Do the Right Thing – by Tracy Shu
In Do the Right Thing, Spike Lee tackles controversial social issues of racial disparity and the perpetuation of institutionalized oppression of African Americans. Taking place in 1989, a stark racial divide is represented by interactions in Sal’s Pizzeria, owned by Italian Americans (Sal and his sons). Mookie, the protagonist of the story carries us through his experience as a black delivery boy for a local white-owned business in a predominantly African-American neighborhood in Bed-Stuy. While Mookie’s experience exhibits his own individual story, it represents the same larger issues prevalent in African-American communities. Issues of racism and classism is subliminally manifested through Lee’s use of symbolism and thematic representations in Do the Right Thing.
Taking place during the hottest day of the summer, Lee uses heat as a metaphor that represents the disintegrating urban condition of the African-American community. The heat symbolises the racial disparity between blacks and whites in Bed-Stuy. This is exhibited by the hostile relations between Mookie and Sal, Radio Raheem and the white police officers, and black residents and inner-city gentrification. Mother Sister verbally implicates that the increasing heat will become an uncomfortable burden for Mookie, warning him that he may “fall out from all this heat.” This dialogue draws a parallel in race relations in which the temperature will metaphorically burn and wear out the African American community.
Bed Stuy residents uses water to physically and metaphorically counteract the rising temperatures. In the film, a group of black youth unlock a fire hydrant to play in the cold water. To counteract the heat, the water is the balance that cools down the neighborhood. Contrastingly, Lee also subliminally exhibits the fire hydrant to represent power imbalance between white authorities and black residents in the neighborhood. Given that the city (white government officials) and firefighters are the ones to control the fire hydrants, Bed-Stuy residents cannot legally use the water from the hydrant– showing that the black residents can only use the fire hydrant water on the city’s terms. At the end of the film, the fire department exercises their authority using the fire hydrant to spray water at the black residents after tension erupted over Radio Raheem’s death. This scene also alluded to the Civil Rights Movement in Birmingham Alabama in 1963 where black protesters were sprayed by high-pressure fire hoses by the Birmingham Fire Department.
Throughout majority of scenes in the film, Mookie is seen wearing a Jackie Robinson jersey. This is another subliminal allusion that connects Mookie to Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson was the first African-American person to play in the white-dominated Major League Baseball. Robinson defied racial norms constructed by a culturally influential institution such as the MLB. Mookie’s jersey represents his own struggle to overcome racial barriers as he explores the racial disparity in Bed-Stuy while working for Sal and his sons. Just like Robinson’s experience in playing baseball in a dominated baseball league, Mookie experiences a similar racial segregation in a white-owned business.
In the film, a white Bed-Stuy resident is aggressively confronted by black teens after he accidentally runs over one of the teens’ Jordans. The white biker is seen wearing a Celtic’s Larry Bird jersey. This creates a parallel in which the white biker is the one white man in an all-black confrontation, similar to Larry Bird’s experience as a white basketball player in an African-American dominated sport of basketball. This paints an inverted and paradoxical image to Mookie’s Jackie Robinson jersey. While the Robinson jersey represents Mookie’s and Robinson’s experiences as black men in all-white environments, the biker’s Bird jersey represents the biker’s and Bird’s respective experiences as white men in all-black environments. The biker’s confrontation not only represents the racial tension in Bed-Stuy, but it also foreshadows a gentrification in the black neighborhood in which white residents are slowly moving in.
When Sal, Pino and Vito drive up to Sal’s Pizzeria in a white cadillac, Sal establishes a pretentious class status in the working-class neighborhood of Bed-Stuy. In an all-black neighborhood arrives a white man driving a vehicle, symbolizing their status of higher-class. Not only is the vehicle a status symbol, but it also represents the metaphorical vehicle that allows Sal to establish a white presence in the black neighborhood. Sal’s, Pino’s and Vito’s presence alludes to Christopher Columbus’ journey in discovering the Americas in 1492 with his three ships, the Santa Maria, the Pinta, and the Nina. For Christopher Columbus, the three ships helped him in the discovery and infiltration of the Americas. During that time, the Americas were populated by Native Americans and was vacant of European white men. In the film, Sal, Pino, and Vito represents the three ships settling on foreign land, implanting a white-presence in Bed-Stuy via Sal’s Pizzeria.
