brought him to life, Diego Luna says he does not believe the series glorifies crime or the drug trade.
“If you watch the series completely, you realise how dark it gets. Certainly there have been projects that glorify drug dealing but as audiences we are always looking for the twisted and dark. The characters that cross the lines you and I are not willing to cross. You cannot blame Narcos for that. That is Shakespeare. That is mafia films. That is westerns.”