Drug and oil networks: two marginals networks in Traffic and Syriana

Résumé du document

According to the Longman dictionary, a network is ?a large system of lines, tubes, wires etc that cross one another or are connected with one another'. Traffic and Syriana are (dealing with networks) large systems of characters, institutions and interests that cross one another or are connected with one another. Traffic depicts the story of a judge who is appointed by the President to fight against drug traffic when he finds out that his daughter is a drug addict and that drug cartels are richer and stronger than the police. Syriana is about how the CIA and the oil industry conspire to preserve the status quo which also protects their power and profits. The drug network and the oil network are both marginals toward the law; a margin is ?an area down the side of a page near the edge, where there is no writing, or printing'. These two networks act in the margins of law; the illegal drug traffic breaks the law and the CIA goes beyond the law. The problem is not that the CIA breaks the law but that it breaks the law to help oil companies which is in turn detrimental to the Middle East people. It is literally an abuse of power on a world scale. The analysis of these two movies shows how the two networks are similar; How the CIA and Oil Company work on the same wavelength as the drug cartels? How the United States has managed to lead the countries in the Middle East and not fight against drug cartels.

Extraits

[...] Syriana shows the organisation of networks: toward Al Quaida, it shows young people enlist in it because they have been fired by the oil company and they are hungry. Al Quaida takes advantage of it. There is a scene showing a teacher of the Koranic school telling them about the Koran in a fondamentalist way meanwhile they are eating. (00:38:00)This scene is everything but pro- terrorism. These immigrants never went to school and are hungry: the teacher's speech enters them like food, at the same time that food. [...]

[...] United States's oil companies need an Emir who obeys them. To hide how things really are, to show them as they were honest and good is a basis of this kind of network. It's logical to hide such illegal things. But, the worse is that most of people now what really happens. It's an open secret. About drug, we already said DEA hasn't money enough compared to drug cartels, the network of war drug is corrupted and as long as the demand will exist, the offer won't stop. [...]

[...] Bibliography KNAEBEL, Simon, et al., eds. Marges, marginalites et institution Cerf/Cerit LONGMAN DICTIONNARY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE AND CULTURE, New Edition, Fourth impression 2000 Filmography Traffic Dir. Steven Soderbergh. Screenplay Stephen Gagha. Perf. Michael Douglas, Catherine Zeta Jones, Benicio Del Toro, Denis Quaid.International Entertainment Group.2000 Syriana Dir. Stephen Gaghan. Perf. George Clooney, Matt Damon, Jeffrey Wright. [...]

[...] For both drug and oil market networks it's extremely important to look honest and fair. Carl Alaya is a marginal secant a borderline being. He belongs to two different worlds: the common world and the drug world. He suffers from a dual social personality. He seems to have an honest job, a nice family and to be a good citizen. But his money comes from drug trafficking. Even his wife is unaware about his true incomes. His family looks like an ideal family: wealthy, living in a nice house, his wife doesn't work and spends her time taking care of her son. [...]

[...] Drug and oil networks: two marginals networks in Traffic and Syriana According to the Longman dictionnary, a network is a large system of lines, tubes, wires etc. that cross one another or are connected with one another Traffic and Syriana are networks (dealing with networks): large systems of characters, institutions and interests that cross one another or are connected with one another. Traffic is the story of a judge who is appointed by the President to fight against drug traffic; he finds out his daugthter is drug addicted and that drug cartels are richer and stronger than the police. [...]