Destruction, poverty, and violence are just a few examples of discrimination that the Black community had to go through during the 1960-1980’s , and are all similar issues portrayed in the films “Black Power Mixtape” and “Do The Right Thing”. Both films have their own story, but both reflect on the racial injustice Black citizens faced, while also educating viewers on the violence that occurred during that time through riots, and police brutality. Each film comments on African American experiences of racial injustice by telling a story of pride and power, while also demonstrating destruction, brutality, and violence throughout the Black community.
The famous film directed by Spike Lee “Do The Right Thing”, focuses on racially diverse individuals who live and work in a lower class neighborhood in Brooklyn,
…show more content…
In “Do The Right Thing”, there are many racist stereotypes portrayed by the characters, and show destruction towards the neighborhood consisting of trash talking, police violence, and riots. This same concept is also portrayed in “The Black Power mixtape”, where many Black activists explain how African Americans fought for their rights through the help of the Black Panther Party that started in Oakland, California. Both films illustrate the struggle African Americans went through, and shows that even with all of the violence and brutality, they still had pride and power. The issues portrayed in these films are extremely important because they highlight cultural differences and problems that still go on in the world today. Racism is still very present in todays society through out all races, and police brutality is still a huge issue that may only get worse. There are still racist stereotypes, violence, and trash talking through out every culture, which is why it is very important to be educated on the
White privilege negatively impacts social justice which can lead to irreversible actions. Hillary Clinton once said, “If a country doesn't recognize minority rights and human rights, including women's rights, you will not have the kind of stability and prosperity that is possible.” We are all equals, whether we are woman, have a disability or are coloured. We all deserve the same rights. Without social injustice, life would be made fair.
Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, two authors, two activists who advocated different strategies to achieve a shared end, have since their deaths, transcended the local, pragmatic potency of their respective narratives of African-American resistance (Garrow, 1991). The film 's use of the metonymic figures “King” and “X” as well as the ethically divergent meta-narratives of which they are the cultural signifiers suffuses its dramatic structure with the ideological tension generated by the trope of “double-consciousness” (Garrow, 1991). The vehicle by which Do the Right Thing represents the black community reminding itself, so to speak, of the presence of these figures is the ubiquitous Smiley, a young man with cerebral palsy who earns money selling photographs of African-American heroes to his Bedford-Stuyvesant neighbors. The film calls attention to one image in particular: the famous photograph of King and Malcolm X shaking hands and smiling during their first and only meeting.
The teacher asks whether or not black students still care about racial justice and the boy responds by saying, “In the fifties we still had something to prove so we had a reason to fight”. The teacher asks, “you don’t think black students are competing now?”. His response: “No.” Maybe the filmmakers took this exchange out of context or maybe the student was trying to say something else, but it saddened me to think that there might be children who already feel a sense of defeat. The recent media campaigns surrounding police violence against black individuals, something that has been going on for decades just without media coverage, is showing the public that there is far more that needs to be done in order to make America equal for all races.
As of the year 2016, there are an estimated 324,118,787 people living in America. 324,118,787 people consider themselves to be Americans and 324,118,787 people have decided that America really is worthy enough to be called home. These people, whether they were born within the country or emigrated from another country, comingle in this melting pot of a nation, sharing grocery stores and hospitals and neighborhoods and all the ideologies that make up American society, and each of these people have their own lives and opinions and personal beliefs. All of these people, all (roughly) 324,118,787 of them, fall under the definition of an American – a person who lives in America, because there is simply no other way to define what an American is when
Do the Right Thing Essay Spike Lee’s film Do the Right Thing portrayed the struggle between young Blacks and the problems that they face. They are put in situations where whatever they choose to do could be considered wrong by people that aren’t Black, hence the title Do the Right Thing. How do they know what the right thing to do is? Has the violent culture in their neighborhoods and their relationship with police officers given them limited choices?
