Third Art of the Title

The television show Narcos is a Period Crime Drama that is set in the 1980s, at the height of famous criminal Pablo Escobar’s drug empire. This setting is particularly connoted through the opening titles of the show, as lots of vintage photography is used to convey to the audience the true crimes of the deceased drug lord, as well as contrasting this with the text that appears on screen, which appears to be FBI confidential files which suggests to the viewer that we are looking from the FBI’s point of view, and that we are looking at ‘confidential files’ on Escobar (the antagonist of the series)

                                                                                                                                                                      Contrast is also created through the inclusion of both vintage photographs and found footage that depicts the destruction of Escobar’s drug empire through various frames that include pictures of chaotic events such as shootings, arson and kidnapping, as well as found footage of all out warfare on the streets of Columbia, thus the overall aim of the opening is to showcase to the audience the true sense of destruction caused by this one man.

The titles used in the opening are very clearly chosen in white font in order to stand out from the different footage used and all the conventions needed are present, as all the main members of the crew and cast are clearly shown in large font to catch the eye. As well as the content in the opening, the soundtrack is used to great effect in the opening, as Rodrigo Amarante’s “Tuyo” creates pitch perfect immersion into the Coloumbian/South American setting of the film due to its use of Spanish traditional guitar, along with its dramatic use of orchestral music towards the end of the song which represents the tense state of the country at this time, thus immersing the audience.