Whats the Big Deal About Scarface?

This year the highly glorified gangster movie Scarface was re-released for the second time in two years and I honestly don't know why that is. I don't understand what the fuss over this movie or the character comes from nor do I understand why it is influencing our already drug driven inner cities. Do the inner city youth and young American even know the history of this character? Scarface was a racist murderer who brought, sold and distributed cocaine and this movie has a generation itching to follow in his footsteps. With the re-release of Scarface in 2004 there was frenzy about purchasing the digitally re-mastered film but I was a lot less enthusiastic than my peers. A friend asked if I was going to purchase the movie and my response was "who is Scarface?" His reply was, "How are you into rap and you don't know who Scarface is?" His facial expression was that of amazement and disbelief and it was enough for me to go out and purchase the movie to see what the big deal was about. First how about a little history?

In 1932 Paul Muni starred in a film loosely based on the real-life mobster Al Capone, the film was titled Scarface, which is Al Capone's nickname. Fifty-one years later in 1983 director Brian dePalma casted a Italian actor who was on the come up to play a Cuban immigrant who murdered his was to the top of Miami's cocaine underworld, the name of the film was Scarface. In 1983 the release was modest and received less than steller reviews. Now, twenty-three years later Scarface has a video game, clothing and footwear line and even cell phone ring tones. Personally I have a hard time trying to figure out what the big deal is.

In the movie Scarface, Al Pacino strategically makes his way to the top of the underworld through his persistence, ruthless behavior and extraordinary networking abilities. With no education whatsoever, Montana acquires unimaginable wealth and power that most men only dream or rap about. Montana did what he wanted, brought what he wanted and killed who ever crossed his path with one of his victim's being a childhood friend. Scarface had no remorse and openly defied authority and that kind of defiant behavior is appealing to destitute individuals. Not only has Scarface influenced African American youth, suburbia and celebrities have been affected as well. Watch an episode of MTV's Cribs and many of the male superstars will have a huge poster of Scarface holding a tommy gun some where in his home.

Unfortunately after watching the movie the same question lingered, what was the big deal? Why is the hip-hop and most importantly the urban community going crazy over Scarface? What is the fascination? Why is one of the biggest names in rap named after a Cuban/Italian mobster? The Scarface movie has inspired the a hip-hop artist, Rick Ross, who with the aid of the Scarface movie has a chart topping song "Push It." The song "Push It" contains a sample from the 1983 film. After listening to various rap lyrics and talking to the new generation who have single handedly made Scarface more popular than it's initial release in 1983, a couple of answers have arouse. After watching the movie a few more times I have come to make the connection between hip-hop, the urban community and Scarface. The urban community is fascinated with going from rags-to-riches gained by ruthless violence as depicted in the film. In the urban community also known as "hoods" the most important things are money, power and women. In the hood the fastest way to obtain each is through violence and drug dealing because the idea of a nine to five isn't appealing enough to the men who reside in "hoods" making violence and drug dealing the only option.

Again I ask, what is the big deal? So an immigrant killed his way into wealth and power. Is that enough to walk around in a leather jacket priced at $300 with Scarface covering the back of it? Is murder and drugs becoming so condoned that Nike has designed a Scarface edition of their best selling Air Force 1 shoe? Some people have said that Scarface is more symbolic than anything. There mere fact that an immigrant came to the shores of America with nothing just the shirt on his back. He took over the cocaine business from the clutches of a white man, stole the white man's woman and ran his operation better. Despite the vulgarity and violence the film gives hope to hopeless individuals meaning if he could do it any one of us can weather you are from the hood, a poor country or the suburbs. It's not so much what he did but the way he did it and that idealology had been adapted and upheld by the new generation. But many other more influential people have inspired us, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. or former President Kennedy so why have we chosen to put Scarface amongst people who have fought to inspire us in a positive way? Is the new generation that desperate for inspiration to adapt a fictional violent character? Purchasing clothing, footwear and reciting lyrics that pertain to Scarface suggest that yes the new generation is desperate for inspiration. Desperate to identify with a figure that represents their way of life, thinking and personality. The current generations have more access to drugs, firearms and are more ignored than all of the past generations combined sending them into an independent destructive mind state and I think Scarface represents that. An individual is born into poverty but dreams of having something better is common amongst the newer generation and to have someone gain everything through drugs and violence makes it that much more appealing. Since drugs are flooding our urban streets already it makes hoods a breedingh ground for copycat Scarfaces.

I personally find it disturbing that our generation feels that way. On Rick Ross' 2006 album release "Port Of Miami" he makes numerous references to Scarface especially on his chart topping song "Push It", the song "Push It" is referring to selling/distributing cocaine, even taking in Scarfaces' message of coming from nothing and gaining everything. The song says, "Allergic to broke, determined to blow, on the boat hid the work in detergent and soap. We get it shipped from Haiti…" It's to the point that when someone does something especially violent they are referred to Scarface and it has become sort of a rite of passage in the hood. Street credibility goes up and you become untouchable. But seriously, is it that serious? I find it extremely ignorant that all these young black guys are mimicking and idolizing a person who in that time was racist toward African American's. Not just Scarface, but Capone, Noregga, Gotti and etc. They are taking on their names as rap artist, glorifying the movie and shadowing these individuals who in their day would kill you without blinking just because you were black. Now how much sense does that make? Scarface is put on the plateau as if he is a god and he was nothing more than a common criminal. A murderer, a cocaine dealer and an over jealous brother and yet black boys and men around the country idolize him, quote him and even wear apparel and footwear with his design and logos on it. Can a movie spark a generation like that? And the world's number 1 footwear company leeches off the miseducation and ignorance of our inner city youth. Rappers such as Rick Ross are making millions off rapping as if he is the 2006 Scarface and the problem is I bet he's never even been around cocaine before. The even bigger problem is while he's perpetrating about selling drugs there are actual people listening to these lyrics and watching this movie and are in the streets trying to do the same thing. Reality is these followers are getting murdered, becoming murders and are going to prison for lengthy times all because rappers, designers and movie studios are selling this idea that selling drugs and murder are cool. Scarface had the world in the palm of his hands for a few years then died violently at the very hands of the people he worked with. Wake up people! Does that sound cool or appealing to you? Please tell me, what is the big deal?