Review on "Do the Right Thing"

Spike Lee’s “Do the right thing” is a strongly impulsive movie. Starting with the dance, the movie aims at an acrid topic—racism. Spike Lee, as the hero Mookie, plays a role of mediator between whites and blacks, with his status of black. Another neutral character is Da Major. Although he is always drunk, he is probably the most clear-minded individual in the neighborhood, like a wild sage. However, in such a hot day, they cannot calm the people down. It is a black neighborhood, whereas the most popular places in it are operated by other races---Sal’s famous Pizzeria and the Korean grocery. Sal is a racist, but he does not treat the blacks bad. He is racist because he only puts Italian American on his “wall of fame”; He is relatively tolerant because he enjoys serving the black people every day and is proud to see these people growing on his food. His sons, Pino and Vito, are totally different from their view on races. Mookie is working in Sal’s Famous Pizzeria, where is the main stage of the movie.

The clue which walks all the way down the movie is “hot”. Hot makes people feel impatient, which increases the potential possibility of conflict. After depicting the main characters and describing the uncomfortable relationships between people, spike lee puts a climax to the movie by performing the conflict between Buggin Out and Sal. Radio Raheem uses his radio to challenge Sal. Sal hits it to trash with his bat and the violence breaks out. The conflict soon spread with the involvement of all the people from the neighborhoods. Oppressed long enough, the uneasiness within the races erupted. Mookie lost his position and fought against Sal. The fight ended with sadness and destruction.

Racism is not an easy issue to deal with. The neighborhood seems to be peaceful and harmonious. The black majority regards the American and Korean’s shops as the most common and essential sector in their life in spite of some linguistic friction. Yet racism is deep in root. Even if people seem to live in peace in daily life, racism can take quick effect when initiated. Spike Lee did a nice job in uncovering the nature of this problem.

The success of “Do the Right Thing” is that it carries out deep consideration with people’s daily life, common and ravishing, especially when we look at this movie in the time of overwhelming usage of special effects.