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  • Essay / Do the Right Thing: How Aggression Catalyzes Racism

    Does aggression help improve a situation or does it only make it worse? Similar to the effect of one domino pushing the next, acts of aggression and violence only create more problems one after another. Why people choose to become violent while taking a stand is a major problem in the United States, as shown in the Spike Lee film Do The Right Thing. This film depicts what racism was like in the cities of New York in the 1980s and the aggression that accompanies it. When one member of a community decides to become violent, others almost always join in. Even if they think they are defending themselves, they only create more problems. This film is a great representation of what America faced not only in the 80s, but even today. To do the right thing towards people of different races, aggression is never the answer because it creates a domino effect of violence. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Throughout the history of Do The Right Thing, there have been serious attacks between the races, which ultimately caused the inevitable result of violence in the city. Two important characters, Buggin' Out (played by Giancarlo Esposito) and Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn), discover that they both have a problem with Sal (Danny Aiello) and his pizzeria. Buggin' Out creates a problem in Sal's pizzeria because there are only photographs of white celebrities hanging on the walls. He wants to feel a sense of equality when he enters. When he goes to get a slice of pizza, he wants to feel welcome in the store, but instead he feels like Sal and his sons are racist. Sal clearly disagrees with the photos, saying it is an Italian pizzeria and only Italian characters are on the wall. However, Buggin' Out argues that all of Sal's customers are African American and that he should try to appeal more to the community. Radio Raheem clearly has a passion for the music blaring from his boombox and the song "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy but Sal makes an issue of it by telling him to turn off the music while he's in the pizzeria. While Sal started out respectful, it quickly turned into aggression, which obviously infuriated Radio Raheem. Sal wanted peace and quiet at his pizzeria, which is reasonable, but the way he handled the situation made the problem even worse. If Sal wants to continue serving his customers, he should be more willing to work with them. Now he's creating a problem with Radio Raheem and Buggin' Out, who will most likely tell other people, making it seem like Sal isn't loyal to his customers. Many characters in the film make quick, bad decisions that create an uproar of aggression, which leads to a domino effect of violence and even death. Radio Raheem and Buggin' Out attempt to boycott Sal's pizzeria due to their past experiences. Radio Raheem entered the store blasting his boombox with the song “Fight the Power.” Visibly furious, Sal reacts without thinking of the consequences; he started shouting in Radio Raheem's face and made the decision to smash the radio with a bat. This caused Raheem to start fighting Sal, which was just the beginning of the domino effect. Everyone in the pizzeria started fighting against each other, then quickly walked outside, where the entire community joined in. Crowds of people pushed, punched and kicked each other until the police soon arrived. However, the.