Power Is A Borrowed Burden

The movie Scarface is one of the more gruesome movies of the 80s. Tony Montana, comes to America for a chance at a “successful” life. Mind you, we are coming out of the 70s so everything is perky tits and rock n’ roll.

The movie is about the chase of power and serves as a folklore of the establishing cocaine cartel era. I’ll skip to the end though. (Spoiler Alert because I know someone who has not seen Scarface. Sorry, V.)

The lone gunman who kills Tony is mute, and does not say a word at all in contrast to Tony who is the loudest character in the movie, not voice alone – through action. Tony became so obnoxious, those around them grew quieter and quieter. Even with his sister who throws gunshots before uttering her last words to him “Fuck me, Tony. Come on and just fuck me!”

He had it all but it never seemed to be quite enough and everyone else had enough trying to talk him down.

Everything is power. Money is power; clothing is power; sex is power. While not everything you possess will be a reflection of your societal status, there is a degree to which you possess something of power (My tia Marcia was the Scarface of Beanies Babies in the late 90s).

In this case, Tony possessed everything because of the influence power has. But the World is never truly anyone’s alone. If you look at history, all notable figures rose to prominence on the heads of those who had their backs turned at the right time. It’s cyclical. By the time you reached the throne at the top of the world, power has consumed you, forever shackling you with its siphon. It’s not enough to be at the top forever. You eventually step on your neck to keep your head above the water. And when that time comes, you’ll notice how far that fucking drop is.

The search for absolute power showcases that those in pursuit will never attain it. Power is divine for feeds off of others’ lust for it. Power is deadly. Power is a sin and it's only a borrowed burden.

Tony did not die happy nor sad or regretful. He just died, that was all. End of the story. End of the World.

"You know I eat octopus three times a day? I got fucking octopus coming out of my ears, meng"

- Al Pacino (Scarface 1983)