The Enduring Appeal of Scarface

I've been interested for a few years in the popularity of the film Scarface in contemporary youth culture. Every few days, I see a kid wearing a Scarface t-shirt on the Metro; another kid this morning triggered this post. Last year, I made a Scarface reference in class--naming one of the characters in my drug-trafficking hypothetical "Tony Montana"--and pretty much the whole class got the joke. These students, born in the Reagan years, actually got a joke about a movie made in the 1980's. They wouldn't get a joke about All the Right Moves or Risky Business. (Why did I pick two Tom Cruise movies?) Or another Pacino movie from the 1980's, or even from Carlito's Way--in my opinion, an underrated film.

And, of course, who hasn't said, "Say hello to my little friend" in Pacino's cheesy Cuban accent?

Why is this film so popular, still today? I've watched in recently (within the last year), and I'm not sure why it's so popular. Of course, the popularity of the Scarface image is not dependent on the film itself . . . so maybe one shouldn't over-analyze here. Any ideas out there?

It's not because the Cuban drug lord lifestyle has such enduring appeal.