Racial tension in Bed-Stuy is symbolically represented by Radio Raheem’s “Love” and “Hate” knuckle rings. Radio Raheem wears these rings during his fight scene with the white police officer. Leading up to his death invoked by the police officer, his rings embodied the community battle between good and evil; love and hate, in which Raheem was ultimately killed in the name of hate. Lee also included this scene to to reflect a larger theme of institutional racism in which police officers abuse and over exercise their authority towards young black males like Radio Raheem. Lee foreshadows the perpetuation of this institutional racism in police brutality. At the end of the film, the scene loops back to the beginning of the movie where Mookie wakes up in hot weather, symbolizing the recurring and unjust murders of African American males, invoked by white police officers. Even 25 years after the film was released, deaths of black males by white police officers (Michael Brown, Trayvon Martin, and Eric Garner) are still occurring, without indictment charges or justice being fulfilled.
Lee establishes a theme of racial justice and standing up against unjust acts of authority. In the beginning of the film, Tina is seen dancing to Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” in suggestive attire (black and white boxing robes with red gloves). Representing a boxing match, the black and white robes respectively symbolizes the black and white communities. The boxing match establishes a racial fight in which the red gloves represents the bad “blood” between the black and white communities. “Fight the Power” is continuously played on Radio Raheem’s boombox throughout the movie, expressing a key theme of fighting against racial disparity. When Sal smashes Radio Raheem’s radio towards the end of the film, an injustice was created– which is symbolized by the unjust death of Radio Raheem. The film uses “Fight the Power” as a social commentary to stand up against racial injustices such as police brutality. Lee alludes to racial issues by telling viewers to “Do the Right Thing” and fight against racism that is still prevalent today.
After Sal’s pizzeria was trashed at the end of the film, Smiley is seen memorializing a picture of Martin Luther King and Malcom X in the destroyed pizzeria. Lee included this image to provide a symbolic juxtaposition to the film. Although both civil activists fought for racial equality in America, they both had different ideologies. While Martin Luther King condemned violence as a futile and immoral means to achieve equality, Malcom X justified violence in situations of self defense. These oppositional ideologies relates back to the title of the movie,Do the Right Thing– What is the right thing? Did Mookie do the right thing refuting against Sal? Did Radio Raheem do the right thing even though he died in his battle? Lee subliminally included this image to connect back to the title of the film to not necessarily tell society what the right thing to do is, but to encourage society to question what the right thing to do is.
Do the Right Thing provided substantial symbolic references and subliminal messages that were intended to speak to society in a profound way. Spike Lee used his film to manifest the issues of racial equality and institutionalized oppression of African Americans through Mookie’s perspective. Lee wanted to encourage viewers to think, question, and react to the issues his film raised. Even 25 years after the release of the film, his messages to society still holds relevance– if anything, Do the Right Thing holds even more relevance today than it did 25 years old. Today, the film is regarded as an example of how art provides social commentary that parallels reality. The death of Radio Raheem is a filmic reminder that America still needs to question what the right thing to do is– especially in context of police brutality that led to the deaths of Trayvon Martin, Eric Garner, and Michael Brown.
Do the Right Thing – by Angelyn Arthur
Spike Lee’s iconic film Do the Right Thing presented us with an outlook on racial tensions that plagued a neighborhood in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. On one of the hottest days of the year, the film takes us on a journey following characters of different racial backgrounds and how they deal with the racial strife surrounding their neighborhood. The symbolism in this film is portrayed in a way to show us the duality of love and hate that can happen between people of different races. In addition, the foreshadowing of numerous events that would later play out later in the film is very symbolic. Some of these scenes include the opening scene of Rosie Perez’s character Tina dancing to “Fight the Power” to the character of Smiley handing out pictures of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X.
