MovieChat Forums > Do the Right Thing (1989) Discussion > Am I supposed to give a *beep*

Am I supposed to give a beep

posted 9 years ago by gza55
17 replies | jump to latest

Am I supposed to care that Radio Raheem got killed?? He was a real prick, harrassing the Korean grocers, then he is CHOKING a old man, who pretty much did right by everyone in the neighborhood regardless of their race....Raheem is a *beep* waste of human life, him being killed does nothing but free up oxygen,, And that goes for anybody White, Black, Chinese ect....If your willing to be a "tough guy" and take it a step further choke out an Old man....U should be prepared to die,, Cause eventually ur gunna pull that *beep* with the wrong guy anyway.....and that's that

[–] Panthro44 9 years ago

The irony of your post is....wow.

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When we're thinking about our own brain, would that be a mental paradox??

[–] gza55 9 years ago

I don't think you understand what the word Ironic means......

[–] friendoffilm 9 years ago

Radio Raheem definitely was a total prick, and he did things to other people that were rather vicious, but that still doesn't justify the cops going overboard and killing him outright. Had the cops arrested Radio Raheem, had him tried for and convicted of assault and attempted murder (choking Sal), and then sentenced to a term in the clink, that would've been one thing, but the cops went too far here, making a martyr out of Radio Raheem for the Black community.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

The cops went too far in killing a career criminal and murderer? Ok? So you are saying it's fine that blacks kill people. We should just let blacks do what they want, right? Well, look where that got you.

[–] holymbv 9 years ago

Well I think you're missing the point of the movie. Think first about the relationship between the two Italian brothers. The oldest brother is constantly bullying his younger, skinnier, less aggressive brother into doing and thinking things against his will. Is the older brother's anger and aggression towards his brother and black people necessary? Not at all.

You can relate this to the way that Buggin' Out threatens to boycott Sal's because he won't put pictures of Black people on the wall. Could Buggin' Out have been more respectful? Of course! Imagine if Buggin' convinced Mookie's sister to talk to Sal about putting black pictures on the wall... Different results, don't you think?

And of course the same thing can be said about Radio Raheem. His stereo wouldn't have been smashed if he didn't play the music so loudly. And he didn't have to attack Sal for smashing his stereo that plays just one song. Sure that song is totally political, but what else is Radio doing to "fight the power"? He's like a millennial who just tweets hashtags without actually doing anything.

Anyway, are we supposed to feel bad about Radio's death? Well, not in the way that you think. We're supposed to lament the fact that Radio's death could have been avoided if these people treated each other with respect. Radio didn't have to play his music so loudly. Sal didn't have to smash the stereo. Radio didn't have to attack Sal. And as for the cops, well... Wasn't the cop and Radio attempting to achieve the same results, more or less?

The movie is anti-violence. I'll stop there.

[–] Iceman-15 9 years ago

Radio did not just play his music loudly, he went into a restaurant after hours demanding that the owner put pictures of black people on the wall, as well as the other things you said. The OP is correct. Radio is supposed to elicit sympathy, but he didn't, and you're not supposed to empathize as much as you did for the Sal character. The screenplay and the direction were both poor efforts; which, left the audience puzzled, that is rational thinking members of the audience.

I graduated from the college of the streets, I gotta Phd in how to make ends meet.

[–] 9 years ago

[deleted]

[–] franzkabuki 8 years ago

"Convinced Mookie's sister to talk to Sal about putting black pictures on the wall... Different results, don't you think?"

Not really - it's still a ridiculous idea. The identity and the flavour of the place were intimately tied to its Italianness, in addition to serving pizza it was like a shrine to Italian-American culture in the middle of the black neighbourhood. There's no rational reason why this identity should have been diluted by introducing pictures of blacks; Buggin' and Raheem were hypersensitive and insecure beyond belief to allow this one Italian oasis upset them so much.

"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

Don't you know that blacks were kangz and that moslems were kangz and that all italians are really black and that the Roman Empire was black?

[–] Information-Police (4895) 7 years ago

Very well put. Some people want to think of this movie in terms of who is right and who is wrong. It's more complicated than that. I don't think Spike spared anyone.

[–] rlong3404 8 years ago

Radio Raheem didn't harass anybody. All he did was play his music loud. Sal made the point the next morning to Mookie that Raheem "...is dead because of his friend. That *beep* started all this *beep* There were a lot of things that could have been prevented. Spike explains this in the DVD commentary that had Sal not let in the four teenagers and stayed closed, Raheem and Bugging Out could not have gotten in. After letting them in, Mookie should have locked the door back.

Yet all this did not justify the cops choking Raheem to death, versus just taking him down and arresting him.

[–] alex-76785 8 years ago

Radio Raheem was a prick. First time he goes for rwonslices, he doesn't respect other people's property by playing his music - satisfying himself, no courtesy - please or thank you (which he complains about later with sal not doing in return), demands more cheese and behaves the same crappy way to the Koreans.

Nobody deserved dying though.

And I think the basic point was if Raheem had been pleasant (use LOVE instead of HATE) he would have got more of what he wanted.

Same with Buggin - he could have asked his friend who Sal was sweet on to help his cause.

Smiley was a prick too - Sal was always friendly and polite to him and he spat in his face, lit the match and was glad at the result.

Lastly, Mookie should and could have done more to calm the situation from someone who looked after him but instead lit the fuse.

It is confusing. I think the people we assume we should be sympathetic to, we should but for not-so-obvious reasons.

[–] PreachCaleb 8 years ago

Unfortunately, too many people, rather than sympathizing with the loss of a human's life (despite what they think of him), all they can say is he was a prick, or whatever.

That is no where near justifiable for dying at the hands of the police. The police are there to serve and protect everyone. Everyone. That includes criminals.

I think mookie did the right thing at the end. He turned the crowds anger towards Sal's Pizza and away from Sal. He probably saved the man's life.

But again, some people aren't interested in human life and just see destruction of property. It's just stuff. Things. Things that pale in comparison to a human life.

You are sin.

[–] Bosdog6777 (817) 6 years ago

Stuff and Things is the American way by your thinking we would be a 3rd world shit hole

[–] junmengo-708-683197 8 years ago

I don't think OP get the point of the movie.

Sympathize towards great, perfect, gentle people is easy

There's zero effort to it

What is really difficult and important is to treat with respect people that aren't reapectful, show the other face if anybody in the movie did that

Literally anybody none of what happened would happen

[–] PreachCaleb 8 years ago

That's a good point. Even if he was a thug, he didn't deserve to be choked to death on the streets.

Seize the moment, 'cause tomorrow you might be dead.

[–] [deleted] 6 years ago

"What is really difficult and important is to treat with respect people that aren't reapectful"

What? If you don't give respect, you cannot expect it back, and you certainly don't deserve it. Why don't blacks start giving respect and they might get it back? Kanye made it to the White House and sat there ranting aside the world's most powerful man. If he was any other colour that would never happen, and certainly not in the absurd way it did.