Abstract
According to the Longman dictionary, a network is ?a large system of lines, tubes, wires etc that cross one another or are connected with one another'. Traffic and Syriana are (dealing with networks) large systems of characters, institutions and interests that cross one another or are connected with one another. Traffic depicts the story of a judge who is appointed by the President to fight against drug traffic when he finds out that his daughter is a drug addict and that drug cartels are richer and stronger than the police. Syriana is about how the CIA and the oil industry conspire to preserve the status quo which also protects their power and profits. The drug network and the oil network are both marginals toward the law; a margin is ?an area down the side of a page near the edge, where there is no writing, or printing'. These two networks act in the margins of law; the illegal drug traffic breaks the law and the CIA goes beyond the law. The problem is not that the CIA breaks the law but that it breaks the law to help oil companies which is in turn detrimental to the Middle East people. It is literally an abuse of power on a world scale. The analysis of these two movies shows how the two networks are similar; How the CIA and Oil Company work on the same wavelength as the drug cartels? How the United States has managed to lead the countries in the Middle East and not fight against drug cartels.
