Radio Raheem In Do The Right Thing

In the film Do The Right Thing, the significance of Radio Raheem's character is better understood after his death. We see very little of him throughout the film and we learn little about his background, unlike some of the other characters. Whenever we see him in a film he is walking with his radio playing “Fight the Power” by the rap group Public Enemy. In most of his scene he comes off as a very angry individual and we begin to see who he respects and who he doesn’t. The lyrics in one part says, “Our freedom of speech is freedom or death, We've got to fight the powers that be” which can indicate how he let’s the music speak for him. It also can be an indicator that Radio Raheem will not back down and will fight for his form of expression with his life.

Radio Raheem approaches them with his music blasting, “Fight the Power” and stands within feet of the group. He doesn’t say a word but the group of men get annoyed because he is disrupting them from listening to their music. Both Radio Raheem and the group quickly battle over who’s radio can play louder to which Radio Raheem wins. He then turns around and leaves. Here we see his lack of respect for the latin culture or possibly his inability to relate to other cultures. In a later scene with Mookey he explains the significance behind his rings that represent both LOVE and HATE. He seems to struggle with both of these emotions and the constant battle between love and hate in the society they live