There are many elements that help build the scene in the film Do the Right Thing by Spike Lee. In the scene, Buggin" complains about his slice of pizza. Sal argues. The shots are subjective view to help put the viewer into the scene, and the shots are all very close to illustrate tension and "in your face" qualities. After this argument, Buggin" halfway succumbs to Sal and walks over to eat, noticing the board. He immediately causes additional commotion by complaining about the lack of African Americans on the wall. I believe the dialogue about the cheese was not by accident. I think that dialogue was there to set the viewer up to dislike Buggin's attitude. Had it not been there, people might have backed Buggin" in taking a stand with the wall, which is counter to what Lee wants. After an episode such as the slice, Buggin" seems annoying and unsubstantial. You do not want to back his efforts against the wall. Later in the film we see that Buggin" has very little support for his "campaign against Sal," and we want the viewer to be prepared for that. Obviously we celebrate diversity, but when Buggin" began attacking the wall, I just wanted him to get out and leave Sal alone, then celebrated with Sal as he kicked him out. Without that cheese dialogue, Sal seems like the bad guy. I might even have backed Sal's attempts on the wall. Lee did a good job in setting up our minds to side where he wanted us to side, wanting Sal to run his shop any way he chose.
