Is murder for racial reasons permissible? In Spike Lee’s film, ‘Do the Right Thing’, Radio Raheem killed by NYPD for simply doing nothing for having loud music. There is no excuse or right answer to killing someone for doing something so harmless. With a death killed by police officers, it goes with no justice. This major climax scene parallels with what is going on nowadays. During the time of the film took place in the 1980s police brutality was rising with multiple deaths occurring with ongoing usage of violence against African Americans and white officers. The film portrays what iconic activists during the civil rights movement once stood up for years and fought very hard for it to come back again. By reminding us of the past Lee is trying to change our future.
Spike Lee saw the future in a crystal ball and predicting prejudice police brutality and seeking how people can deal with racism having consequences of a breaking point. Portraying police officers harassing the black community and patrolling 24/7 making the people in their own community feelings of having no power. Boiling rising problems that stem from race, justice, and power. Managing to portray these boiling problems that is happening in society into a controversial film.
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The timing of the film was very important because it was time that violence in the city was at it’s all time high and striking cases of police brutality or racial violence. A city that was a place of all races and cultures, but clashing and using violence against others. Racial motivated violence was 90% reasoning and purpose behind the cases that occurred in most neighborhoods. The summer of 1989 was a period in which many gruesome murders, beatings and rapes occurred in the city under all five boroughs of New York.
The film was dedicated to six of the victims’ families of police brutality or racial violence: Eleanor Bumpurs, Michael Griffith, Arthur Miller, Edmund Perry, Yvonne Smallwood, and Michael Stewart. Michael Griffith a young African American male death was Spike Lee inspiration in developing the plot for the film. Michael’s death occurred in the winter of 1986 when his and his friends’ car broken down and walked over to a predominantly Italian American town in Queens. A large group Italians teenagers started to chase them due to an argument broke out between them. Michael and his friends ran away, but Michael run into the streets and got hit by a car. These scenes are reflected to be parallel to the film by aligning to the death of Radio Raheem.
Radio Raheem a character that stood for the usage of violence just like Malcolm X, but using the necessary appropriate manner. A character that depicted the two feelings of senses a human being has and can choose, either love or hate. Stating his famous quote of choosing love or hate hand that is either good or evil. Saying the powerful quote from once old Hollywood film ‘Night of the Hunter’, “one hand is always fighting the other hand, and the left hand is kicking much ass”. The quote defines what type of character he plays in the iconic film of being concerned with the problem of justice.
Part of Radio Raheem character was that his famous big loud boom box in which he used powerful music. During this time hip-pop was known to be the ‘Golden Age of Rap’ which was the ice tip breaking point of the music industry and becoming mainstream. A genre of hip-pop was made into a powerful tool to fight against a problem. ‘Fight the Power’ by Public Enemy was one of the many songs released that defined angry in resistance of authority and of establishment. The song tackles the ideal theme that Lee intended to make the film, of is fighting the power the right thing to do. Lee thought the song was perfect to include in the film. Utilizing the song to open in the beginning to set the story by Tina and throughout the whole film through Radio Raheem’s boom box. The song demonstrating the anger towards what was going on during the time period politically. The constantly playing of the song that Radio Raheem played acted like a new civil rights movement and trying to achieve his goal of making a change in the community in getting justice and equality without the usage of violence.
Not everyone liked his loud boom box, for example, Sal was one of the characters that didn’t like his loud music or what he called ‘jungle music’ being played in his shop. This loud music that explicit no harm Sal took into his own hands on turning down the music by smashing the boom box with a baseball bat. The smashing commenced a huge fight that then later led to Radio Raheem’s death when resisted to be arrested and made police officers hold him a chokehold because they were afraid of what he was capable of doing. His death was an example of using the song as a tool in doing the right thing. Although the usage of violence was never intended hate took over and fought the power.
Spike Lee’s film ‘Do the Right Thing’ portrays the trying of change that people of minority want to make since they are sick and tired of the same injustice occurring over and over. The tiredness of seeing another injustice murder happens due to the color of the skin or where you come from with a racially motivated mindset. After 30 years that the film has been released the hauntings of the murders that occurred during the period time of the 1980s still happened to this day in age. Every year is a handful of injustice killings or beating are committed with the indentation of prejudice not going away here in American.
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