Hate K.O.ed by Love

Do The Right Thing embraces values as a historical document. As a primary document, the film demonstrates how the director (an African American himself) views the contemporary issues regarding race riots. Spike Lee builds up the story line, explaining what eventually causes the outrageous eruption that completely destroys Sal’s Pizza restaurant. The audience gets to understand the causes of the small riot on the corner of the town, yet the movie also highlights that, despite all the reasons, violence cannot be justified. Even though White people have prejudice against African Americans, African Americans also have biased opinions toward White as well. In the earlier half of the movie, Buggin says to Mookie, “Stay Black.” Moreover, he says to a White guy who leaves a spot on his white Air Jordan, “Who told you to step on my sneakers, who told you to walk on my side of the block, who told you to be in my neighborhood? Who told you to buy a brownstone on my block, in my neighborhood, on my side of the street? Yo, what you wanna live in a Black neighborhood for, anyway?” These quotes show the attitudes of some African Americans who do not wish to mingle or integrate with other race. The anger is not only directed to white, but also to other immigrants with different skin colors. The following quote summarizes blacks’ biased view on Koreans: “You little slanty-eyed, me-no-speaky-American, own-every-fruit-and-vegetable-stand-in-New-York, bullshit, Reverend Sun Myung Moon, Summer Olympics ’88, Korean kick-boxing son of a bitch.” When African Americans are having hard time gaining economic opportunities, Korean immigrants who lived less than a year in the Untied States own a store in a great location of the town. Not being able to achieve economic independence and not being able to keep blacks’ money in blacks’ pocket, African Americans gradually accumulate displeasure.

 

                  “Ooh, it’s the devastating right and Hate is hurt, he’s down. Left-Hand Hate K.O.ed by Love,” says Radio Raheem, and I believe that this is what Spike Lee really wanted to say. Even though violent riots were taking place, the only way to truly heal painful memories of the history and fix the conflicts caused by racial tensions is through love, not through hatred. Doing the right thing is not easy, especially when the anger has been accumulated for centuries. The only person that stays rational and sane, staying detached to the mobocracy, is the old man, Mayor, who appears to be weak, helpless, and hopeless individual. He steps forward, confronts the mob that has gone insane, and protects the family of Sal. The old man knows what the right thing is and does the right thing, while others (even the Mother Sister who claims to be benevolent all the time) call for the burning down of Sal’s store. “I no white! I black! You…me…same! We same!” cries out the poor Korean man, fearing that the next target would be his store. It is a simple truth that we are all same. However, it is so complex and difficult for us to achieve the simple truth. At the end, Spike Lee closes his movie with two quotations. The first, from Martin Luther King, argues that violence is never justified in any circumstances. The second, from Malcom X, argues that violence is intelligence when it is used for self-defense. These two juxtaposing ideas are thrown at the audience, invoking the complexity that lies upon the racial tensions and reminding how difficult it is to adhere to any of the two views regarding the issue of violence.

Do the Right Thing

 

Usually, there is an established rule for movies that tries to depict a socially persecuted group. In typical Hollywood movies, the oppressed ones are framed as people who are powerless, innocent, and not worthy of any blame with all the guilt and criticisms falling solely upon the oppressors. However, this film, Do the Right Thing, by Spike Lee breaks away from such a rule, attempting to show the audience different perspectives in viewing the hottest day of one summer in New York. Although African Americans are supposedly the persecuted group of people, in this film, Spike Lee’s portrayal of them shows that they are not necessarily free of blame. Mobocracy aroused among African Americans in Harlem, New York, fuels irrational angers and instigates violence. Even though the movie frankly reveals African Americans’ impulsive reactions to certain situations, it does not suggest that unfair treatment that they receive in American society is fair. With the use of powerful music, distinctive primary colors, and various angles, this film expresses racial tensions, struggles among generations, and police brutality.

