“You Are Not a Wolf, and This Is the Land of Wolves Now”: Nemesis, narrative and the Norteamericano in the Sicario films

Abstract

This article analyses ideas of retributive justice and US interventionism through the Sicario films. By identifying cross-border interventions into Mexico by the US as retributive justice in the form of nemesis, this article highlights the problematic representation of Mexico in North American cinema. It brings together discussion of equilibrium – as a structuralist narrative feature highlighted by Todorov (1969) – with the socio-political analysis of Ronfeldt (1994) to demonstrate how the representation of US interventions in Mexico takes its place against a backdrop of shadows and cynical stereotypes. In doing so, the article demonstrates that cinematic representations of retributive justice depend very much on socio-political and historical perspectives, and on conditions of production.

Keywords

• sicario
• nemesis
• narrative
• retributive justice
• representation