I really liked the movie "Do the Right Thing" because though it did not have a true plot line, I think it did a great job of depicting reality and following distressed characters in their everyday lives. There was not a happy ending, but reality does not always have a happy ending either.
I think that Mookie was the character who grew the most as a person. I think once he realized the reality of his life and everything that came with it, he was forced to grow up and take responsibility for his actions. At the beginning of the movie, Mookie did not pay attention to his son like he should have, and he barely even visited his girlfriend, the mother of his son. He did not have a care in the world except for getting money and he tried his best to get the money without working for it. He was lazy and selfish in the beginning, but towards the end of the movie, he realized that he would need to start caring for others in order to succeed in life. After the fire at Sal's Pizzeria, Mookie found Sal to ask for his paycheck. When Sal gave him extra money, he would not accept the extra money. I think that this shows a turning point in his personality because he finally understood a person needs to work for every cent that they earn, and it cannot just be handed to him or her.
Though Mookie changed for the better, I think that Sal changed for the worse. I think that from going through the attacks on his store, he became more prejudice. In the beginning of the movie, he was completely tolerant of all races and he even said that Mookie felt like a son to him. However, once Radio Raheem started attacking him in his store, Sal attacked him back by yelling out every racial slur he could think of. I think this shows that Sal may have become prejudice, but at the same time, he was caught in a pressure situation and he was just trying to defend himself in any way possible. I was in shock when the police man killed Radio Raheem. Though Radio Raheem was acting out, it was unnecessary and cruel for the police to physically kill him. Also, when one of the police was killing Radio Raheem, the other police was shouting, "Stop, that's enough!". This was great of the other police to do to try to save Radio Raheem, but he could have helped even more and pulled Radio Raheem from the policeman's grip before he died. Words only go so far, so that policeman just telling him to stop did not help the situation at all. I think that this policeman was trying to do the right thing, but failed. I think that the entire community was at fault and did not do the right thing. Sal was of no threat to the community and he did not do any harm to them. He was completely tolerant of all races and was nice enough to stay open late and always serve the community his pizza. The community should have tried talking to him or threatening him through words before completely destroying his store and his life over a picture on a wall. I do believe in physical violence and self-defence when it is necessary and the last resort, but in this case it was completely unnecessary and the town did not try hard enough to use other methods to get Sal's attention before destroying his store and using physical violence. I also think that Mookie did not do the right thing by throwing the trash can at the window. Sal was so good to him, and it really surprised me that he was the one to start the destruction of Sal's Pizzeria. However, if you think of it another way, he could have been saving Sal and his sons by directing the attention on destroying the store, instead of destroying the people. I like to think that Mookie was trying to help Sal and his sons by throwing the trash can because I think that Mookie actually felt that Sal cared for him.
Though Mookie changed for the better, I think that Sal changed for the worse. I think that from going through the attacks on his store, he became more prejudice. In the beginning of the movie, he was completely tolerant of all races and he even said that Mookie felt like a son to him. However, once Radio Raheem started attacking him in his store, Sal attacked him back by yelling out every racial slur he could think of. I think this shows that Sal may have become prejudice, but at the same time, he was caught in a pressure situation and he was just trying to defend himself in any way possible. I was in shock when the police man killed Radio Raheem. Though Radio Raheem was acting out, it was unnecessary and cruel for the police to physically kill him. Also, when one of the police was killing Radio Raheem, the other police was shouting, "Stop, that's enough!". This was great of the other police to do to try to save Radio Raheem, but he could have helped even more and pulled Radio Raheem from the policeman's grip before he died. Words only go so far, so that policeman just telling him to stop did not help the situation at all. I think that this policeman was trying to do the right thing, but failed. I think that the entire community was at fault and did not do the right thing. Sal was of no threat to the community and he did not do any harm to them. He was completely tolerant of all races and was nice enough to stay open late and always serve the community his pizza. The community should have tried talking to him or threatening him through words before completely destroying his store and his life over a picture on a wall. I do believe in physical violence and self-defence when it is necessary and the last resort, but in this case it was completely unnecessary and the town did not try hard enough to use other methods to get Sal's attention before destroying his store and using physical violence. I also think that Mookie did not do the right thing by throwing the trash can at the window. Sal was so good to him, and it really surprised me that he was the one to start the destruction of Sal's Pizzeria. However, if you think of it another way, he could have been saving Sal and his sons by directing the attention on destroying the store, instead of destroying the people. I like to think that Mookie was trying to help Sal and his sons by throwing the trash can because I think that Mookie actually felt that Sal cared for him.
