Do the Right Thing Response

First, in a new post, please write a paragraph response to this question:  What similarities / differences do you see between Do The Right Thing and "How Bigger Was Born"?  What are the specific ideas and examples used by each text to make their points?  What conclusions can be made as a result of this comparison / contrast?  (Note - this is an analytic statement, not a personal one, so you should avoid using "I" - stick with what is expressed in the film and essay)

 

The character Buggin' Out in the Spike Lee's film "Do the Right Thing" demonstrated many similarities in both action, and characteristics to the way Richard Right described the different people who impacted the creation of his character Bigger. An example would be Bigger No. 1, who was described by Wright when he wrote, "There was a boy who terrorized me and all of the boys I played with. If we were playing games, he would saunter up and snatch from us our balls, bats, spinning tops, and marbles" (434). It seems as if this boy simply bullied Richard and his friends because he craved power and put others down to make himself feel better. In the film, Buggin Out had a very similar attitude because it seemed very unlikely that he was THAT upset by the pictures on the wall, and it appeared that he was looking for any reason to sabitage Sal's Pizzeria. Both of these characters demonstrate a lack of good intentions or reasoning for doing stupid violent things.

Next, in the same post but a new paragraph, respond to this question: What are your personal (emotional, critical) responses? What are your feelings, at the movie's end, for Mookie, for Sal, for the police, for the community, for Radio Raheem? Who does--and who does not do--"the right thing"? Whose actions seem meaningful, purposeful, humane? What has been earned, learned, or lost? (Note - this is a personal statement, so should be all about the use of "I")

 

At the end of the movie, I was very surprised with the way Mookie through the garbage can through the window to start the riot that ultimately burned down Sal's Pizzeria. I felt as if Sal acted as a father to Mookie, and Mookie betrayed Sal in the worst way by destroying Sal's greatest accomplishment and crushing everything he had worked for. It made me think that in the end, is race the most important part of a person? When Mookie, Sal, Vito, and Pino were standing on one side, and ALL of the other black people were on the other side, I remember thinking about how it must have been hard for Mookie to be standing on the opposite side of every other black person there. Then Mookie not only crossed to the other side, but started the riot. I feel as if Mookie did not do the right thing at that moment because he betrayed his "family" simply because he felt more of a dedication to his race. Sal was innocent because he was simply feeding his custumers when Radio Raheem and Buggin' Out stormed into his restraunt with disrespect and bad intentions. In the discussion yesterday, people said that Sal did the wrong thing by smashing the radio, but I would have done the same thing because Raheem and Buggin' had no right to violate Sal's property like that. I that everyone made mistakes in the film except for Da Mayor because he always had good intentions no matter what in didn't let his race get in his way in the end when he tried break apart the conflict.