Hollywood Gives Marijuana the ‘Scarface’ Treatment

By on April 20, 2012 in News 17

When one looks at all the movies that Hollywood has put out over the years, it\’s hard not to get the feeling that the movie industry trumps up the Drug War by romanticizing it with hardcore action films like Savages directed by Oliver Stone, the latest schlocky action movie about the drug business:

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  • Howl!

    Whatever re: the movie, but the book was great, with a pretty solid grasp of political subtleties and a unique social structure. Doubt the movie will hold up to it, but I fail to fully grasp your point.
    Also, the movie is directed by Oliver Stone… and you can’t find a major director around more outspoken about ending the drug war the he.
    Schloky? Probably, but I doubt it’s going to end up making people think the demon weed is the true problem at hand.

    • http://twitter.com/mattstaggs Matt Staggs

      I wasn’t aware that there was a book. Thanks for the heads-up. I’ll sure as hell read that before I see the movie.

  • Liam_McGonagle

    It’s interesting that whenever some purveyor of parables exposes the “drugs business” they generally focus on the “drugs” aspect to the complete exclusion of the “business” aspect.

    • http://twitter.com/mattstaggs Matt Staggs

      Good point, @Liam_McGonagle:disqus .

    • PhiloSlacker

       Strange, I thought it was the other way around.  Drama of the business, backstabbing, etc, is all on display.  Will we see a nice scene about how a proper smoke-out session makes everyone happy and connected and philosophical?  Doubtful.

      • Liam_McGonagle

        These films almost always portray the brutality as a result of the breakdown in discipline of market participants supposedly attendant upon use of the drugs–not the inevitable course of an unregulated market with sky-high profit margins.  A colleague goes off the rails, partaking of the inventory, a regular customer is unable to make payments, etc., etc.

        Apart from the once-every-three-decades Michael Douglas vehicle, you rarely see that sort of amoral greed portrayed in the socially sanctioned industries like investment banking, although it IS there.  Ask Apostolos Polyzonis or Dmitris Christoulas, if you’ve got a Ouija board handy.

  • Honu

    Doesn’t even look like a movie about marijuana.  More like an action adventure drama about two guys who have to fight to get their girlfriend back. One thing that did make me laugh though is this notion of these two guys developing a strain of pot that is better than the rest.  I’ve been using recreationally for years and have had tried lots of strains.  There’s so many talented growers and lots of strains that have benefits, some better for things than others.  The idea that two guys somehow come up with a strain that might be the BEST ever as if growing is as linear as this trailer seems to indicate, is pretty silly.  If you’ve been living in California for the past few years and you have a medical card for it, you learn that there are more strains than you can imagine and within a small margin, they’re all really good with different effects.

  • rileyrifle

    It looks like this movie might demonize the true devil of the drug trade, the black market. Which of course was created by the outlawing of drugs in the first place. But surely I don’t have to explain that to you, my fellow disinfo’ers XD

  • http://www.cyrius.com.au Stefan Sojka

    I am not sure it demonizes or romanticizes prohibition… Perhaps it just normalizes and perpetuates it.  Everyone plays the game because everyone subscribes to the rules.  Prohibition sets the rules.  

    The rules write the script, which will always be romanticized by Hollywood, no matter what the theme is; no movie is complete without two male primates fighting for a prized female primate and a wadload of cash.  

    Or did the script write the rules?  One might say that Hollywood continues to prescribe prohibition and the lawmakers and politicians (who, let’s face it, do go tot the movies now and then) continue to buy the prescription, plot line and sinker. 

    • rtb61

       Of course keeping drugs illegal gives them a lot of control. Organised crime is heavily involved in Hollywood. Lot’s of cash, drugs and readily accessible young hopefuls to sexually abuse.
      So is Hollywood working hard to keep drugs illegal, most likely.

  • Dr K

    Gee the guy I buy my pot from lives in a flat and drives a piece of shit ford. He’s average looking and so is his girlfriend. They don’t own a hot tub nor do they shoot and stab anyone. I might have to change dealer.

  • Okarin

    the best business line i’ve ever heard came from a movie about drugs “I sell a product that’s better than the competition at a price that’s less than the competition.” Frank Lucas

  • Fredsnake13

    oh noes das evil marijuana!

  • Writeous

    Join ‘meditation @ 4:20/theater is the mind’ daily, too !

  • Mike Chaleff

    (in response to the article:) …absolutely! the thinly veiled propaganda in film, television, music, and all aspects of the entertainment and advertising/marketing industry is tremendous. no one company, organization, website, or otherwise, themselves can keep track of the vast history of this phenomenon in america and abroad…. but, there are a few websites that have dedicated themselves to such propaganda, as well as all forms of it, including occultic, globalist, etc. my most favorite that i’ve found is not only infowars and their nightly news pieces on the subject, but also http://www.VigilantCitizen.com as well. anyone who hasn’t been to that site, and is a seeker of truth, than i highly recommend checking it out. well, that’s all i got to say right now… back to celebrating this wonderful holiday we call “4/20″ with some amazingly beautiful Permafrost… :)

    • PhiloSlacker

       Vigilant Citizen is too duped into buying the “masonic symbolism” claptrap.  Symbols mean whatever you want them to mean, not what “masons” secretly think they mean.  Vigilant Citizen reads wayyyyy to much into things, so much so that merely closing or covering one of your eyes means “mega conspiracy insider nod”.  Sorry, it’s just silly, and they are suckers.

  • lightBright

    Admittedly if you get too big and don’t keep a low profile in the weed game you will eventually get busted, ripped off by cops, or clashing with some flavor of gangsters, or some combination of the former. But so what I have come to appreciate Stone for films like Kennedy or Heaven and Earth this just seems so seen it done it Hollywood.
    I was hoping but not really expecting Stone to do something on the financing of WWII and how Super martyr Jews control the media. Oh well…