Anti-Drug War movies
The war on drugs allows the worst to create untold wealth
Movie Review: “Batman Begins,” “A License to Kill,” and “Trafficâ€
You wouldn’t think a comic strip hero, James Bond and a movie about drug trafficking would have something in common. Yet each, in its own way, reinforces the idea that illegality creates high prices not only worth killing over, but also untold billions for those willing to take extraordinary risks.
The biggest risk-takers are alcohol and other drug addicts. Distortions of perception cause impaired judgment. In particular, the addict comes to think he can do no wrong, which creates a sense of invincibility. A “rules don’t apply to me”attitude often becomes all-pervasive. This can be observed in many addicts that, no doubt, permeate the drug trade.
“Batman Begins” starts out with the future Batman witnessing his parents’ murder. While some might believe the murderer was desperate for food, we see the eyes of an addict, stealing so he can get sustenance in the form of drugs. The particular story is one in which the chief drug runner, Falconi, has bought off everyone in Gotham politics who matters, including one full-blown addict judge. A weaponized hallucinogen is ferreted in the usual drugs. The fact that they weren’t smuggled in toys or alcohol suggests that the illegality provided the funds and means to support criminal behaviors, which included incomprehensible levels of corruption.
The shareholders of Coors and Diageo (the world’s largest distillery) can only wish they had that kind of money. In fact, it’s interesting to contemplate the anger some have over the advertising and lobbying costs incurred by the big alcohol producers. The anger would be more appropriately targeted at drug laws, which allow really bad people to become wealthy beyond our dreams and fuel corruption among law enforcers.
In “License to Kill,” James Bond (played by Timothy Dalton), in an effort to avenge a friend’s murder at the hands of drug lords, stumbles onto what could easily be a billion dollar drug complex in Latin America headed up by a drug lord played by Robert Davi, who exhibits real-life behavioral indications of alcoholism (I’ve seen him throw fits at a Starbucks near my home in Northridge, CA). His cronies include characters played by Anthony Zerbe and a young Benicio Del Toro. The movie, although other critics seem to have never noticed, may be the best argument ever on the big screen for ending the war on drugs.
“Traffic,” starring Benicio Del Toro, Michael Douglas and Catherine Zeta-Jones and based on the British made for TV movie, “Traffik,” shows the U.S. drug czar transform from a war hawk, nominated by the President to reinvigorate the drug war, to someone who begins to slowly understand the meaning of the departing drug czar’s comment that years of effort have had no effect on the drug trade. When he discovers his own daughter is an addict, he does everything to protect her from the law and asks, in a scathing indictment of the drug war, “How [can] you wage war on your family?”
All three movies are highly recommended not only for their entertainment value, but also for those who think the war on drugs as we know it should continue to be fought.