Radio Raheem In Do The Right Thing

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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. …show more content…

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

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