The film starts off with a symbolic opening scene by Rosie Perez dancing to the song “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy. This scene was important since it set the tone for the movie and foreshadowed what was to come with certain characters trying to “fight the power” with wanting to have inclusion of black heroes on the wall of an Italian owned local pizza shop. The owner of the pizzeria is Sal who is a father who runs the shop with the assistance of his two sons Pino and Vito. We are first introduced to the three men when they drive to their shop in a white Cadillac as we see a mural of an American flag split with other flags which include the Jamaican and Puerto Rican flags in between the American flag. This represents the racial background of the neighborhood and the white Cadillac also shows us how white people are coming into a predominately black neighborhood. As we become accustomed to the sons we learn that Pino, the older son, does not like black people while Vito, the younger son is friends with the main character Mookie, played by Spike Lee. Throughout the film, Pino is seen wearing his white work outfit while Vito wears a black shirt. This symbolizes Pino’s dislike of black people and Vito’s acceptance of Mookie. Furthermore, there’s an ironic factor to Pino having “kinky” hair that is resembled more closely to Mookie’s hair texture than that of Pino’s own father and brother. As Mookie is the only black person working in the pizzeria, Mookie wearing a Jackie Robinson jersey which symbolizes Mookie integrating the pizzeria like how Robinson integrated baseball.
With “fighting the power” being a central theme in this film, we first see this portrayal of protest with the character Buggin’ Out. As Buggin’ Out dines in Sal’s pizzeria, he wonders why there aren’t any black celebrities on the Wall of Fame despite the neighborhood being mostly black. Buggin’ Out decides to protest the pizzeria and tries to recruit others to join in with him, but most of them decline. We later see Buggin’ Out with Radio Raheem along with Smiley joining forces together to protest the lack of black celebrities displayed in the pizzeria. Another symbolic encounter that occurs with Buggin’ Out happens when a white man wearing a Larry Bird jersey steps on Buggin’ Out’s Jordan shoes. This depicted the Larry Bird and Michael Jordan rivalry and portrayed it through Buggin’ Out and the white man’s disagreement. Moreover, Buggin’ Out asking why the white man was in their neighborhood in the first place could have possibly correlated to the feelings people had about Larry Bird in the NBA which is predominantly black.
Perhaps the most symbolic character in Do the Right Thing was Radio Raheem. Each time Raheem appeared onscreen he carried a boom box with the song “Fight the Power” playing. This symbolized his role in the film and how he stood up to what he believed was right. In a scene with Mookie, Raheem shows him his gold rings with the words love and hate on each hand and laments on the dichotomy between love and hate or otherwise, good and evil. He states how there is always a struggle between the two and simulates boxing moves to showcase the battle between love and hate. This scene is also symbolic with the opening scene with the character of Tina dancing to “Fight the Power” with boxing gloves and in a boxing outfit. The stereotype scene which involved different races ranting on what they deemed the worst characteristics of other races could have been a showcase on how hate can win over love. Essentially, the character of Raheem represents and embodies the power struggle in the neighborhood. In a scene where a group of Puerto Ricans in the neighborhood play their music, Raheem comes in playing “Fight the Power” and what ensues is a power struggle with the opposing people both turning their music higher to gain the upper hand. Continuing with this, when Raheem goes into Sal’s pizzeria with his music blasting, Sal tells him to turn it off. Raheem is apprehensive at first but eventually complies. Later on in the day when Raheem goes back to the pizzeria with Buggin’ Out and Smiley to protest, he decides this time to not turn off his music. These scenes symbolized the power struggle that occurred between the different groups in the neighborhood and how Raheem chose to fight the power.
As all the events of the day come to a head, Buggin’ Out, Raheem and Smiley team up to protest Sal’s pizzeria to include black celebrities onto the Wall of Fame which only included Italians. As the three enter the pizzeria, Raheem doesn’t turn off the song “Fight the Power” and this angers Sal. Sal then breaks Raheem’s radio and this foreshadowing symbolizes the death of Raheem. As the fight continued outside, Raheem is apprehended by the police and soon after is killed as the police keep him in a choke hold. The song “Fight the Power” is played as people from the neighborhood burn down Sal’s pizzeria due to the outrage of Raheem’s death. Throughout the movie we see the character of Smiley, a mentally disabled man, who tries to sell pictures of Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X. This proves to be symbolic when after the pizzeria gets burned down, Smiley puts up the picture of the two black heroes on the wall which Buggin’ Out and Raheem fought for. Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X both died in their efforts to fight the power to achieve what they deemed to be right, just as Raheem did when he didn’t back down from Sal.
