In this section of our Colossus Movie Guide for Do the Right Thing, we talk about themes that help us understand the film.
Cast
- Spike Lee – Mookie
- Danny Aiello – Sal
- John Turturro – Pino
- Richard Edson – Vito
- Bill Nunn – Radio Raheem
- Rosie Perez – Tina
- Giancarlo Esposito – Buggin’ Out
- Ossie Davis – Da Mayor
- Ruby Dee – Mother Sister
- Samuel L. Jackson – Mister Señor Love Daddy
- Roger Guenveur Smith – Smiley
- Rick Aiello – Officer Gary Long
- Miguel Sandoval – Officer Mark Ponte
- Joie Lee – Jade
- Martin Lawrence – Cee
- Leonard L. Thomas – Punchy
- Christa Rivers – Ella
- Robin Harris – Sweet Dick Willie
- Paul Benjamin – ML
- Frankie Faison – Coconut Sid
The themes and meaning of Do the Right Thing
Racial tension
Racial tension is a pervasive theme in Do the Right Thing, manifesting through various characters, their interactions, and conflicts. The film provides a microcosmic view of the broader racial dynamics in America by focusing on a single day in a Brooklyn neighborhood. It presents racial tension not as an external force, but as an inherent part of everyday life in an ethnically diverse society.
The struggle for racial recognition
Racial recognition, or the lack thereof, serves as a significant driving force behind the tension and conflict in Do the Right Thing. The struggle for recognition and respect of one’s racial identity and culture is a shared experience among many characters, creating an undercurrent of resentment and frustration that fuels the escalating tension throughout the film.
The struggle for racial recognition is deeply entwined with the motif of Sal’s Wall of Fame. The Wall, solely featuring Italian-American celebrities, stands in Sal’s Pizzeria, a business operating in a predominantly black neighborhood and serving mostly black customers. The Wall becomes a symbolic site of contention because it omits representation of the black community, even though the pizzeria is a shared community space. This omission is a stark reminder of the broader societal bias that often overlooks the contributions of marginalized groups.
Buggin’ Out, recognizing this lack of representation, challenges Sal to include African American icons on the Wall. Sal’s refusal and his argument that it’s his pizzeria and he can display whomever he wishes shows an entrenched racial bias and disregard for the cultural contributions of his black customers. This conflict underlines the struggle for racial recognition, illustrating how the lack of representation can lead to feelings of erasure and fuel discontent.
The motif of baseball serves a similar purpose, highlighting the struggle for racial recognition within shared cultural experiences. The heated argument between Buggin’ Out and Pino over the best baseball player becomes a proxy battle for racial pride and recognition. Each character argues for a player of their own race, emphasizing the divide that persists even within universal cultural symbols like baseball. This conversation illuminates the fact that even in areas of shared national identity, racial disparities and the struggle for recognition persist.
In Do the Right Thing, these motifs accentuate the constant struggle for racial recognition faced by the characters. This struggle is not a mere subplot but forms the foundation of the narrative, driving the actions and reactions of the characters. The growing frustration and tension due to this lack of recognition eventually erupt in the film’s climax, manifesting in the form of the riot. The riot, therefore, is not just an act of wanton violence, but a bold assertion for racial recognition, marking a culmination of the characters’ long-standing struggle.
The use of racial slurs
Language plays a pivotal role in Do the Right Thing, serving as a mirror to reflect the simmering racial tension in the neighborhood and offering a critique of the casual prejudice that permeates everyday society.
Throughout the film, characters express their racial prejudices and underlying tensions through their choice of words and phrases, revealing how deeply ingrained these biases are in their everyday interactions. For instance, the loaded conversation between Pino and Mookie about famous African-Americans reveals Pino’s subconscious racial bias. Although he admires several black celebrities, he harbors prejudice against the black community in his immediate vicinity. His words, heavy with contradiction, illustrate how stereotypes and prejudice can coexist with admiration, underscoring the complex nature of racial bias.
A particularly potent example of language reflecting racial tension is the scene often referred to as the “racial slur montage.” Here, characters unleash a flurry of racial slurs against various racial groups, unveiling the raw, unfiltered racial prejudices that exist beneath the surface of their daily interactions. This verbal violence serves as a metaphor for societal tension, laying bare the stereotypes each racial group harbors about the others. By doing so, the film depicts the multifaceted nature of prejudice, where individuals can be both victims and perpetrators of bigotry.
