Feb 20

1. What purpose does money serve in the film?
2. Who is the hero of the film?
3. What is the moral of the story?

1. Money can be seen as the key of the whole movie. At the beginning, Sal gives money to Mayor generously. More important, Bugging’ out spends two dollars on his pizza but asked for so much sauce without permission. After Sal refuses it, he starts his plan about asking people to boycott Sal's. Because of this reason, Sal's pizzeria gets burnt and caused Radio Raheam's death. As the guy who threw the garbage bin to the window and caused people to destroy Sal's place, Mookie dares to go back to Sal and asks for his salary. In their conversation, money is the key word. Sal cramps out his money and throw it to Mookie in order to insult him. Sal tells Mookie he is a rich at that time with his salary, which is two times as it should be. That 250 bucks serves as a weapon to insult the black people. As well as a tool to express Sal's sorrow about his place that he has worked for years.

2. Obviously, the only hero in this movie is Mayor. Although, apparently, he is always
drunk and hangs out in the street without purpose. Sometimes, he is rude to others due to his drunkenness. However, in the movie, only he does the right thing most of the time. As one of the oldest man in the community, he says hello and respect everybody. He always calls others doctor even he/she is a child. For example, when he goes across the road, mother sister scolds him for his looking at her. He replies as gently as his clothes are. Another example is that although the black people insult him as a poor, homeless, and drunken old man, he speaks for himself sincerely and politely although he is a little bit angry. With what the black people say, he seems to a useless people, but he saved a child life bravely without thinking. Even if he can't get the understanding and gratefulness from the child's mother, he is still peaceful. At the end of the movie, as a black people, he stands for Sal's and asks people not to be violent because Radio Raheam's death is not Sal's fault. However, he can't change the situation, and he can only comfort mother sister as a man.

3.The moral of the movie is that we must do the right thing. The movie is full of unreasonable actions. On the one hand, these actions are always about violence, hatefulness, and vocal aggression. Malcolm, who is in the smilely's photo, advocates that violence is a means of defense. As the movie shown us, the black people arise after Radio Raheam dies. However, they destroy Sal’ place, which is not responsible for his death. On the other hand, the reasonable actions are about love and understanding. For example, Mayor doesn’t get mad at the black people and Mookie’s sister goes to Sal’s and has a good time with him. Although Mookie gets mad at her, she still speaks for Sal. In addition to this, his sister always tells him to take the responsibility for him family too. We should remember Mather Luther King Junior is also in smilely’s last photo. In conclusion, that is what Spike Lee what to tell us: We should make sure what is the right thing to do. We can’t use violence to fight for our right arbitrarily, although non-violence may not work either