Author(s): Araceli Arreola

Presentation: oral

In this paper, I examine how the film El Infierno directed by Luis Estrada exposes and represents the current situation of drug trafficking, violence, and corruption in Mexico. This film was released in Mexico in 2010 for the celebrations of the Bicentenary of the Mexican Independence and the Century of the Mexican Revolution. Far from being a celebratory film, it is a film that criticizes the involvement of the government, the church, and society in the Mexico's current state of violence. Through the music, characters, and nature of the film, it captures the essence of the drug trafficking world and everything that it encompasses. The film is important because it raises awareness of the situation. Mexican society is exposed to the problem every day through personal experiences, but seeing it exposed in a film without censorship can be eye-opening for many who have decided to insulate themselves from it. This film suggests that if society continues to lack awareness, the country will have nothing to celebrate in the future years, because drug trafficking and corruption lead to the dismantling of the principles the country's heroes fought for. Overall, this film arouse the controversy in Mexico in the past years.

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