Director and actor Spike Lee presents his “truth” about race relations in his movie Do the Right Thing. The film exhibits the spectacle of black discrimination and racial altercations. Through serious, angry, and loud sounds, Lee stays true to the ethnicity of his characters, all of which reflect their own individualism. Lee uses insulting diction and intense scenes to show how severe racism can lead to violence. The disturbing scene where different nationalities badger their opinions on each other shows poor communication and horrible stereotyping.
This is an example of antilocution. Pino’s Italian slang, Mookies black talk, and Korean obscenities are all mixed together to show how communication grows impossible among different ethnic groups. Spike Lee is trying to show how nonsense language results in a snowball effect which worsens any situation. The theme of trust appears in scenes involving the same race or color. In the same way, distrust shows among people of different backgrounds. Radio Raheem and Mookie engage in a significant conversation of love and hate.
Raheem tells, “Right hand is for love, left for hate. One is always fighting the other. ” Through Raheem’s character, Lee expresses black brotherhood and trust between people of the same ethnicity. In the present, people still carry that close bond within their own nationality. If Radio Raheem as well as the people of today open a hand with trust in someone of different origin from themselves, then perhaps a common interest could spark. The last scene of the film by far surmounts as the most powerful scene.
The burning of Sal’s Famous Pizzeria will leave an imprint in the minds of anyone who watches. When Sal smashes Raheem’s radio, the tension turns to uproar. Total bedlam occurs within minutes after the death of Raheem by the city police. This could be a physical attack on both sides. Both of the actions taken by Radio Raheem and Sal were uncalled for. Mookie performed a heroic contribution as he shifted the fighting away from Sal and towards Sal’s Pizzeria. In fact Mookie saved Sal’s life in the midst of everything.
In the middle of the chaos the Korean man says, “I’m black, you, me, the same. ” This reflects how people in society try to fit into certain groups that seem to be the right thing to do at the moment. Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing focuses on scenes representing failed communication, dire stereotyping, absence of trust, and wrongful violence that reflects the existing concerns about racism in America. The intense language and strong gestures enhance the film creating a realistic view for the audience.
I would give this movie a five star rating. Do the Right Thing, is to the point and entertaining with a serious view of the world. There are no absolute heroes or villains. There are no easy answers to the questions that this film poses. Do the Right Thing is one of the best-directed, best made films of our time, a film in which the acting and visual style work together to make a statement about race in America. It is also bound to enrage many of its viewers, but that is Lees point: It takes emotion to do the right thing.
