Identities of the Characters in "Do the Right Thing"
Some of the characters in "Do the Right Thing" are named by their qualities. Examples are Radio Raheem, Buggin' Out, Da Mayor, Mister Senor Love Daddy, and Mother Sister. Radio Raheem walks around with his boom box blaring "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy. The connection between his name and carrying around a boom box is obvious. Buggin' Out is constantly complaining and making a scene, he's always "buggin out". An example is the scene when the biker runs into him and Buggin' Out gets outraged claiming that the biker scuffed his "Jordans". This name could also come from the song "Buggin Out" by A Tribe Called Quest which is an old school rap that came out around the same time "Fight the Power" did. Da Mayor is an elder statesman and is somewhat philosophical and tells Mookie to "always do the right thing". He is also known as the neighborhood drunk, but displays some acts of bravery in the movie. An example would be when he tackles the little boy out of the way of an oncoming car. Another is when the mob is outraged after Radio Raheem's death, he tries to take control and convince everyone not to hurt Sal and his sons. Mister Senor Love Daddy has a radio station called "We Love Radio" and is a peaceful type person. Mother Sister comes off as a mother figure who is always looking out of her window observing what's happening on the block.
"A consequence of achieved modernism is what postmodernists might refer to as de-realization. De-realization affects both the subject and the objects of experience, such that their sense of identity, constancy, and substance is upset or dissolved." This is a quote from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The unrealistic use of names in Do the Right Thing relates to this philosophy by how the viewer doesn't see the character as a person with a deep personality, but by one characteristic of that person.
"No individualism or individual style, voice, expressive identity. All signifiers circulate and recirculate prior and existing images and styles."(http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/irvinem/theory/pomo.html). This clip from a website about postmodernism supports that the names in this movie does not show true individualism of the characters, just a "signifier" of their style.
"A consequence of achieved modernism is what postmodernists might refer to as de-realization. De-realization affects both the subject and the objects of experience, such that their sense of identity, constancy, and substance is upset or dissolved." This is a quote from the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. The unrealistic use of names in Do the Right Thing relates to this philosophy by how the viewer doesn't see the character as a person with a deep personality, but by one characteristic of that person.
"No individualism or individual style, voice, expressive identity. All signifiers circulate and recirculate prior and existing images and styles."(http://www9.georgetown.edu/faculty/irvinem/theory/pomo.html). This clip from a website about postmodernism supports that the names in this movie does not show true individualism of the characters, just a "signifier" of their style.
