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| "Untitled" by Arcade Perfect, Creative Commons Attribution 2.0 Generic |
Boyz n the hood (1991) - Duckhunt
When Doughboy's homeboy Monster aims and pulls the trigger in a close-up shot with the infamous line "watch me shoot this motherf--r, look", it's implied he has just killed somebody in cold blood. Though as the camera angle changes, it shows the hoodster shooting down one of those pesky ducks in the NES game Duckhunt.
What's also interesting about this scene is the fact that Monster isn't using the NES Zapper which comes with the game, instead he's using a mere pistol. Though this makes sense, as the Nintendo light gun wouldn't hold the same weight.
Juice (1992) - Street Fighter
All Bishop wanted to do was blow off some steam and beat his homie for bragging rights, in what would become one of the most popular fighting game franchises of all time. Unfortunately for Tupac's character Bishop, this happened to be the exact moment that police decided to raid the spot. Pour one out for for all those wasted quarters.
Poetic Justice (1993) - Street Fighter II
In the opening scene of 1993’s Poetic Justice, when Justice's boyfriend leaves the car to purchase some popcorn from the snack bar, he’s spotted by two dudes he’s got beef with, which John Singleton hints at by introducing them playing the arcade version of Street Fighter 2.
Baby Boy (2001) - Ready 2 Rumble Boxing
During a scene in 2001's Baby boy, Jody's best friend Sweetpea (who is played by Omar Gooding) is playing Ready 2 Rumble Boxing on the Sega Dreamcast, although he can barely concentre on the game as he loses his temper, arguing with his girlfriend and her mother.
The Wash (2001) - NBA 2K
Directed by DJ Pooh, The Wash is about two roommates who have fallen behind on rent and have a certain amount of time to pay it, before they're evicted. As Sean (Dr Dre) returns home from work, his roommate Dee Loc (Snoop Dogg) is chillaxing as he gets his hair done while playing NBA 2K on the Sega Dreamcast.
Clockers (1995) - Sega VR
In Spike Lee's 1995 movie Clockers, Strike's would be protégé Tyrone is using a Sega VR headset and playing "Gangsta", a game which allowed players to "cap" other players. Although the headset appeared in Clockers, it was never actually released to the general public.
Virtual Fighter
Sega's prototype headset wasn't the only gaming cameo featured in Spike Lee's Clockers. Later on in the movie, Rodney Little is seen cleaning a Virtua Fighter arcade machine in his shop, as he speaks to the cops.
Don't Be A Menace (1996) - Street Fighter II parody
Don't Be A Menace To South Central While Drinking Your Juice In The Hood starring the Wayans brothers is a 1996 parody of several hood movies prior to it's release.
But movies aren't the only thing which the comedy film parodied. In the store scene, Loc Dog is seen using an arcade cabinet called Gang Fighter II, which is an obvious spoof of Street Fighter II.
Can you remember any more examples of video games appearing in hood movies? If so then leave a comment below it'll be added to the list.