In conclusion, the film Do the Right Thing gave us an insight on racial tensions and how they are dealt with as well as how the neighborhood navigated between the lines between love and hate with one another. At the end of the film, quotes by Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X shows us opposing views on how they went about achieving justice. Martin Luther King Jr states that “Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love.” Whereas Malcolm X stated that “I think there are plenty of good people in America, but there are also plenty of bad people in America and the bad ones are the ones who seem to have all the power and be in these positions to block things that you and I need. Because this is the situation, you and I have to preserve the right to do what is necessary to bring an end to that situation, and it doesn’t mean that I advocate violence, but at the same time I am not against using violence in self-defense.” This was another symbolic element in the film because these opposing views correlate to the love and hate dichotomy. In the next day that proceeds the aftermath of Raheem’s death and the destruction of Sal’s pizzeria, we see a scene where a “love” sign is displayed on a building which has the same gold color and font of Raheem’s rings. It is the place of Mister Señor Love Daddy’s radio station and he questions if the neighborhood is going to live together. The symbolism portrayed here once again shows us the lines between love and hate and the effects of hatred coupled with the desire to love and live together. There’s not a definitive answer as to what doing the right thing is, but as we see with these quotes by Martin Luther King Jr and Malcolm X and the actions of the characters in the film, they all strove to fight the power in a way that they deemed to be right.
Do the Right Thing – by Neil Gibbs
“The story of life is this: static. One hand is always fighting the other hand, and the left hand is kicking much ass… But hold on, stop the presses, the right hand is coming back… Ooh, it’s a devastating right and hate is hurt, he’s down. Left- hand Hate KOed by love.” (Raheem).
The Story of love and hate, or right hand left hand, is an analogy of the relentless racial conflict in the inner city, and throughout the rest of the United States. The story identifies two key characteristics of the racial conflict: that it is continuous, and that it can only be overcome by love. This story is a microcosm of the message that Spike Lee attempts to spread throughout the film. The underlying message of the film is that the racial conflict is nothing more than a continuous struggle for power, and that the only way for people to overcome this struggle is to live in unison.
Spike Lee utilizes several key tools throughout the film as symbols for power, in order to identify power as a key component of the racial conflict. One of these tools, and by far the most humorous, is Bugging Out’s Jordan’s. Bugging out proves to be a key character in the film, and plays a major role in initiating the conflict that leaves one of the main characters, Radio Raheem, dead. In the film, these Jordan’s serve to bolster the confidence of the erratic and short- tempered Bugging Out. He holds these Jordan’s to a high esteem because he lives in a community, or a world rather, where African Americans are given so little. These Jordan’s in turn serve as Bugging Out’s form of power. Spike Lee makes it evident how important these Jordan’s are to Bugging Out as they are tarnished in a racial conflict.
One of the scenes in the film features a face off between Bugging Out, and a middle-aged white man who accidentally runs over Bugging Outs Jordan’s with his bicycle. This scene displays a bitter Bugging Out provoking this man with threats and insults because of his damaged Jordan’s. But there is more to the conflict than this. Bugging Out is not truly outraged because of the Jordan’s, but instead because he feels threatened by this man. He feels threatened because he believes that this man is attempting to take away the little power that he currently holds. He is even more outraged when he finds that this man owns a brownstone on the block that Bugging Out proclaims to be his own. Bugging Out is left trying to restore the little power that he has left, as this man goes inside and enjoys his abundance. This scene reveals that the racial conflict is in fact a struggle for power, and that both sides feel threatened when the other attempts to compromise their power.
