Given the particularly large number of students you see each semester, I expect no recollection of my presence in your COMM150 class: I certainly wasn't an exemplary enough student to have left memories lasting (which is both good and bad). But I wanted to share a little anecdote with you, because four years later I realized that your class was an important catalyst in developing my critical thinking skills. When I was a freshman on the Altoona campus, I took your class on a whim because I needed a communications class. Of course I was "confident" (re: arrogant) in my abilities, so I didn't study for the exams and ended up in a bad situation mid-semester. That's when you offered me an extra credit assignment that required a "Do the Right Thing" analysis. This email is to express my deep gratitude for giving me some credit. I recently revisited the film - and my "analysis" - and it was truly scary how poorly developed my analysis was. Instead of analyzing why Spike Lee portrayed his characters in a specific way, I decided to analyze why I didn't like them, neglecting to realize that by turning specific characters into stereotypes, he may have been trying to make an important statement . In any case, the analysis (now, at least) comes across as the misleading ramblings of a viewer who took everything on a superficial level. I didn't have the same "critical eye" for movies that I have now while I was in your class.. . but I wanted to express my thanks for introducing me to a lifelong love and respect for films and their creators. I think if it wasn't for your class, I wouldn't have paid so much attention to different types of shots, framing, use of color, etc. And thank you for... half the paper... time I'm not against using violence in self-defense. I don't call it violence even when it's self-defense, I call it intelligence." Mookie chose violence over peace in the situation, and I can't help but wonder why. There was nothing intelligent about deciding to break the window. It didn't help any cause further. He simply destroyed a building useful to the community (even if the owner was not black). When Sal asks Mookie why he did that at the end of the movie, Mookie replies, “Fuck a window. Radio Raheem is dead." Mookie essentially tells Sal that he broke his store window because a police officer killed Radio Raheem. This is fundamentally analogous to Pilate receiving the blame for Christ's death. Sal had nothing to do with Radio Raheem's death, yet Mookie decided to take it out on his store? This made no sense to me as a viewer.