Introduction
Pablo Escobar was the most influential, richest drug lord globally, and he ruled the Medellin Cartel with cruelty
Andres Escobar was the best football star in Colombia.
The two were not related.
The movie narrates the story of what is referred to as “narco-soccer.”
Background Research
Crime is a multidimensional social deviation which has its own individual, special and general sources.
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One of today’s most advanced sociological models of crime factors is the structural conception of violence.
People tend to become more included to commit crimes such as murder and corruption, for their won gains.
Theory
Modernization theory explains the modernization process within societies.
The theory assumes that wealthy countries were able to amass wealth since early on, they developed the necessary practices, values and beliefs for industrialization, trade and rapid economic development to take place.
Data and Analysis
At the peak of his power in the illegal drug trade, Pablo was the King of Colombia, and shamelessly killed some of the lawmen and politicians who dared challenging his legitimacy.
Pablo was a hero to the poor, rebuilding schools and houses and offering an infrastructure which the government was unable.
At the core of the film is poverty, crime and death, orchestrated by the actions of money laundering and corruption.
Conclusion, Implications and Recommendations
The analysis of the film shows how poverty, corruption and murder are intertwined.
Based on the theory of modernization, poor countries are unable to provide for its citizens.
The implication of this study is that countries should strive to create wealth for their citizens, as one way of minimizing economic crimes related to poverty.
Nations should use all their available resources to improve the lives of its people.
Introduction
Pablo Escobar was the most influential, richest drug lord globally, and he ruled the Medellin Cartel with cruelty ( Gaviria, 2014). On the other hand, Andres Escobar was the best football star in Colombia. Both were unrelated, although their fates were intricately and lethally entwined. The drug money of Pablo had made the Colombian national soccer team the champions of South America, favorites of winning the 1994 World Cup in Los Angeles ( Pobutsky, 2013) . So, it was there, during a match against the United States, that Andres committed the one of the greatest error in the history of football, scoring an “own goal” which removed his team from World Cup and eventually led to his death. “The Two Escobars” is a fascinating exploration of the connection between politics, crime and sports ( Zimbalist, Zimbalist & Zimbalist, 2010) . For Colombians, soccer was not just a game – their whole national identity was founded on their team’s success or failure.
The movie narrates the story of what is referred to as “narco-soccer.” The term is derived from an era in the history of Colombia when the kingpins of cocaine used soccer teams for laundering money. There was no drug lord more influential than Pablo Escobar. He makes a compelling character in the film, and he is depicted as a ruthless murder or a Robin Hood-kind of hero to the poor ( Thompson, 1996) . This contrast would easily justify him as being both Escobars as the film title refers ( Zimbalist, Zimbalist & Zimbalist, 2010) . Nevertheless, the second Escobar, while compelling, is less controversial. Andres Escobar, as mentioned above, was the star defensive player for the national team of Colombia ( Krupp, 2010) . He grew up as a devout Catholic and felt that he could improve his country by playing soccer. He gained international fame after scoring an own goal in the 1994 World Cup against the US.
Background Research
Crime is a multidimensional social deviation which has its own individual, special and general sources. Various forms of crimes including corruption, poverty and murder have individual or specific causes and conditions. Nonetheless, crime investigations in various cultural and social environments indicate that some political, social and economic conditions are especially favorable to its dissemination ( Parker, 1989) . Wars, poverty, social differences, social inequalities, cultural backwardness, unemployment, corruption and criminalized power, constant economic and political crisis, and institutional disorganization are favorable to the social setting from which it traps crime and most other social deviances. Social inequalities in the twenty-first century have reached unconstrained levels.
Half of the world population live in poverty, over one third of people live in dejected conditions, millions of people suffer from malnutrition, almost a billion are not literate, over a billion lack drinking water, and billions have no access to electivity. The twentieth century has constantly experienced political and social violence and crimes, with the peak of wars and crimes not reported in the civilization’s history.
One of today’s most advanced sociological models of crime factors is the structural conception of violence, which fundamentally represents a component of the theory of the rise of aggressive manifestation of corruption and poverty but insists on social structure as their main source. The implication of structural violence is that any threat to human resources by political or economic structure ( Galtung, 1969) . Inequality in accessing political or any other form of power, legal protection, education, and healthcare are typical types of structural violence which is normally invisible and emerge from the very social structure – it predetermines people’s position based on their political, cultural, ethnic and economic features. It is also true that economic opportunities unavoidably affect the general social organization, a decline in social capital, and the decrease in pro-social as well as non-violent values ( Galtung, 2018) . Thus, people tend to become more included to commit crimes such as murder and corruption, for their won gains. It is as well that economic opportunities inevitably affect the overall social climate – the growth in unemployment, poverty, and anomy increases competition amongst people, decreases solidarity, ruins social cohesion, as well as, the normative system ( Van Gramberg, 2000) . The condition of social disorganization includes both the dissolution of the informal system of the obligations and values, and also weakens the formal system that creates the conditions for even higher disorganization that results for the growing crime rates and the general violence level in society. The increase in crime rates and violence in the social environment continuously affects every person individually.