Furthermore, another tool utilized in the film as a symbol for power is Radio Raheem’s boom box. From the very beginning it is made clear that this boom box is an integral part of Raheem’s identity. In his neighborhood he is referred to not as Raheem, but instead as “Radio Raheem”, which implies that without his boom box he would not even have an identity. Radio Raheem makes it evident that his boom box is his source of power, as he gallivants around his neighborhood with his radio on full blast and his confidence at a maximum. He even flexes his muscles a bit as he destroys another kid in a face off to see whose boom box is the loudest. In the most pivotal scene of the film, Spike Lee displays how the racial conflict is influenced by power, utilizing Radio Raheem’s boom box. Before looking at this critical scene, it is important to take a look at another element that played a crucial role in it’s development, Sal’s wall of fame.
Sal’s wall of fame is another tool utilized as a symbol for power in the film. Sal’s wall of fame is a wall dedicated to honoring mostly Italian whites in “Sal’s Famous Pizzeria”, the neighborhood pizza store. Sal’s wall of fame serves as the only form of true power that he has left. He cannot determine which neighborhood he works in because of his lack of wealth. There is also little that he can do to determine which groups of people eat at his restaurant. However, he can determine whose picture goes on his wall of fame, and he naturally chooses those people that resemble him most. By utilizing Sal’s wall of fame and Radio Raheem’s boom box, Spike Lee displays how the racial conflict is characterized by a struggle for power.
Moreover, in one of the most climatic scenes of the film, Radio Raheem and Bugging out face off with Sal and his sons in an attempt to add African Americans to Sal’s wall of fame. This scene takes a turn for the worst as Sal smashes Radio Raheem’s boom box while arguing wholeheartedly against integrating his wall of fame. Both Sal and Radio Raheem feel threatened by one another because they feel as though the other person is attempting to compromise their power. This scene embodies the struggle for power in the racial conflict. Radio Raheem loses his life fighting to hold onto the power to bolster his boom box in Sal’s restaurant and add African Americans to the wall of fame. Sal loses his restaurant trying to reserve the power to decide whom he puts on his wall of fame. Because of the conditions of the neighborhood these individuals are left with little to no power, which makes racial tensions flare. This results in a continuous struggle for power, which is a characteristic of the racial conflict.
Furthermore, by the end of the film Spike Lee makes the fruits of the relentless struggle for power quite apparent. This is highlighted in the scene where Smiley, a middle-aged mentally challenged white man, puts a picture of Martin Luther King Junior and Malcolm X on Sal’s wall of fame. The significance of this scene lies not in the fact that African Americans were able to make it onto Sal’s wall, but instead that by the time they made it to the wall it was already burned down. Through this scene Spike Lee may be attempting to communicate the subliminal message, that the struggle for power only breeds turmoil and crowns no true victor. What this means is that all races can continue to struggle for power, but by the end of the struggle there will be so much destruction that there will be no prize, or true victory to obtain. Through the use of this subliminal message, Spike Lee validates the point that the only way for people to truly end the racial conflict is to live in unison.
Also, in the beginning of the film Spike Lee displays that it is in fact possible for individuals with racial differences to live as one. While entering the neighborhood, Sal and his sons bypass a mural that vividly depicts several cultures coexisting. This mural is characterized by several different flags, and people placed together uniformly to create one flag. Because this mural depicts several cultures functioning as one, some may claim that it is symbolic of the melting pot. This is however not symbolic of the melting pot because in the case of the melting pot, several cultures come together as one but lose their true essences. This mural can instead be symbolic of a salad; in this case several cultures come together as one while maintaining their essences. It is through this mural that Spike Lee presents the subliminal message that different races are in fact capable of living in unison.
Well there you have it. The answer to the question many may have asked before, and after watching Spike Lee’s film: what is in fact the right thing to do? In the case of the racial conflict and the continuous struggle for power, the answer to this question is to live in unison. While it may be tempting to “fight the power” or fight for power, these actions will only breed turmoil. In this case it is best for all races to coexist, and seek to live together as one.