When we think of heroes we often think of a masked vigilanty or a cape crusader swooping down from the heavens and saving the day. Although heroes come in many shapes and sizes, they also tend to come from different backgrounds. The people of the United States pride themselves with freedom and equality. However, still to this day there is a struggle with discrimination. Matt Zoller Seitz’s article “The Offensive Movie Cliché That Won’t Die” definitely sparked some interest and was definitely right when it came to the offensive issue most people do not see.
The opening scene of Do The Right Thing, gives the audience a brief glimpse of several eccentric characters actions on the morning of a hot summer day in New York City. Although each shot appears unrelated, each of the characters exhibited will play a significant role in uniting or dividing the neighborhood they all inhabit during a riot which emmerges in the climax of the film. At its core, Do The Right Thing, directed by Spike Lee, is a film which explores race relations, following the lives and actions of several characters as a growing conflict emerges between the Italian-American and African-American residents of the community. Lee effectively builds tension throughout the film by following conventional narrative elements in some cases,
For example, sanitation workers had to carry bags of garbage that had holes in them and since they were paid low wages, they ended up poor on welfare. Not only was this film was a way of seeing another turning point during the civil rights movement but also, African Americans fighting for justice. Even though I was not born during that time, I can understand how they felt because it wasn’t that easy. In today’s society racism isn’t as bad as what it was during that time. Besides we still have times were we face racism in our lives so I would say in some areas racism is still a
This movie did a great job of showing how certain society’s work, races such as African Americans, Hispanics, and Persians/Asians were being treated wrong in the movie, and it displays the sociological concepts.
Racism and racial inequality was extremely prevalent in America during the 1950’s and 1960’s. James Baldwin shows how racism can poison and make a person bitter in his essay “Notes of a Native Son”. Dr. Martin Luther King’s “A Letter from Birmingham Jail” also exposes the negative effects of racism, but he also writes about how to combat racism. Both texts show that the violence and hatred caused from racism form a cycle that never ends because hatred and violence keeps being fed into it. The actions of the characters in “Notes of a Native Son” can be explain by “A Letter from Birmingham Jail”, and when the two texts are paired together the racism that is shown in James Baldwin’s essay can be solved by the plan Dr. King proposes in his
Black women are treated less than because of their ascribed traits, their gender and race, and are often dehumanized and belittled throughout the movie. They are treated like slaves and are seen as easily disposable. There are several moments throughout the film that show the racial, gender, and class inequalities. These moments also show exploitation and opportunity hoarding. The Help also explains historical context of the inequality that occurred during that time period.
In the movie Twelve Angry Men each character, or juror, has varying personalities. In particular, Jurors 8, 10, and 3 stuck out to me the most. All three of them are completely different people, with little in common. Some are prejudiced, some are not. Most people think: Oh, if you’re on a jury there should be no prejudice whatsoever or it won’t be fair.
There are white thugs just as commonly as there are black. Even as it unfolds with a terrible sense of inevitability, “Fruitvale Station” is rarely predictable. The climatic encounter with BART police officers erupts in a mood of vertiginous uncertainty, defusing facile or inflammatory judgments and bending the audience’s emotional horror and moral outrage toward a both necessary and difficult ethical inquiry. How did this happen? How did we – meaning any one of us who might see faces of our own depicted on that screen – allow
The film Do the Right Thing, composed, coordinated and delivered by Spike Lee, concentrates on a solitary day of the lives of racially different individuals who live and work in a lower class neighborhood in Brooklyn New York. Be that as it may, this conventional day happens on one of the most sweltering days of the mid year. The film focuses on how social class, race and the ethical choices that the characters make directly affect the way individuals interface with each other. It begins with the film's characters awakening to begin their day and peaks with an area revolt after cops too much limit and kill a youthful dark man named Radio Raheem for battling a more seasoned Italian American eatery proprietor named Sal in his pizzeria, and afterward
What I mean is a African American may view this film as a means to diminish their culture, a white person may believe this film makes them look evil and a police officer may believe this film makes officers look like they are above the law or feel like they should be above the law. These differences can cause conflict when