Hollywood has a history of conjuring a false reality and bringing it to the screen. Just as Hollywood has staged numerous expeditions to the moon, it has also enhanced the life of a drug dealer. In George Tillman Jr.’s loose-based biopic of The Notorious B.I.G, Notorious (2009), a young Christopher Wallace ascends to power and gains an abundance of wealth by selling crack. In just a few months, he is able to go from broke to loaded. There is even a scene in which he has his own office and desk to sell crack. Likewise, 50 Cent rises to power by selling crack in his biopic, named after his debut album, Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2005) directed by Jim Sheridan. One crucial scene involves a young 50 cent holding a vial of crack cocaine, asserting that that one vial of crack will get him out of the hood. Influential rapper Cam’ron also stars in a biopic about selling crack in Killa Season (2006), directed by Cam’ron himself. In under a year of selling crack at a street corner, Cam’ron dumps his bicycle to buy a Bentley and a Rolls-Royce.
Among the entire category of crack dealing films, Mario Van Peeble’s New Jack City (1991) is perhaps the most infamous. The film features Wesley Snipes as a lush multimillionaire street-level crack dealer. Snipes’ character, Nino Brown wears gaudy jewelry over decorative haute couture clothing, as he is chauffeured around the city by his devout escort to make business transactions. Nino accumulates so much income that he can’t figure out what to do with all his crack money. On Thanksgiving, he uses his illegal revenue to purchase a hoard of turkeys to feed countless of the city’s poor inhabitants. He reasons that this friendly gesture justifies his illicit trade. Even when he is caught and is sentenced to prison, he has already become so wealthy that he is easily able to buy bail.
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