Do the Right Thing – by David Beaufils
The film, “Do the Right Thing”, written and directed by Spike Lee contained a variety of obscure subliminal messages, symbolism, and other underlying messages that Spike Lee may have wanted viewers to see, unconsciously. The film portrays a deep meaning of peace, and the conflict surrounding racism in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn. While some viewers may see this movie as another racist entertaining film like many others that was produced in the late 1980’s, Spike Lee created this film with a purpose that contains deep racial messages. Many components of this film may have been under looked by viewers such as the background music, the clothing that the black and white people were wearing, the art work or even the vehicles that is driven all have some type of underlying meaning behind it.
The transitions from the national anthem to an aggressive fighting tone where Rosie Perez is dancing to “Fight the Power” created by public enemy. As you can see in Rosie’s attire, the colors she is mainly wearing is red, white and black. In one outfit she is wearing a red dress with a black belt which can symbolize the blood and death of the black people. She is also wearing another outfit where she has red boxing gloves and a black and white robe. That outfit can symbolize the fight between black and white people, and the red gloves portray the blood created between the violence blacks faced when being attacked by white people.
As the film goes on, Smiley appears, the guy who has a stuttering speech problem standing in front of a church holding a picture of Martin Luther King and Malcom X. Smiley is a light skinned black person who looks like a mixture between black and white. Martin Luther and Malcom X did a lot of their speeches in churches where they tried to fight the battle of racism and voting rights during the civil rights movement. This image alone with Smiley standing in front of a church holding the picture can show the unity that the black leaders were trying to create trying to bring the black and white people together.
Another form of symbolism is the next scene where Sal, the owner of the pizzeria and his two sons Pino and Vito drive up in a white Cadillac towards the pizzeria. A Cadillac during the late 1980’s was considered a fancy car. People who had Cadillacs were considered to have some sort of wealth, which is what the Italians were displaying. Also, as Sal, Pino and Vito have the only white pizza shop in the middle of Bed-Stuy Brooklyn, it shows as them approaching a new world which is ironically similar to Christopher Columbus. Christopher was considered to be coming to a “New World” in his three ships which were named Santa Maria, Nina, and Pina. The names of the ship closely resemble the names of the three white characters. The color of their shirts also represents race. Pino, the grumpy bossy older brother wears a white shirt throughout the movie, and Vito wears a black shirt. Pino is considered the racist brother who acts violently towards black people and Vito on the other hand gets along with the black people in the neighborhood. However, in the Cadillac scene, although Pino is wearing all black, he has a white undershirt to show that he is true to his white side. Sal and Vito wear an equal combination of both white bottoms and a black top. Sal and Vito get along with the black people in the neighborhood. There is also a sign on the inside of the pizzeria where it is labeled “Hero”. The word hero can represent the white people being heroes or superior to the black people. Also, as the vehicle is approaching the pizzeria a piece of art work is on the side of the building which is a conglomerate of different flags. This represents the diversification in Bed-Stuy Brooklyn and the melting pot of different cultures within the community.
As the movie continues it is obvious that the white people have the more luxury things then black people do. For example, when the black kids turned on the fire hydrant and the white guy tried to pass through the streets in his fancy antique car. He bragged about his care as it pertained significant value to him and showed he was wealthy. Also the white guy who is wearing the Celtics Jersey who claims to own the brown stone property. In the movie, it seemed as if the black people lived in multi-family apartments while the white person owned an entire brownstone just for himself. That is also an indication of high wealth.
The jerseys play a huge subliminal message in this film. Spike lee throughout the movie is wearing a dodger’s jersey which represent Jackie Robinson, who became the first African American baseball player. Spike Lee, who plays Mookie in the film works in a pizzeria full of Italians. Like Jackie Robinson, Mookie is the first black person to work in an all-white place. On the flip side, there is a character in the film who is wearing a Boston Celtics Jersey with the number thirty three in the back which represents Larry Bird. Larry Bird was considered to be the savior of basketball for the white people in a sport that mainly consisted of African Americans. Larry Bird was considered to be one of the best during his time period. The white guy feels as if he is better than the black people even though he is in a predominately black neighborhood which probably explains why he wasn’t much apologetic for stepping on the black man Jordan’s. The black guy who is having a confrontation with him says “this isn’t gentrification” but when the white guy says he was born in Brooklyn and just bought that new brown stone property, it is very much a sign of gentrification and a sign of rich wealthy white people moving in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn.
