WHITE POWDER BY THE BLACK PEOPLE

American Gangster movie had long been forgotten. But the interesting storyline is still suitable to be remembered and discussed. The movie is directed by the talented Ridley Scott. This unique movie is great not only because it’s brought from a real life story and played by great actors, but also teaches us lessons of life even from the most cursed business.

An Afro-American man named Frank Lucas (played by Denzel Washington) who’s very familiar with the Harlem neighborhood started his business from becoming a driver for his boss, until he managed to become one of the most powerful drug lords in New York City. His boss was actually a powerful mafia who run drug dealing business but eventually got lost and went bankrupt. That’s when Frank saw an opportunity and quickly gained access to take over his boss’ place. That’s how this real story began in the year of 1970.

It’s very rare for a black people to be able to reach a position so high, as high as Frank Lucas, especially in the mafia world of drugs business. His success even exceeded his former boss. Harlem was known for its reputation for a tough and dangerous environment. Being familiar with the territory, Frank could easily control and dominate the battlefield. Having deep knowledge and experience about the territory is absolutely necessary in building and running any business.

Drugs had market of its own in America. That market is ready and very well educated – meaning that there’re enough fools who’s willing to destroy their life for the sake of enjoying the sensation of consuming drugs. That market was very well-established and ready to be harvested. The white powder could be found easily almost everywhere. The situation was perfect for any kinds of businesses to enter the market, because most of the time you don’t need to spend big budget to promote your product or to educate the market.

However, Frank was not satisfied with all kinds of drugs that were circling the streets. Although the market condition is good, the competition will be very tight and strict. Any mistakes or misplaced act in confronting the competition in this evil business usually means death or lifetime punishment. The first step is to find a supplier. So one day, Frank decided to gather his people who had the same purpose or ambition like him. They explored rural places from remote villages to the corner of jungles to find pure and powerful white powder / drugs.

An excellent quality of product is crucial, no matter what kinds of products you’re dealing with. In marketing, the best way to kill a bad product is by promoting and distributing it. Frank was lucky to find a supplier who posses great and strong stuff, plus they operated deep within the secluded jungle where even their own clients didn’t know the exact location.

The supplier thought Frank had lost his mind, because he intended to sell and distribute drugs to the big city without back up and without using the existing distribution channel. But through a tough negotiation, the supplier finally agreed to sell his goods to Frank. A big grin appeared on their faces showing that the deal was finally done. “My man!” Said Frank to the supplier a moment before he went back home to prepare his next move.

The next thing to do was preparing distribution channels. This was one of the most important things that Frank didn’t forget. The distribution channel was also one of the things that made him successful. He managed to distribute his products directly to the streets – direct selling, and able to bypass all mediators which is normally used by other drug dealers. Guess what? Lower product price and operational cost made the profit skyrocketed.

The white powders were delivered from the jungle using planes that supposed to carry war supplies or corpses of American soldiers who died at war. The powders were smuggled inside the plane and even inside the coffins. Once it reached the destination at the city, Frank with his crew can freely distribute the drugs without having to deal with the mediators who usually charge more money.

Fresh cash filled Frank’s pocket quickly along with so many people who got drunk because of consuming his nasty powders. His lifestyle improved and quickly gained new acquaintances on the upper hand. He also bought a big house for his old mama and family. Little did they know that the money was collected from evil business?

Frank didn’t forget to give a name to the great white powder of his. “Blue Magic” is the brand he finally chose, and he realized that people should know the difference between his products and other products on the streets. He even got pissed when he found out that somebody was changing the brand of his product with other names. The dealer didn’t care about it and insisted that he could name the product with whatever he likes once he bought it.

The main problem occurred when the police started to smell the news of Frank’s exceptional white powder, “Blue Magic”. Even the police admitted that the powder was far more powerful than other drugs on the streets. The most difficult task was tracing the source of Blue Magic because the fact that they’re using different methods and different distribution channels. Finally, an honest cop named Richie managed to uncover Frank’s operation, although he had to sacrifice his own marriage.

The next problem was a few corrupted cops began to intimidate Frank, asking for a share profit from his fortune. Corruption spread quickly like cancer to the most unexpected places and were untouchable by laws. A fortune which is collected from dirty businesses and rotten money will definitely reveal itself because you cannot cover the stinking smell of it. It made Frank and his family cornered like rats surrounded by hungry cats.

Actually that’s not the only cause of Frank’s failure. The fatal mistake was that he didn’t calculate the risk of the distribution channels and the continuity of supplies. The problem occurred when the planes that used to carry Blue Magic were no longer flown in the right tracks as Frank had wanted. This made Blue Magic became scarce and hard to be stocked. This brought up a question for you, “Is your distribution channel safe and how about the continuity of your supplies?” Most of the time, a business falls because of failure in managing distribution channel and scarcity of supplies.

The honest cop Richie happened to find out about this distribution channel and quickly searched every plane for evidence. War couldn’t be evaded. A clash between honesty and corruption, between justice and crime exploded. It’s a pity that Frank didn’t have a backup plan for the continuity of his drug dealing business. A big fortune had to be paid with blood and a long time spent in jail.

The ending part of this movie will not be told here, so that you can still enjoy the original DVD / VCD of this American Gangster movie (hasn’t been released when this article was written). Anyway, an act to make a fortune for you yourself above the misery and suffering of others is not a good thing to do, right my man?

Best Scenes:

• A sexy singer with tight green shorts singing “Only the Lonely”
• Frank popped a guy’s head for refusing to pay 10% share of profit
• Gunfights between cops and drug lords
• Frank said the word, “My Man!”
• Ending scene when Frank got out of jail

More about Frank Lucas:

• Legend said that Frank is the first black drug lords who got out from the rein of Costa Nostra (Italian Mafia).
• He developed his own route and distribution channels from South East Asia directly to the streets of Harlem.
• He visited Asia only once but managed to sell many drugs.
• In 1972 and 1973, he was estimated to have sold, imported, and distributed more than 800 kg pure heroin with $240 million market value.
• He had cars like Rolls Royce, Mercedes, Corvettes, etc.
• He dated a step daughter (Billie Mays) of a legendary baseball player named Willie Mays.
• His height is 192 cm.
• He ran his business along with his three most trusted brothers and recruited 100 people from the streets.
• The Italian mafia didn’t want to pack and sell heroin directly to the streets, so they sold them with certain price to the black distributors or wholesalers. Frank found an innovative way to import the drugs directly from Vietnam with a price less than 1/10 of Italian mafia’s price and sold them directly to the streets. That’s how he managed to pass the mafia.
• He sent his drugs inside the dead bodies of American soldiers who died at war in Vietnam, after their organs had been removed.
• He claimed that he earned $1 million per day in 1970’s.
• He was sentenced for 70 years in jail in 1976 and may still run his operations although behind bars.
• Now he lived under the Witness Protection Program of the federal government for disclosing many names of the people who were involved.

Ivan the Freelancer