Concerning the specific forms of criminality that are typical of capitalism, Bonger establishes the socio-economic basis for their roots. Bonger (1916) explores the causes of economic crimes, political crimes, infanticide, crime of revenge and sexual crimes. According to Bonger (1916), economic crimes like corruption have two origins. On the one hand, economic crimes are triggered by absolute poverty, and on the other hand, they are caused by poor education of children from the poorest classes.
Overall, this paper focuses on an analysis of the film “The Two Escobars,” to explore the relationship between poverty, corruption and murder. It discusses how poverty contributes to the crimes of corruption and murder, and how this relates to the characters in the film. Therefore, this paper will explore two key questions. The first question is, “how does the modernization theory relate to the crimes committed by Pablo Escobar in the film?” The second question is, based on the film, “how is poverty related to corruption and murder?” Thus, in the subsequent sections, this will be the main focus of the essay.
Theory
Modernization theory explains the modernization process within societies. Modernization is a concept of a progressive shift from a “pre-modern to a “modern” society. The theory emerged from the ideas of Max Weber, the German sociologist, which offered the foundation for the modernization model. The theory emphasizes on a country’s internal factors while assuming that with the help of “traditional” nations can be developed in the same way more advanced nations have been. The theory assumes that wealthy countries were able to amass wealth since early on, they developed the necessary practices, values and beliefs for industrialization, trade and rapid economic development to take place ( Attir, 2019) . Poor countries stayed poor since they were unable to develop such values, practices and beliefs – rather, they continued following traditional practices and beliefs which stymied industrial growth, as well as, modernization.
Since modernization theory suggests that individuals in poor countries lack the ability and talent for improving their lot, it can be regarded as a functionalist description of international inequalities. The theory puts largely blames poor nations for their poverty and disregards the extended history of exploitation of poor nations by wealthy countries as well as international corporations ( Attir, 2019) . Therefore, it is thus due to poverty that the underdeveloped countries experience high levels of crimes such as murders and corruption. The modernization assumption that poor countries are unable to improve themselves is thus convergent to the presumption that people in poor countries tend to engage in crimes because their countries lack the necessary resources for supporting them. This further shows the reasons why Pablo Escobar was able to sponsor the Colombian national team through money laundering, as well as murdering of people who opposed him.
Data and Analysis
The history of the tattered global reputation of Colombia is not a field that has not been explored, but the film offers an original approach to shaping it. A research in contrasts, the film revolves around two men who have the same last name – a handy relationship which helps in delving into thirty years of growth ( Thompson, 1996) . Telling the story of the rise and fall of Pablo Escobar, the notorious drug lord, and the late soccer hero, it revolves around.
At the peak of his power in the illegal drug trade, Pablo was the King of Colombia, and shamelessly killed some of the lawmen and politicians who dared challenging his legitimacy ( Krupp, 2010). However, his reign was not totally malevolent – while his philanthropy may not be derived from his self-interest, Pablo was a hero to the poor, rebuilding schools and houses and offering an infrastructure which the government was unable ( Pobutsky, 2013) . Also, he was passionate about global soccer, funneling drug money into pristine new neighborhood fields, and thriving different soccer league sin Colombia ( Parra & Suárez-Becerra, 2012) . This narrows down to the modernization theory, whereby poor countries are unable to provide for its citizens. Consequently, Pablo used that government’s failure to provide for the people in his neighborhood to rebuild schools and houses, and construct soccer fields, although this was a way of money laundering. With his power and wealth, he also killed ruthlessly, any person who opposed him.
Like any other talented person who could play soccer, Andres was a beneficiary of narco-soccer, although the film producers show him as a kind, reserved defenseman who attempted to keep his head down. The film implies that Andres was completely a victim of fate. The “own goal” he scored would have been a mistake of any other person, and the corrupt soccer culture which supported him was the same one which destroyed him. At the core of the film is poverty, crime and death, orchestrated by the actions of money laundering and corruption.
Conclusion, Implications and Recommendations
The analysis of the film shows how poverty, corruption and murder are intertwined. Crimes such as murder and corruption to poverty, both at the individual and national level. When people do not have money, they will tend to engage in all sorts of crimes, just to survive. Besides, the accumulation of wealth through illegal means leads to power, and those in power will do everything to remain in power. This is the case of Pablo Escobar, the drug kingpin, who used his accumulated wealth for philanthropic activities, although his main objective was to remain in power, and use this opportunity to engage in corrupt and money laundering activities. Based on the theory of modernization, poor countries are unable to provide for its citizens. So, Pablo used that government’s failure to provide for the people in his neighborhood to rebuild schools and houses, and construct soccer fields, although this was a way of money laundering. With his power and wealth, he also killed ruthlessly, any person who opposed him.
Overall, the implication of this study is that countries should strive to create wealth for their citizens, as one way of minimizing economic crimes related to poverty. Thus, it is recommended that nations use all their available resources to improve the lives of its people, so that they do not become victims of the few wealthy individuals who engage in criminal activities and who will do anything to control the masses, including killing them.
References
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