Another subliminal messages is with radio Raheem. In the movie he holds two different knuckle rings which says love and hate. Radio Raheem is portrayed as an overly aggressive man who walks around with a radio. Although he mostly shows his hate side throughout the movie, he also shows his love side. For example, when he is talking to Mookie in the middle of the street and he is talking about the battle between “love” and “hate”, he finishes off by telling Mookie that he loves him. Quickly after that scene he goes into Sal’s pizzeria to order pizza but instantly changes his mood to hate. You can see the tension between Sal and radio Raheem as the camera is at focus on each of their faces while they are both screaming at each other. It is apparent that Radio Raheem “love” is towards the black people, while “hate” is towards the white people. The song “Fight the Power” is also playing in the background while the two are arguing which explains the aggressiveness of radio Raheem towards Sal.
Something interesting I noticed was when Mookie sister went into Sal’s pizzeria and Mookie stormed in and dragged her out and began arguing in front of a brick wall. She was getting upset that Mookie was trying to play this big brother role but wasn’t doing anything for himself. It wasn’t until after both, Mookie and Mookie sister left the scene where I was able to see “Tawana told the truth” on the brick wall. Apparently it derived from a rape case by a 15 year old girl who goes by the name of Tawana Glenda Brawley who falsely accused six white men of rape. There was no charges to those six white men, however, did receive support from the black community. Spike Lee expresses that he believes she told the truth and that she was raped.
One of the most interesting messages is the last scene of the movie when Radio Raheem dies. Radio Raheem wears a shirt the entire movie with “Bed-Stuy” and “Do or Die” written on his T-shirt. At the end of the movie he and a few other black people walk inside Sal’s Pizzeria and argue about not having black people on the hall of fame wall. You can notice as he is arguing with Sal, he is still playing “fight the power” on the radio. Fighting the power is exactly what radio Raheem was doing and he does what his shirt says which is “Do or Die”. This particular scene almost resembles the movie Selma where during the civil rights movement, the blacks were being beaten and killed by the whites. Sal smashes his radio and cops arrive at the scene and choke him to death for no real reason. The black people have been suffering for many years with unfair treatment from white police officers. Because Sal is white, the white police officers failed to hear the story from either side and to clarify who was wrong in this situation. Instead, the cops took it upon themselves to assume Raheem was in the wrong because he is black and killed him. Also, like in the movie of Selma where innocent black people were dying, people from different races started to join together to fight back against the blacks just like in “Do the Right Thing”. If you notice closely, after the police drives off with the black guy handcuffed and Raheem, the people in the community such as the Asians, Hispanics and blacks join together to rage against the white police just like during the movement when Martin Luther King crossed the bridge from Selma to Montgomery with men, women, and children. When Mookie takes action and throws the garbage can into the glass window of Sal’s pizzeria which represented that he is fed up with the racism between whites and blacks and decided to take matters into his own hands.
The next morning after the madness, Samuel L. Jackson makes a comment on the radio and says “Register to Vote”. It is ironic that he says that because during the civil rights movement, that was what the black people were fighting for but were constantly being oppressed by the white authorities. Similar to Selma, after the battle was done between the whites and blacks, black people were finally eligible to vote.
The film “Do the Right Thing” contains many different subliminal messages that may take a few times watching the movie to catch. It is obvious in the film that there has been a constant battle between racism between different races which Spike Lee does a great job in displaying in a diverse part of Brooklyn. There are many component of the film that symbolize historic meaning such as the superior whites over black people, Mookie trying to be the mediator between the white and black people which can represent Martin Luther King in this case, and the police brutality that many innocent black people faced during the marches that Martin Luther lead. There has been an unfair battle between whites and blacks for many years and this film does a great job displaying some of the hardship and inequality that black people faced during that time.
Arthur Lewin 