The boom box was a term used to describe a radio or cassette player. These radios were built to be portable and meant to be carried with the user. During the use of the boom box, it was so common to hear hip hop and R&B that many associated the boom box with African Americans. One such stereotypical character found in film was that of Radio Raheem in Do the Right Thing. Radio Raheem seems to the viewer at first to be nothing but a stereotypical representation of the African American carrying a boom box. Upon closer inspection, Radio Raheem is a discussion on freedom of speech and how far one should be able to carry that freedom whether it be in the form of a boom box or not.
Do the Right Thing is a slice of live in a Brooklyn neighborhood.
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It has many secondary characters that flow in and out of the story that follows closely with the actions of Mookie, but Radio Raheem directly breaks the flow of the movie. He carries with him a large boom box that is always playing “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy (Lee). One scene where Radio Raheem breaks the flow of the movie is when the Neighborhood is playing in the water from the fire hydrant (Lee). In the scene, Radio Raheem is allowed by the people using the fire hydrant to cross the street without being sprayed by the water (Lee). He literally interrupts the stream of water or flow of the movie in this scene all the while playing his music (Lee). This scene shows to the audience that the neighborhood respects Radio Raheem and even see his message (the song) as being important. This is the first scene that shows that Radio Raheem is more than just the guy who carries around the boom box. He has a message in the form of a song that he carries everywhere for everyone to hear almost like the town crier of old. The song booming throughout the neighborhood may be supported by the neighborhood, but the character Sal doesn’t support it especially within his pizzeria.
In the scene where Radio Raheem goes to get two slices of pizza, he continues to play the song (Lee). Sal shouts expletives at him until he turns it off (Lee). Sal believes that the song is just an annoyance, but Radio Raheem believes it is more than that. He believes that it is a form of his speech which is why he acts so frustrated and angered by Sal’s response to the message that he is carrying (Lee). Radio Raheem believes that his freedom is being fringed upon. Therefore, in a different scene when the character Buggin Out asks Radio Raheem if he will join the boycott of Sal’s Pizzeria, Radio Raheem joins the it with enthusiasm (Lee). Radio Raheem wants to show Sal that his song is an important message and a form of his freedom of speech. Radio Raheem is just protesting those who would discourage his speech.
This protest, however, doesn’t have a good outcome for Radio Raheem. He doesn’t win over Sal. In the scene where the men go to boycott Sal’s Pizzeria, Sal destroys Radio Raheem’s boom box (Lee). This causes Raheem to attack Sal. This action then leads to the police coming to the rescue of Sal (Lee). While pulling Raheem off Sal, the police choke him until he dies (Lee). Raheem literally dies for the right to freedom of speech. In “Fight the Power”, the song has line that says, “Our Freedom of speech is freedom or
death” and Raheem’s freedom of speech led to his death (Public Enemy). Now even the song “Fight the Power” is a discussion on freedom of speech. The line above outlines that freedom of speech is either met with freedom or death (Public Enemy). The next line provides a solution in the statement, “We’ve got to fight the powers that be.” The song speaks to making people see so that they can “fight the powers that be” with that which you know (Public Enemy). Radio Raheem is just following that example to show people with the only thing he knows, his radio. The song speaks to Radio Raheem being more than just the boom box touting youth of 1989. Radio Raheem represents African American’s voice in the form of song. The white part of America doesn’t understand that this is how African American’s are trying to speak. Even when the song is blaring right in front of them and interrupting their very lives, they fail to understand it’s message. Radio Raheem is a discussion on the freedom of speech of African Americans and how specifically white Americans don’t understand. The message of Do the Right Thing when it comes to Radio Raheem is that maybe we should just take a moment and listen to what people have to say, especially when they are blaring in right in front of us.
