College Writing Workshop: Professor Young
6 September 2017
Do the Right Thing Quotes
Dr. Martin Luther King's quote states how violence solves nothing, and all it does is makes things worse. Even if you think it is effective, in the end it will just turn on itself. Meanwhile, Malcolm X's quote may not be saying be as destructive as possible, but he is all for using violence where you see fit. He is implying that if it can end a situation, you should use it. Both of these quotes can be tied into the script of Do the Right Thing by Spike Lee, as these quotes allow the viewer to sit back and realize which quote was favored more by the neighborhood, and whether the people in the play were really doing the right thing.
When relating the script to Martin Luther King's quote, you can relate it on a smaller scale than with Malcolm X's, however, it is still recognized. When the mob burned down Sal's Pizzeria, it created bitterness within the survivor. In this case the survivor was Sal. If he did not have a strong distaste for the black neighborhood before this, it would not be surprising if he does now. His hard work was destroyed, all because of an act of violence in a community. Violence also created brutality in the destroyers. Now, after burning down the building in an act of rage, it just shows the brutality in all of them, and the savagery that was drawn out. Some may see them as the ones at fault, and not the police for the murder now. Although the community may have gone against what MLK preached, it may have been the only way to get there feelings out to the world.
Now, when relating Malcolm X's quote to the script, it is obvious which of the two leaders this community followed at this particular moment. Malcolm X preached violence whenever one saw fit. He was in no way against it, unlike MLK. Dating back to the incident of Michael Stewart, when he was killed in police custody. This must have certainly put a toll on many people. Now, after this neighborhood just first-hand witnessed the murder of another black man, Radio Raheem, in the hands of a cop, that took them over the edge. To them, violence may have been the only way to make their voices heard. As MLK once stated, "A riot is the language of the unheard." They had to do something, they could not just sit around and let another incident like that happen, so they made a stand. That night of the mob could definitely make people stand back and realize how others feel about the whole situation.
All in all, both quotes of these famous leaders were represented in Do the Right Thing. However, Malcolm X's was clearly the more dominant, and related much more to the actions of the community than did the words of Martin Luther King Jr. Did these people "do the right thing" at the end of it all? With all the interpretations analyzed, it is safe to say that they did indeed do the right thing. They did not want to stand around and let something like that happen, so they took action. They wanted to make their voices heard, and that seemed to be the only way to make it happen.
Destroying Sal's Pizzeria
Questions and Clarification on the Blog:
Did Malcolm X advocate for violence whenever he wanted as you point out in paragraph 3? When *did* he say use violence?
To clarify this, what should have been said is Malcolm X found violence was needed only if completely necessary, and it should be used in an act of self-defense. That is when he said it should be used. In the play, the neighborhood kind of skewed the words of the quote and acted violently in a form of a revolt, rather than self defense. But, the neighborhood may have been acting off the first part of the quote, where Malcolm stated, "I have to preserve the right to do what is necessary to bring an end to that situation..." They could have taken this and thought, the only way to end the violence on minorities from cops is to revolt, in which case they followed the Malcolm X quote correctly. It is all a matter of how you interpret the quote, and which part you look at.
Can you think of any other quotes where MLK's quote could be applied?
Another quote in which MLK's quote can be applied is when Buggin' Out gets into an altercation with Clifton. After Clifton accidentally scuffs Buggin' Out's Jordans, he gets extremely annoyed and mad. He confronts him out of hatred. Doing this would solve nothing, as MLK says, but he does it anyways. As MLK states, "It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers." Although it is on a much smaller scale, it still relates to what happens. Clifton no doubt feels attacked, and probably feels a bit of distaste for Buggin' Out and the neighborhood for pushing him around. All that did for Buggin' Out was make him look like a bit of a fool and he seems like a bully. It was unnecessarily brutal.
When relating the script to Martin Luther King's quote, you can relate it on a smaller scale than with Malcolm X's, however, it is still recognized. When the mob burned down Sal's Pizzeria, it created bitterness within the survivor. In this case the survivor was Sal. If he did not have a strong distaste for the black neighborhood before this, it would not be surprising if he does now. His hard work was destroyed, all because of an act of violence in a community. Violence also created brutality in the destroyers. Now, after burning down the building in an act of rage, it just shows the brutality in all of them, and the savagery that was drawn out. Some may see them as the ones at fault, and not the police for the murder now. Although the community may have gone against what MLK preached, it may have been the only way to get there feelings out to the world.
Now, when relating Malcolm X's quote to the script, it is obvious which of the two leaders this community followed at this particular moment. Malcolm X preached violence whenever one saw fit. He was in no way against it, unlike MLK. Dating back to the incident of Michael Stewart, when he was killed in police custody. This must have certainly put a toll on many people. Now, after this neighborhood just first-hand witnessed the murder of another black man, Radio Raheem, in the hands of a cop, that took them over the edge. To them, violence may have been the only way to make their voices heard. As MLK once stated, "A riot is the language of the unheard." They had to do something, they could not just sit around and let another incident like that happen, so they made a stand. That night of the mob could definitely make people stand back and realize how others feel about the whole situation.
All in all, both quotes of these famous leaders were represented in Do the Right Thing. However, Malcolm X's was clearly the more dominant, and related much more to the actions of the community than did the words of Martin Luther King Jr. Did these people "do the right thing" at the end of it all? With all the interpretations analyzed, it is safe to say that they did indeed do the right thing. They did not want to stand around and let something like that happen, so they took action. They wanted to make their voices heard, and that seemed to be the only way to make it happen.
Destroying Sal's Pizzeria
Questions and Clarification on the Blog:
Did Malcolm X advocate for violence whenever he wanted as you point out in paragraph 3? When *did* he say use violence?
To clarify this, what should have been said is Malcolm X found violence was needed only if completely necessary, and it should be used in an act of self-defense. That is when he said it should be used. In the play, the neighborhood kind of skewed the words of the quote and acted violently in a form of a revolt, rather than self defense. But, the neighborhood may have been acting off the first part of the quote, where Malcolm stated, "I have to preserve the right to do what is necessary to bring an end to that situation..." They could have taken this and thought, the only way to end the violence on minorities from cops is to revolt, in which case they followed the Malcolm X quote correctly. It is all a matter of how you interpret the quote, and which part you look at.
Can you think of any other quotes where MLK's quote could be applied?
Another quote in which MLK's quote can be applied is when Buggin' Out gets into an altercation with Clifton. After Clifton accidentally scuffs Buggin' Out's Jordans, he gets extremely annoyed and mad. He confronts him out of hatred. Doing this would solve nothing, as MLK says, but he does it anyways. As MLK states, "It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers." Although it is on a much smaller scale, it still relates to what happens. Clifton no doubt feels attacked, and probably feels a bit of distaste for Buggin' Out and the neighborhood for pushing him around. All that did for Buggin' Out was make him look like a bit of a fool and he seems like a bully. It was unnecessarily brutal.
Collin, paragraph 2 is strong. You do an excellent job of using a keyword from MLK's quote to develop your analysis.
ReplyDeleteDid Malcolm X advocate for violence whenever he wanted as you point out in paragraph 3? When *did* he say use violence?
Can you think of any other quotes where MLK's quote could be applied?
Overall your writing shows that while both quotes were used throughout the film, according to your opinion, Malcolm X was more dominant.