                  Throughout the history of the United States, African Americans were locked in the lowest part of social ladder where they did not meet equal opportunities to maximize their potentials. The presence of slavery system is an ineffaceable spot on the nation’s honor, marked by an inherent hypocrisy that lies inside the country which cries out for democracy in its loudest voice. Despite exceptional cases, African Americans in general earn less money and pursue less education. Those phenomena have repeatedly occurred for centuries as it is hard for African Americans to break away from the cycle of poverty and escape from racial discrimination. In the film, the only African Americans that seem to have a job is Mookie. Buggin wonders around the town making troubles, Radio Raheem roams the streets with his radio, and Da Mayor drinks all day. For them, the concept of American Dream (which emphasize that the individual victory can be achieved through hard working and merits) is a mere mirage. Life seems to stay miserable despite arduous efforts, and when failures in stepping forward continuously take place, people lose hope and abandon beliefs that their lives would get better anyhow. African Americans are not inferior. No race is inferior, and no one is inferior. Yet, the social norm that has prevailed the United States for a long time makes African Americans feel inferior. Such a sense of inferiority and a deep rooted feeling of resentment towards the society cause them to become hyper reactive to certain events that may appear trivial and insignificant to others.

Welcome to the Panopticon

Walking down the hallway, laughing out loud with my friends, I suddenly stopped my steps after a glance at an object hanging down from the ceiling: a candid camera. With its one eye, it was facing directly at me. It was looking at me, perceiving my actions, reading my lips. With a strong, abrupt uncomfortable feeling, I refused to act as myself. Yes, I stopped being Da Bin, yet started to act as a good student who would never run down the hallway or do something that would make the office upset.

In one science fiction movie (with a title that I cannot remember), one of the main characters reveals top government secret: the satellites will be soon used by the government to observe actions of each citizen. And there was a Korean book called “Pyo” which warned about a similar situation that will soon impend. When I read it, I gave a snort of laughter. Invasion of privacy, I would call it. It would never happen. No one would allow such a thing to happen. Yet with candid cameras watching over me, my friends, everyone in school, I started to think of it as a quite reasonable theory. If international schools–where the authorities claim to respect their students–start to invade students’ privacy, it only proves that the authorities suppose human nature as evil and unworthy of trust.

 

Although the original purpose and intention of the cameras are to prevent certain misbehaviors, I still feel like a prisoner in panopticon, a specially designed prison where everything can be seen by observers.

 

The Importance of Being a Back-up Creator.

       The laptop screen shattered.

       And I panicked. How can I not? I have 3 projects that must be done using i-movie. Let me get this straight. It was not me the one who killed my macbook. I will not mention the name (because blaming the person will not bring my computer back to life), but it wasn’t me. All the assignments and files that I have saved are still in there. Fortunately, the IT office safely rescued my hard-drive and all the data.

      There are two types of people in this planet: people who create back-up drives and people who do not. I was a type of person who never bothered to create back-ups. Now, I sincerely warn you all–especially the ones who attend my high school where we use one-to-one laptop system. Buy a hard drive. Create an online account in which you can save your works. This computer crisis almost made me pass out. I thank God for my rescued files. However, this type of accident may take place again (although it better not happen). I have no room to freak out every time this happen. Additionally, I do not hope my friends to realize the importance of back-up files when computers are already destroyed. It is just too late.

Who Are You To Kill?

 

The movie impressed me. Our Happy Hours portrays a life of a prisoner who is adjudged to die.

“If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone a her” (John 8-1). No human being has a right or an authority upon life of others. A person putting another man to death is called a murder. Capital punishment is nothing yet a second naming of murder–yes, it kills people. There is only one difference existing between a real murder (that is considered as crime) and a death penalty: one is done through a legal procedure. Yes, a legal procedure to kill a person. A role of true government is to protect each of its citizens and to show exemplary behavior as leaders of a nation. Capital punishment goes against human morality and dignity. Another additional homicide is the only result of such punishment. No human being is perfect. There is no way to repair if misjudgment case occurs. All the humans, including judges, are imperfect beings which always leave possibility of error and blunder. Although rare, these cases resulted by mistrials do occur, and it is impossible to pay the price when such mistakes take place. An innocent man may leave for a false charge, yet absolutely no solution is prepared for his undeserved departure.

