Narcos - the Identity Game

Netflix's Season 3 on Narcos is out now! It is a riveting piece of historical story telling (50% drama 50% history) about the drug wars in Columbia. One thing I loved about Narcos Seasons 1 & 2 is that they were book ended by the idea of Magical Realism, a literary style popularized in the works of Gabriel Marquez who is a Colombian Nobel Laurent . In Magical realistic literature the natural and the supernatural, in the form of dreams, visions etc..., smoothly interlace. 

It shouldn't be surprising that a story about drug lords has parallels to magical realism, after all, the drug lords wield godlike powers of life and death over individuals, communities and even nations. Their natural life has super natural powers whether it be about pronouncing people dead or pleasuring people with cocaine ecstasy.  

That question is how do these few men get to be super powerful?

I think the answer is in the power of identity. The drug lords are powerful because they have men whose only ethic in life is to be true to their identity as "bandits."  This bandit army will bring the words of their drug lords to reality whether it be assassinating politicians or blowing up passenger flights. It is the power of these bandit soldier that makes the natural lives of the drug lords seem imbued with super natural powers. The empire of the drug Lords is enduring in as much as the bandit soldiers hold true to their identity, never siding with law enforcement even if the cost is their death.  Two scenes depict the power of this identity, keeping the cartels powerful an intact.

Scene one: Pablo Escobar's cousin, his right hand man, Gustavo, is nabbed by the police. The police torture him to get him to disclose location of Escobar. In spite of beating him black and blue... and red, he stays resolute in his bandit silence. Blood all over his face... mouth... nose... he raises himself up one last time breaks into a loud laughter surprising his torturers. Then he looks them in the eyes and with the last of his strength cries out aloud, "I am a bandit!" Breathes his last. The police tortures look around at themselves, rather lost! Their power couldn't break him. How can they break the cartel?! 

Scene two: Pablo Escobar is betrayed by bosses of rival cartels. At the end Pablo Escobar realizes that noose tightening around him. His wife wants him to surrender to the police because that will keep him alive. Escobar is caught in the horns of dilemma - should he surrender in order to live or go down fighting as a bandit? It is a battle of identities - which identity will win? The rat or the bandit? A part of him leans towards surrendering, but feels restless. As Escobar, in partial disguise, freely walks around his home town, knowing this may be his last walk. He has a vision. He sees his dead cousin, Gustavo. He and Gustavo reminiscence on their bandit life. Gustavo listens to his dilemma and says, "Remember you are a bandit," then puff he disappears. Escobar has made up his mind. The Bandit identity wins! He will go down fighting, true to his bandit identity.

Remembering ones true identity is key to living into ones destiny. In Deuteronomy God repeatedly exhorts Israelites to remember what He has done and to teach their kids to remember. One has to remember ones identity in order to endure suffering. For example, when my identity as a healthy person is strong it gives me the strength to suffer seeing donuts but not eating them! Not unlike the bandits who endure suffering because the strength of their identity. Identity is the emotive force the motivates action. Of course, the bandits suffer and live for ultimately self seeking motives. The Christian on the other hand lives and suffers for the sake of the glory of God.

Christian's life, in union with Christ through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, is a form of magical realism thanks to the supernatural Spirit living within the natural embodiment - John 14:23. A key part of the work of the Holy Spirit is to remind Christians of the Truth - John 14:26. The Narcos game really was identity game. If the cops couldn't break the bandit identity then they couldn't break the cartels. Christianity is as much an identity game in as much as the Christians identity is rooted in Christ vs the self. Of course the Christian ethic is the opposite of the Narcos ethic Gustavo reminds Pablo the truth about himself at a key point of decision making. Similarly, the Holy Spirit reminds us the truth about ourselves, fostering identity affirmation, helping the Christian to suffer for the sake of the Gospel, ultimately dying (to old selfish-identity) in order to live the spirit-powered, magically-real, super-hero life.