Narcos vs. OHYOS

I had a little bit of free time after school today and I was in between shows on Netflix, so I decided to start watching Narcos. My initial thoughts are how similar the show and its themes are to One Hundred Years of Solitude. Before even the first scene of Narcos, the term "magic realism" is defined and its relation with Latin America is described. Magic realism is certainly a huge part of OHYOS; Marquez uses the technique of intertwining the real and the fantastical throughout the novel to create a distinct, somewhat whimsical atmosphere. Narcos uses magic realism a little bit differently; the show doesn't have anything too magical like flying carpets and reincarnated dead people but it does carry a constant fairytale vibe. The way the show is narrated from a distant future looking back on the past is reminiscent of a 3rd person narrator of a fairytale. Coupled with the fact that the events of the show are pretty out of the ordinary, Narcos definitely does remind me of some sort of fictitious tale.

Another important similarity between Narcos and OHYOS is the constant association between characters and the Colombian identity. In Narcos, the narrator mentions Colombia and what it means to embody the Colombian identity quite a few times. He explains why Colombia became such a fertile ground for drug trafficking and how struggles in Colombian life impacted its citizens. National identity is also a clear struggle for Marquez in OHYOS. As Marquez explained in Nobel Prize acceptance speech, Colombia, like its neighboring Latin American nations, has encountered difficulties in creating a distinct national identity as foreign influences have been reigning over the nation for so long. Marquez places a good deal of emphasis on how the identity of Colombia changes over time and how the country's relationship with foreign culture affects its natives.


BTW: I'm still only on S1E5, but I will definitely update you guys on how I like the show. So far, so good.