Controlling rate of crime is considered as the most substantial reason for practicing the death penalty. However, this is not necessarily true. I once read in an article that a stoppage of the penalty actually did not bring noticeable impact to the crime rate. Instead, there are even some odd examples in which Canada and the United States experienced decreased statistics of crime rate after the abolishment. The abolishment and the crime rate have no relations. If there is no good, then why kill?

Ten Commitments.

 

So, I (out of nowhere) have decided to come up with my own ten commitments.

1. Get rid of “Froot Loop” from the widget page of my mac.
2. Continue blogging (so that I won’t post everything on the last minute).
3. Remember I have six more months to go (since it’s the end of a year, it just feels like everything is over already).
4. Write down homework myself instead of instant messaging the rest of the day to find out what the homework for the night is.
5. Go home after school.
6. Start thinking (seriously) what I want to acheive throughout my life.
7. Sleep early, wake up early.
8. Balance–learn how to deal with both studying and having fun).
9. Remember that life is not always about studying SAT or struggling for GPA. But also realize that friends are not everyhing of my life as well.
10. Try hard.

We always make commitments; and we always forget about them (it’s just a natural, inevitable pattern). I thought it would be helpful to “publish” them in front of a lot of people, because through the publication, more responsibilities follow.

We Should Marry Mr. Bing.

We Should Marry Mr. Bing.

What kind of person do you wish to get married to?

The question brought several adjectives in my head that would describe “the man”: tall, rich, polite, well-mannered, concise, respectful, humorous, active, clean, attractive, courageous, wise, smart, charming, sweet-sounding, tanned, organized, muscular, assiduous, decisive, and short-haired.
What a long list of impossible fantasies. It is not possible for a man like this to exist on the same planet with me. Well, luckily he may exist. But why would this Renaissance man want to marry me? There is no way for me to marry that man, and I know it so well. So, I decided to tear down my nonsense delusions.
Let’s be more practical. Let’s think of a person, a man, a character, whom I would want to grow old with. After a while, I was able to think of a fictional character named Chandler Bing from my favorite TV program, Friends.

 
Why would I marry this man?
First of all, he has his plan. Mr. Bing is a man who looks after for his future and prepare ahead for it. He earned money and continuously saved small portion of it in order to save budgets for his dream house in the countryside with a small yard where he can be with his children and Monica.
He owns true courage that makes him a real man despite the absence of manly body. Chandler is capable of expressing his love in front of his partner. He is a man who can show his wife his tears to tell her his sincere feelings. He is not a pretentious coward who is busy taking care of one’s own pride. Moreover, Chandler is brave enough to quit his job in order to achieve his real goal. This decision may seem risky, yet his passion and effort are trustworthy of grabbing success.
The very profound evidence of Mr. Bing so appropriate for a life partner is Chandler’s possession of his friends: Monica, Joy, Ross, Rachel, and Phoebe. I think looking at one’s friend is a fine way to determine what kind of person the one is. Having such worthy friends for such a long time evidently proves his good traits as a human being.
Chandler Bing, this man is not very rich. He is neither concise nor muscular. His appearance is portrayed as unattractive (although I personally think he is charming). Mr. Bing is not necessarily smart, clean, or organized. He is definitely not a Renaissance man. Yet, I would still love to walk down the aisle holding this lovable man’s hand.