The casual and conversational manner in which these slurs and biased comments are tossed around further demonstrates how racial prejudice has seeped into the fabric of everyday life, often normalized and unchallenged. This habitual use of racially loaded language illustrates how racial tension can simmer beneath the surface of a community, ready to boil over at any provocation.
The need to riot
The riot at the end of the movie is triggered by the unjust death of Radio Raheem, a black man, at the hands of the police. This brutal event resonates with real-world instances where violence against black individuals has sparked widespread public outrage and unrest, such as the murder of George Floyd. The representation of Radio Raheem’s death and the subsequent riot underscores the film’s critique of systemic racism and police brutality, issues that remain pertinent decades after the movie’s release.
The film portrays the riot as an eruption of pent-up racial tension, accumulated resentment, and shared frustration. It is a chaotic, violent, and emotional response to the violence inflicted upon Radio Raheem and, by extension, the black community. The act of Mookie throwing the trash can through the window of Sal’s Pizzeria can be interpreted as an act of deflection, diverting the mob’s wrath from Sal to his property, or as an act of rebellion, symbolically challenging the system that continually marginalizes his community.
In this context, Do the Right Thing is neither justifying nor condemning the riot but presenting it as a complex reaction to a deeply embedded societal problem. The film, instead of simplifying the event into a matter of right or wrong, forces audiences to grapple with the circumstances that lead to such incidents. It challenges viewers to question the structures and biases that perpetuate racial violence and injustice, eventually leading to such outbursts.
Ethics and morality
The theme of ethics and morality runs deep in Do the Right Thing, challenging audiences to grapple with what constitutes “the right thing” in a racially charged context. The film presents various characters wrestling with their moral convictions amidst escalating racial tensions, forcing audiences to reflect on the relativity of moral judgments.
What is the “right thing”?
The advice from Da Mayor to Mookie to “do the right thing” is a significant narrative element that sets the stage for the exploration of ethics and morality in Do the Right Thing. This seemingly simple advice, delivered early in the film, introduces the audience to the complex moral universe they are about to navigate.
By positioning Da Mayor, an older character with life experience, as the deliverer of this advice, the film establishes a sense of generational wisdom. Da Mayor is portrayed as a somewhat flawed but wise figure who has witnessed and understood the complex nature of morality in their racially charged environment. His advice underscores the inherent moral quandaries the characters face and positions him as a moral compass, albeit a nebulous one, as he doesn’t spell out what the “right thing” is.
The phrase “do the right thing” is deceptively simple but inherently complex due to its subjective nature. It presents morality as a fluid concept, shaped by personal perspectives, societal norms, and cultural backgrounds. This leaves room for interpretation, setting the stage for the moral dilemmas that unfold throughout the movie. It allows for multiple interpretations of what the “right thing” is, reflecting the diversity of viewpoints in the neighborhood and the wider world.
The climax of the film, where Mookie throws a trash can through the window of Sal’s Pizzeria, culminates in this theme of moral ambiguity. Mookie’s action can be viewed from different ethical perspectives: as a betrayal of his employer, as a justified act of defiance against a system that devalues black lives, or as a strategic move to redirect the mob’s anger away from Sal and onto his property.
The film does not provide a definitive answer on whether Mookie’s actions constitute “the right thing,” which aligns with the film’s broader approach to ethics and morality. It suggests that morality isn’t fixed or universally agreed upon, but rather a product of individual circumstances, societal influences, and personal interpretations. This approach encourages the audience to engage with these complexities, asking them to consider the factors that shape their understanding of “the right thing.”
Love vs. Hate
Radio Raheem’s “Love and Hate” speech in Do the Right Thing is a pivotal moment that delves into the thematic exploration of ethics and morality. Holding up his brass knuckle-adorned hands, one reading ‘LOVE’ and the other ‘HATE,’ Raheem delivers a dramatic monologue about the eternal struggle between these two forces.
