The last time we examined the structural changes at Univision, we looked at the internal pressures faced by the network as it tries to capture a larger share of the Millenial audience and expand its digital footprint- while still depending heavily on Spanish-language entertainment for ratings and revenue. Early signs point to a crackup.
A recent column published on Fusion delves into the problematics posed by "...Hollywood's obsession over Latino drug lords", with author Caitlin Cruz citing Netflix' Narcos as an example. Per Cruz:
The second season of Netflix’s Narcos begins with the voiceover of an American in a vague regional accent (maybe southern?) saying, “Okay, here we go again.” With that, we’re back into the mostly true account of the hunt for Colombian drug king Pablo Escobar, played by Wagner Moura. The hunt is led by that maybe-southern voice, DEA agent Steve Murphy, who is portrayed by all-American model Boyd Holbrook.
Murphy is one of the few white people in the show, and yet he’s still the one guiding us through the cocaine-streaked and bloody battle for Colombia’s soul—at least, that’s how Murphy describes the hunt for Escobar. Twenty episodes in, Murphy has guided us into battle, berated Colombians for not speaking English, and posed for pictures with Escobar’s bleeding corpse. Narcos, for all its effort, is about a white man’s journey through one of the deadliest portions of Colombian history.
The show—like all the other shows about drug lords before it—is in the pursuit of telling Latinx stories, or so they say. But a larger examination of television and movies shows that over and over again, the Latinx stories being greenlighted, funded, written, and shot are about the drug trade. It’s easy to forget that when you don’t spend every season scouring cast lists and production names for someone who looks like you. Even in an age where Gina Rodriguez wins a Golden Globe for the titular role in Jane The Virgin, a show that includes varied and multifaceted Latinx characters, white creators are still obsessed with telling drug king’s stories.
Here we go again, indeed.
Cruz ultimately calls for greater Latino participation within the writer, producer and director ranks. The column is clear evidence of the obvious conflict between flagshipping a network designed to cater solely to progressive, multicultural Millenials; and the need to diversify Univision's entertainment offerings beyond the prepackaged Mexican-market programming it receives from Televisa.
Recall that the Fusion Media Group, which is Univision Chief News/Entertainment/Digital Officer Isaac Lee's baby, is in place in order to "serve as the multi-platform destination for the new, rising American mainstream, delivering content that embodies the audience’s shared values and passion points across all platforms."
Sounds nice, except...except...that the Rising American Mainstream's multicultural and passionate digital content is still going to be funded by Univision Entertainment, which now broadcasts, you guessed it...Narcos. From Univision's exultant press release:
In an unprecedented collaboration between Univision and Netflix , “Narcos” will air for the first time ever on broadcast television in the U.S. allowing millions of Hispanic viewers to enjoy the first season of the hit series in advance of the second season, which will be available exclusively on Netflix starting September 2, 2016.
A Golden Globe nominated series, “Narcos” chronicles the gripping, real-life stories of the growth of cocaine drug cartels of the late 1980s and the collaborative efforts of law enforcement to meet them head on in brutal, bloody conflict. It details the conflicting forces – legal, political, police, military, and civilian – that clash in an effort to control the world’s most illicit commodity: cocaine. The first season of the series comprises 10 episodes and follows cold-blooded Colombian drug baron Pablo Escobar, also known as a terrorist, a congressman loved by the poor, and the mastermind behind the cocaine mass trade business. The role of Escobar is played by Brazilian actor Wagner Moura, who received a Golden Globe nomination for his portrayal of the kingpin.
The lack of lament over the problematic prevalence of white guy narratives in this press release is clear evidence that the left hand seems not to know what the far-left hand is doing. Between the Narcos disconnect and the smoldering post-Gawker mutiny it appears that Univision, rather than marching towards its glorious digital and post-IPO future, is devouring itself like the mythical ourobouros.