One of the most important Questions that people are dying to know, why didn't officer Rick French the first responding officer open the small door where JonBenet was found. Officer Rick French was the first officer on the scene, after Patsy Ramsey made that frantic 911 call to police a little after 6 a.m. After arriving at the scene one of the first discoveries made by officer French was the "Ransom note and later conducted a quick search of the house...in the basement, he came to a door secured with a wooden latch...according to reports he paused for a moment in front of the door but walked away" (Newsweek). At the time he felt that it was of no importance initially just wanting to check to see if there were any signs of forced entry by focusing
This rally became a massive label during this period and even in today’s society. Recently there was a riot in Baltimore due to African-American, Freddie Gray, who died of severe spinal cord injury after police arrested him. The protestors marched down the streets and “chanted ‘No Justice, No Peace’” (Alcindor). The meaning behind the rallying cry, “No Justice, No Peace” was that as long as injustice prevails, acting peacefully is nothing but a mere impossibility. It is a citizen’s obligation to take a stance against injustice, even if that means the use of violence. When the African-American society feels they are being served unjustly, they will stop at no means until they acquire equal rights and opportunities. Some thoughts that may pass through their minds might be, “why should we act accordingly if we are treated unfairly.” We see two examples of complete injustice through the Rodney King case and Latasha Harlins. Countless African-Americans are rioting and will continue to do so until they feel they are receiving equal treatment from the white
The plot of the radio play is developed through the use of sounds and dialogue. For example, Harry shouts at the martians in the mountains when he is upset, instead of looking at them and thinking to himself. When Harry shouts, it shows more emotion than the short story because it clearly shows the reader that he is very upset. Harry’s voice sounds agitated and worried. In the short story, the plot is developed through thoughts. Instead of Harry shouting at the mountains, he quietly thinks to himself. Even though the short story and the radio play say almost exactly the same thing, the short story fails to achieve the same emotion of the radio play. Since the reader does not hear Harry’s voice, they cannot listen to his frustration. The radio play also adds music to create stronger tone. For example, when Harry talks to Cora about about the martian landform names, he says, “Somehow it doesn’t seem right to change those
Through King’s peaceful protest, he works to find his definition of good life in equality, where peaceful protest can “create a situation. [and] inevitably open the door to negotiation,” (King). However, King’s attempt to overwrite centuries of oppression and rise against unjust laws doesn’t come without its own set of consequences and benefits.... ... middle of paper ...
The book depicts the story of culture conflicts of the music, which arose from the introduction of the foot-tapping, hip-swaying music now known as rock n' roll (Graarrq). The outcome of rock n’ roll coincided with tremendous uproar in the movement to grant civil rights to African American. Trapped in the racial politics of the 1950s, rock n’ roll was credited with and criticized for promoting integration and economic opportunity for blacks while bringing to “mainstream” cloture black styles and values (Altschuler). Black values were looked over and kind of not important to whites. Whites were very much so well treated then blacks were, however no one spoke out until the outcome of rock n’ roll.
“Radio” is such a classic film because of the accuracy of the story. It received a 36% on Rotten Tomatoes (Rotten Tomatoes). However, I feel that it deserves a 90% or more. Radio’s character was very vibrant and true to life, and it resonated with the majority of viewers. However, not everyone felt that way. Radio was also discriminated against by a police officer. He had trouble communicating with the officer who had stopped him because he was suspicious, and because of that, the officer became frustrated and decided to arrest him, when he had committed no
Black Lives Matter. Women’s Marches. In today’s society, we need not look far to see various examples of civil disobedience. Yet, there is still much opposition on the people’s right to speak up - to fight for their rights. Why is this so, when our country seems to have evolved into what it is today, precisely because of it? It is my firm belief that while the United States of America remains a free society - a democracy run by the people - the protesting of unjust laws and traditions will always have a uniquely positive impact in the country.
The words “civil rights” trigger a sense in the human mind. One of remorse, passion, and hope in a cause worth fighting for. Those weathered by its raging storms refer to it as a turning point in American life after over a century under segregation that can only be described as a necessary silence that African Americans were forced to take on the matter. However, the human mind found itself a way to express those feelings that flowed from its veins. That expression of power and revolt was music. Music acted as the horses that pulled pearlescent chariots of liberty and freedom to the front doors of the White House through public protests, involvement of musical artists, and its impact on the lives and culture of those who were oppressed. As a person against “civil rights”, it was viewed as a very simple matter, the music of the era was the devil’s work and needed to be stopped. Those approving of “civil rights” just pushed the activists further and further to the freedoms they believed that African Americans deserved.