Here’s the entire speech:
Let me tell you the story of Right Hand, Left Hand. It’s a tale of good and evil. Hate: it was with this hand that Cain iced his brother. Love: these five fingers, they go straight to the soul of man. The right hand: the hand of love. The story of life is this: static. One hand is always fighting the other hand, and the left hand is kicking much ass. I mean, it looks like the right hand, Love, is finished. But hold on, stop the presses, the right hand is coming back. Yeah, he got the left hand on the ropes, now, that’s right. Ooh, it’s a devastating right and Hate is hurt, he’s down. Left-Hand Hate KOed by Love.
This speech is a nod to the dichotomy of good and evil, love and hate that has been a central theme in literature and philosophy for centuries. It introduces the concept of ethical and moral dualism, the conflict between positive and negative moral forces, into the narrative. Radio Raheem’s hands become metaphors for these opposing forces, demonstrating how closely they can coexist and how one’s actions can tip the balance in either direction.
In terms of ethics and morality, this speech underscores the complexity of the characters’ choices and actions throughout the film. The struggle between love and hate is reflected in the characters’ interpersonal dynamics, their actions, and their reactions to the escalating racial tension. It symbolizes the ethical quandaries they face, the choices they make, and the consequences they bear.
For instance, Mookie’s decision to throw a trash can through Sal’s Pizzeria’s window can be viewed through the lens of this dichotomy. Was it an act of hate against Sal, or an act of love to divert the crowd’s anger away from Sal to his property, potentially saving his life? This act, like many others in the film, doesn’t fit neatly into categories of “right” or “wrong,” reflecting the intricate interplay between love and hate, good and evil, ethical and unethical.
Radio Raheem’s speech encapsulates this moral complexity, reminding viewers that actions are often motivated by a mix of love and hate, righteousness and anger, morality and immorality. It reflects the film’s overall stance on ethics and morality, demonstrating that these concepts aren’t clear-cut but rather a product of constant struggle and negotiation between conflicting forces.
Community and identity
Do the Right Thing presents community and identity as intertwined themes, exploring how individual identities contribute to community dynamics and vice versa. The motif of the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, with its diversity, is a melting pot of identities, all coexisting in a delicate balance of harmony and discord.
The tension between community and identity
Do the Right Thing delves into the tension between maintaining individual identity and fostering community harmony, shedding light on the complexity and delicate balance of multicultural societies. Throughout the film, characters grapple with expressing their unique cultural identities while cohabitating a shared community space, revealing the inherent challenges and conflicts that can arise from such a dynamic.
Sal’s Pizzeria serves as a central location for this tension. Sal, an Italian-American, runs this establishment in a predominantly black neighborhood, leading to clashes of cultural expression. The Wall of Fame, adorned with only Italian-American icons, is a clear symbol of Sal’s insistence on maintaining his individual identity. Yet, his pizzeria operates as a communal hub for a black neighborhood, raising questions about representation and the inclusivity of community spaces.
Buggin’ Out’s demand to include black icons on the Wall of Fame exemplifies the tension between individual identity and community harmony. Buggin’ Out seeks acknowledgment of the neighborhood’s cultural identity, believing that the community’s patronage should be reflected in the space they frequent. This is seen as a threat by Sal, who feels his personal identity within his business is being undermined.
The coexistence of community and identity
However, the film does not present this tension as a simplistic binary conflict. Characters such as Da Mayor and Mother Sister demonstrate a more harmonious coexistence of individual identity within the community fabric. Da Mayor, though often at odds with younger community members, ultimately embodies wisdom and peacekeeping. Mother Sister, while maintaining a somewhat aloof and watchful role, shows concern and care for her neighborhood.
The climax of the film underscores the devastating potential of these tensions when left unresolved. The riot that engulfs Sal’s Pizzeria can be viewed as an explosive expression of suppressed individual identities that felt unheard and unrecognized within the shared community space.
At the same time, the film emphasizes the strength of the community. Despite the conflicts, there is a sense of shared experience and mutual support among the residents. The community’s collective outrage at Radio Raheem’s death and the subsequent riot signify a shared sense of injustice and a collective struggle for change. This shared experience, born out of adversity, underlines the power of community and the importance of collective identity in challenging societal structures.
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