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teenagers ), as well as comforting his audience with the knowledge that there is no other message besides that of hating white people .
Together , these two critics suggest that Spike Lee is using Sal to represent their people as monolithic , arrogant , and “ the enemy .” These interpretations are problematic , as they do not bear analysis . The depiction of Sal as arrogant , “ bragging ” about the community “ growing up on my food ,” for instance , become less and less likely when considered within the context of the scene in which he says this . Sal and Pino talk about much more complicated issues than a bravado felt about a maintained customer base . The scene deserves to be quoted at length , as it takes more than a short quip to do justice to their dialogue :
Sal : I ’ m beat . Pino : Daddy , y ’ know I ’ ve been thinking . Maybe we should sell this place , get out while we ’ re still ahead . And alive . Sal : You really think you know what ’ s best for us , Pino ? Pino : Maybe we could . . . couldn ’ t we sell this and open up a new one in our own neighborhood ? Sal : There ’ s too many pizzerias already there . Pino : Then we could try something different . Sal : What am I gonna do ? That ’ s all I know . What am I doing ? I ’ ve been here twenty-five years . Where am I going ? Pino : I ’ m sick of niggers . It ’ s like I come to work , it ’ s Planet of the Apes . Don ’ t like being around them , they ’ re animals . Sal : Why you got so much anger in you ?