When the piece was originally written for the Hot Chocolates, it was considered to be “America’s first `racial protest song`… [and] certainly Razaf’s lyric stripped bare essences of racial discontent that had very rarely if ever been addressed by any African American musically” (Singer 219). The music was created to express the hardships of the black community and the intra-racial discrimination, evident by the line: Browns and yellers all have fellers, gentlemen prefer them right. This illustrates that within the black community, those of fairer complexion were preferred. In Armstrong’s performance, the piece was removed from its original context of a Broadway show and placed as a stand-alone piece. In doing this, the emotion created by the Broadway performance and the stage scene were lost and “Black and Blue” became just another bluesy piece. Further, his “recitativo vocal style underscore[d] the song’s plaintive quality, while his exuberant embellished trumpet solos at the beginning and the end … counteract[ed] despair” (Meckna 38). However, Armstrong dropped the verse about intra-racial prejudice and made the chorus a “threnody for blacks of every shade” (Teachout 139). In doing this, he altered the music from being just about intra-racial issues to a global of scale of the battle between black and whites and the prejudices.
Likewise, violent protests raise awareness in a negative and oftentimes irrational light. Following the tragic shooting of Michael Brown in the fall of 2014***, countless riots shed light on a new twist on a century-old issue; race in America. The man shot was an African-American, unarmed, young adult. He was shot by a white police officer who believed the young man to be a threat to his safety. His death became the catalyst for the modern Black Lives Matter movement’s stance on equality in American justice systems. While the movement places an emphasis on a need for change, much like Martin Luther King did in the 1960’s, the mass riots from Ferguson, Missouri to Baltimore, Maryland contradict civil disobedience. The riots caused hundreds of vandalisms, countless injuries of police officers in both cities, and created fear for the movement. Awareness for the issues were raised because of this movement, but the violent initial spark of it derailed the solid proof of the need for change. This further proves the necessity that civil disobedience is on a free society; peaceable expression of views has a heavier weight when it comes to altering the course of a
When we think of the word “Protest,” we may think of the events that have happened recently. Egypt, Turkey, Libya and other countries where citizens have come out to the streets protesting their government. Not all protesting approaches are like this. Many, throughout history, have been based around peaceful actions. This approach was used during one of the great line of protests in American history. The Civil Rights movement. Many leaders used peace to promote their cause and promoted the passing of laws such as the Voting Rights Act of 1965. The many leaders of this movement, Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, and others influenced others to join the strive for equality. One of these people that they influenced was John Lewis.
In today?s society, we value and learn to tolerate different cultures and people. Sometimes people end up expressing themselves differently as well. This country is based on the idea that we may express ourselves any way we want to, be it religion, organizing, writing, or speaking. Music has been a popular form of expression for centuries. These days, in the country best known for freedom, some people are trying to censor it the freedom of music. Music should not be censored along with any other form of expression otherwise what we and artists say are being controlled. If we value freedom, then that includes what we may say and how we say it even in musical form.
The goal of protest music is to promote freedom through music. Bob Marley expresses his belief that music is a message and route to freedom in the song “Trench Town”.... ... middle of paper ... ...of a syllable.
Protest is not always in the form of picketing outside a private property. There can be many forms of protest. Some include picketing, rioting, mass gatherings, strikes, and petitions. The difference between this and using music as a form of protest, aside from violence, is that music can be done in a way that almost everyone can appreciate. Music does not hurt anybody. In fact, music is something that almost every human being in the world likes. The style of music changes throughout each person but the core of music is similar in everybody. Music is something that brings everybody together and using it as a way of protest, for necessary reasons, is a great idea compared to the other forms of protest such as picketing, rioting, etc.
As crowds throughout history have always protested for their voice to be heard as in the Salem to Montgomery March , police have always been around to maintain the crowd and to make sure no violence occurs. On the contrary, this is not always the case. On the 25th of March, 1965, there was a nonviolent march led by leader Martin Luther King Jr, who protested due to end the act that prevented African Americans to vote. To elaborate more on this event is it