The Piano

The film "The Piano" was a great film.  I thought the story line was very well done and the acting as well was good.  The thing the was most intriguing in this film was the relationship between Baines and Ada.  Their relationship starts on a beach as Baines takes both Ada and Flora to the beloved piano that was left behind.
Baines seems to become awed by the way Ada plays the piano, so much so that he is willing to give up his land in exchange for lessons from Ada.
Baines devises a deal with Ada that will in part give possession of the piano back to Ada and in exchange Ada play her lovely music while Baines does things to her.  At first Ada is not so fond of the idea, but as time goes on I believe she becomes accustomed to it.  as much as she does not like Baines touching her she loves playing the piano more as it is her way of speaking and expressing herself.  To answer the question of whether or not it is rape.  I do not think it is rape because in order for it to be rape a person must not consent to it.  Although Ada may not want to do it at first she believes it is worth it for her piano.
The very next lesson that Ada goes to, does not turn out to be a lesson at all as Baines decides that he has been disgraceful and give Ada the piano back.  From here on in the film Ada, who was so accustomed to playing the piano for Baines, now seems to miss doing it.  They end up becoming lovers and moving back to her homeland.

"Do the Right Thing"

The right thing, what is it?  In the movie "Do the Right Thing", by Spike Lee, I don't know if there really is a right thing to do.  When I first finished the movie I thought wow what a terrible idea to throw the garbage can through a window.  However, as I thought about the movie and the situation more I began to sway my mind to the other side of the situation.  Which thinking about it more made me change my mind again.  I came upon the conclusion of I don't know.
There are compelling arguments for both sides of the argument.  For instance, you can say that Mookie had all the reason to throw the garbage can through Sal's Famous Pizzeria, but did he really?  Sal may have been the one to destroy the boombox, but was it his fault that Radio Raheem was killed?  Questions like these are the ones that went through my head when making my initial assumption.  However, I then thought about the arguments for the other side.  Had Mookie not thrown a garbage can through the window of the pizzeria, would Sal and his sons have been killed instead of the restaurant being destroyed?  Or what message would Mookie have sent to the community if he did not defend the killing of another member, especially after the comment from Sal, "He got what he deserved."
Ultimately, I could not come up with a strong enough argument either supporting Mookie's decision or not.  I think this had a lot to do with the fact that I do not know what the right thing is!  I tried to think about what I would do in that situation but that did not help.  I agree somewhat with what Bartley says in his article about how he cannot tell whether Mookie made the right decision because it is yet to be determined.  I think that because I believe in the approach that Dr. King took about not using violence, and my belief that you need to defend yourself when you deem it necessary helped me come to this decision.