World Clock: Amazing and Scary at the Same Time

We, human beings, are creatures that grow continuously and rapidly. Countless numbers of babies are born every instant; however this website not only proves how astonishing we are as a species that gives birth to new lives so quickly but also points out the fact that mankind kills and harms other organisms on this planet and maybe the planet itself as well. According to my observation, about 1,600,000 babies appeared on Earth while 330 species became extinct in one week. 7 days—in this short period of time, humans reproduce their own descendents without stopping; unfortunately, at the same time, we are the ones who are fully responsible for damaging this beautiful environment.People cut down forests; they pump out oils using up uncontrollable amount of natural resources; cars never stop being produced causing pollution that will eventually make our planet a hotter (in terms of temperature) place to live in. It is amazing how fast our population grows. Approximately 600,000—only one third of number of births—died last week, showing apparent rise in the world population. Population growth itself is not a negative phenomenon; but what humans do as the population grows bigger engenders conflicts. Forests produce oxygen that we rely on. If we continue to cut forests down, then how will our grandchildren breathe fresh or any type of air at all? Global warming, although it seems like it’s not happening and some people deny its presence, surely takes place. There are lots of decimal points required to indicate temperature change, yet it is certainly going up.Mankind not only harms other species but also kill each other under a tragic incident called war. People in Iraq are suffering; people all over the places are being injured by violence. People, standing on the same sphere as we are, commit suicides; and its rate seems like it will never drop. We need to stop damaging our gifted woods. We have to pay attention to those species being forever lost. We must put an end to ongoing cruelty within our species. Let’s realize what’s happening to the planet and to us. Earth has been a wonderful dwelling place for us to live on. Yet it will no loner serve as a peaceful, comfortable, and reliable home if we, human beings, continue to destroy it.

 

Money Weighs More Than a Liter of Blood.

 

Capitalism.

Economic freedom.

Free enterprise.

Laissez faire. They are nothing but fancy and alluring outer wrappers trying to cover human filth.

It is almost impossible to not admit the fact that capitalism is the most effective economic model so far in our history. We, you and I have witnessed the eventual collapse of communism and other various forms of socialism. Socialism is definitely a wonderful model “in theory”, yet human nature is incapable of supporting its success. I live for myself, and so do you. We all try to put something delicious inside our mouths, wear finest clothing, and live in comfort. No one can be criticized for having such desires, because everyone posses such wills.

 

Our capitalistic and money-based society not only has caused the creation of natural flow of wealth, but also has given birth to certain crises. Blood diamonds, often referred as conflict diamonds, are the breathing evidence of the chaos.

Blood diamonds literally refer to diamonds that are produced on top of tragic bloodshed in Africa. Europe, the home of capitalism, had imperialized African continents for decades. When European nations finally released the continent from the chains, they have left the land with no effective counterplan. The sudden absence of power naturally created struggle for strength. Ambitious forces wanted heavy arms. Weapons required money. Power and wealth—these two have grown undetachable.

In order to gain money, armed forces began to kill. Africans killed other Africans over the control of diamond mines. Humans murdered other human beings for greater profits. There are 20,000 African child soldiers with guns in their small hands. The young kids use their fingers to pull the triggers. Illegal diamond trading, Child labor, forced harlotry, and other dirty business are in presence. So many people are unaware of this tragedy. Some do know about this, yet they refuse to reveal this stain. Why? How stupid it is to even ask. They do not want to stop or talk about it because such businesses make considerable profits.

I am not attacking capitalism. I can’t, since I do not have reasonable measure that will replace the current system. However, we should stop for a moment. We should stop and have a look around us. We must see the sad reality and what we have done with our glorious, successful capitalistic minds.

Same Scene Yet Different Angle, Different Music.

With a romantic melody flowing, two half naked boys, full of passion, were holding each other. Sweat covered all of their bodies; gasping for breath, the two seemed inseparable. What are they doing? I asked myself, and the only answer I could think of was them making love. The very instant when I assumed them as homosexuals, a man who were watching the scene removed his headphone. The amorous song ended, and no more romance existed. Instead, loud cheers of a crowd filled up the speaker. An utterly different angle provided an unexpected image. No, they were not making love. They were two wrestlers struggling to defeat each other.
The situation was created by the company trying to sell their new mobile phone with an mp3 function. “Our company makes a cellular phone with great music which can change your way of viewing things” is the basic message that the advertisement delivers. Yet what penetrated my mind was not the fresh machine’s arrival. The advertisement itself with its astonishing way of destroying the viewers’ stereotyped image felt fresh. Breaking stubborn stereotypes hindering people from facing the truths that they are suppose to see—this is what I want to do. I want to become a thinker, speaker, writer, viewer who can remove colored glasses placed in front of eyes of people.
I want to be a person who is capable of showing the same image from an opposite angle and still convince the audience. The commercial with two naked boys which is supposed to be funny and humorous altered my life. Obtaining ultimate purpose of life from a laughable advertisement: isn’t this happening itself smashing the stereotype?