One thing that was very prevelant throughout the movie was that since there were no pictures of African Americans on the wall, the African American customers at Sal’s Pizzaria took great offense to this. They believed that since they were the only customers of Sal’s, then there should be pictures of prominant white people in society. Some of the people that they want on the wall include: Martin Luther King Jr., Malcom X, and Jackie Robinson. Just with those people alone, they were all very influential. PEople who are African American would view this film and feel the same way. Back when the movie was made, racism was still sort of engrained in people’s every day lives when it shouldn’t have been. The audience could asume that this movie was made the way it was to show how dumb it was that racism was still an everyday thing. Just how Sal’s one son acts towards the customers, shows that some people really did not like the African Americans during this time but others, such as Sal and his other son, did not have any issues with them. White Americans would also view this film and see how irrational they could have been acting towards other races and want to change the way they act on a daily basis.
One of the reasons why Sal did not want to put pictures of African Americans on his wall was because he felt that since he built his restaurant by hand, that he did not have to put things on his wall that he did not want on there. Since the conflict between Sal and his customers grew greater, they decided to trash his store and burn it down. People who viewed this movie and have ever built something that they own by hand, would symoathize with Sal and feel the same way. People who build their own things take pride in what they do and do not want others to take what they built and chnge it on them. The Mob broke out after a fight broke out between Sal and 2 customers that did not agree with how they were being treated. Radio Raheenm was killed by a police officer and then the mob decided to burn his restaurant down. After this haooened, everyone on the block realized how stupid it was that this happened and the American public that has seen this film, would feel the same way.
Work Cited
Film:
Lee, Spike, director. Do the Right Thing. Do The Right Thing, 21 July 1989, http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0097216/. Starring: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee
Images:
“Do The Right Thing – Production, Controversies and Reception ⋆ FilmmakerIQ.com.” FilmmakerIQ.com, filmmakeriq.com/lessons/right-thing-production-controversies-reception/.
“10 Things You Might Not Know About Do the Right Thing.” Mental Floss, Mental Floss, 13 Aug. 2018, mentalfloss.com/article/554245/facts-about-do-the-right-thing-spike-lee.
CMS 300 Mike Spence 