'KINGPIN': WAITING TO SEE 'WHAT IFS?'

One way of looking at the new NBC drama Kingpin is, of course:
Sheesh!

Here's a major new series, trotted out for its Sunday debut with much
hoopla, and it's about Mexicans as drug pushers.

Another way of viewing this, however, is that Latinos have finally
arrived.

Think about it.

Arguably, The Sopranos signaled a societal embrace of sorts for
Italian-Americans. It meant that Italians were so assimilated, so part
of the national fabric, that there was no generalized hue and cry over
this stereotypical depiction of Italians as Mafiosi.

Americans didn't feel the need to guilt trip about the show. They were
so guilt-free in fact that they made it a megahit.

Certainly, some Italians did object. But this dissent has been largely
drowned out by the thunderous applause and accolades.

But what about Kingpin? Like The Sopranos, this is definitely not
wholesome family fare.

>From the NBC Web site: "In this stylized drama, the struggles and
machinations of a powerful Mexican drug-trafficking family are
displayed in graphic detail as they face challenges from both the
United States Drug Enforcement Agency and from the dangerous
underworld in which they reside."

Yancey Arias is the Stanford-educated Miguel Cadena, heir apparent to
this cartel. His "beautiful American wife," Marlene, played by Sheryl
Lee, is a lawyer who labors to keep the feds off his back. His
brother, Chato, played by Bobby Cannavale, is ruthless, cunning and
loyal.

There's also a Latino DEA agent in there, played by Angela Alvarado
Rosa. For balance, I'm guessing.

This six-episode series promises to be decidedly grittier than The
Sopranos, though it is not on cable.

Judging from the promos, this series will make Tony Soprano seem as
tame as Regis Philbin and the Soprano family as cheerfully benign as
the Cleavers.

But is this really progress? Does this mean Latinos are portrayed with
so much accuracy and balance these days that one show depicting them
as ruthless drug barons matters little?

Well, things are indeed better, but Latinos continue to be the most
underrepresented and misrepresented group in film and television.

Yes, we have The George Lopez Show, American Family, The Brothers
Garcia, Resurrection Boulevard and Greetings From Tucson. All of
these, if not containing totally positive depictions of Latinos, at
least proffer more balanced views.

However, only one of these, the Lopez show, is on a major broadcast
network. Does the WB, home to Greetings From Tucson, qualify as a
major network?

I'm probably forgetting some noteworthy shows or roles, but it maybe
says something that they don't pop readily to mind. This from a guy
who watches far too much TV.

Still, I'm not sure we should be slamming Kingpin and
NBC.

You see, another reason The Sopranos has managed to avoid strenuous
criticism is that each character is superbly crafted and the episodes
generally so well written. I mean, Mafiosi staging an intervention for
a heroin-using colleague?

This is television done well.

OK, but does just the fact that a stereotype is done well negate the
fact that it still deals in stereotype?

Maybe a series of "ifs" might help us keep an open mind,
pre-broadcast, about this series.

What if, for instance, the series shows the drug problem and our
solution of choice - the drug war - as complex as they really are?

What if it demonstrates the reality that our demand prompts the
supply? In other words that we are responsible in no small measure for
this mess south of the border.

What if it shows that drug corruption exists on both sides of the
border?

And what if it shows - between the deadly family intrigue, the car
bombings and the violent cartel clashes - that, though this is about
Mexican drug dealers, not all Mexicans are drug dealers?

If it does all this, then perhaps whatever harm it inflicts is
mitigated.

Arguably, the movie Traffic portrayed Mexico in a very bad light yet
was worth doing. The movie revealed all the yingness and yangness of
the drug trade and the futility of how we fight it.

But then again, maybe we should just wait to see if Kingpin provides
sophisticated entertainment, replete with balanced depictions. And
maybe we could profit from thicker skins if a greater good is served.

Count my mind open . . . for now.