We could classify a wide range of substances as drugs, from coffee or alcohol to heroin or cocaine; moreover, there are also activities or experiences (from gambling to Internet use) that we indulge in that variously cause a heightened sense of awareness or (by contrast) have a numbing effect, and may lead to addictive behaviour much as drugs do. Yet some of these substances and activities are regulated and/or even criminalized, and others not, with broad and far-reaching–often global–repercussions. Not only do drugs, and the rituals or practices associated with them, establish their own cultural forms and patterns, but they are also the object of discourses and representations that may romanticize, exoticize, or demonize both the substances themselves and the individuals or communities associated with them.
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- Alison Spedding, "The Cultural Life of Coca"
- "The Coca War: Testimony of Chapare Peasants"
- Shaylih Muehlmann, "A Narco without a Corrido Doesn’t Exist"
Narconovelas
Narcocorridos
Gerardo Ortiz, “En preparación”:
Regido, “6 impactos”:
Jenni Rivero, “Los ovarios”:
Los Cuates de Sinaloa, “Negro y Azul” (from Breaking Bad):
“Death Notes: The Life and Death of Chalino Sánchez”:
Narco-Culture
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- David Courtwright, Forces of Habit: Drugs and the Making of the Modern World
- Alexander Dawson, The Peyote Effect
- Paul Gootenberg, Andean Cocaine: The Making of a Global Drug
- Paul Gootenberg, "A Long Strange Trip: Latin America's Contribution to World Drug Culture"
- Avital Ronell, Crack Wars: Literature, Addiction, Mania
- Wolfgang Schivelbusch, Tastes of Paradise: A Social History of Spices, Stimulants, Intoxicants
- What is a drug? Is such a (potentially) wide-ranging term even useful?
- There is often talk of drug abuse (and its purported dangers). But what are the uses of drugs?
- When, how, and why do some drugs become perceived as threats, and so become subject to regulation?
- And yet drugs (and drug use) often help structure and construct social orders, whether mainstream culture or (perhaps dissident) countercultures. How do they do this?
- How do drugs draw on, participate in, or help construct social hierarchies and divisions, e.g. between nations, classes, genders, or racialized groups etc.?
- How might we distinguish the representation of drugs (and drug use, the drug trade, etc.) from the cultural forms that drugs themselves take and give rise to?
- What is the relationship between drugs, culture, and violence?
- Both Spedding's article and Muehlmann's chapter consider the reasons for eradication or censorship (in Muehlmann's case, specifically censorship of the music associated with the drug trade) and the effectiveness of such strategies. What is the case for such restrictions?
- What does Muehlmann mean by "the generative capacity of violence [. . .] its capacity not only to destroy but also to create" (106)?
Drugs questions
What forces in the societies do you think to contribute to this “ineffective” criminalization of drugs? And what cultural ideas are behind this forces’ belief in the necessity of criminalization?
I am also left wondering about the role of the Bolivian state in this situation. Why did they allow the US to carry out such measures in the Andes?
In the instance where there was a shooting in the concert and the singer shot into back into the crowd (didn’t this cause panic in the crowd??) and later how he was remembered as some type of a hero, makes me think that the violence was somehow performative. What do you think?
Has it ever worked to criminalize products of popular culture against the people’s will? If not, why do states continue to do so?
Wouldn’t it be better to invest in treatments for drug users? Won’t that result in a more positive effect?
What are some projections of drug use culture that you have seen in the media? Who was producing that narrative?
Has reading these accounts changed the way in which you view the coca plant? Why do you think it’s important to learn about the first hand stories of these farmers?
Are there any culturally specific plants in Canada you can think of that are connected to a woman’s life cycle?
What did you personally think about ‘coca’ before encountering any of the reading this week? Do you think that your impression of coca was affected by your ‘own’ cultural background or cultural roots?
What is Alison Spedding’s goal of her short piece on “the Cultural Life of Coca”?
What are the potential consequences (positive or negative) of the narcos culture on Mexico? How does it impact the people on a more personal level? Where does narco go from here?
why do you think people like narco-corridos? Can you identify which lens you have that makes you see it that way?
in the context of other cultures, what is the coca plant comparable to? Not only in the act of destruction, but also comparable in cultural significance and rituals.
Why do you guys think narcoculture and corridos are popular?
