Do The Right Thing Film Review

The 1989 film Do the Right Thing was produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee. This film narrates the lives of people living in a rundown section of Brooklyn, New York called Bed - Stuy. This film describes the social and racial injustices that the people of Bed - Stuy must live with. There are many different ethnicities represented in this film. For example, Sal (played by Danny Aiello) and his two sons Vito (played by Richard Edson) and Pino (John Turturro) are an Italian family who run a pizzeria in Bed - Stuy. Sonny (played by John Park) and Kim (played by Ginny Yang) are Korean grocers that are located directly across the street from Sal's. The rest of the neighborhood represents the African - American and Latino population.

There are a lot of examples of racial and social inequality in this movie. For instance, there are three African American men, ML (played by Paul Benjamin), Sweet Dick Willie (played by Robin Harris), and Coconut Sid (played by Frankie Faison), who sit on the sidewalks of Bed - Stuy. They observe and comment on everything that goes on. One day, these three men are just minding their own business. A cop car comes by them, and Officer Long (played by Rick Aiello) looks directly at the three men and says with a sigh," What a waste." A second instance of racial and social inequality occurs when a young African - American man named Mookie (played by Spike Lee), who works for Sal, mentions freedom in Sal's Pizzeria. Sal responds by saying," Freedom?.... The only freedom you have here..... You take orders and you give them to him (Pino)." Sal is implying that because Mookie is an African - American, his only freedom is his employment. Finally, a third instance of racial and social inequality occurs when Pino vents about his anger, disgust, and frustration towards African - Americans. He compares the African - American/Latino neighborhood of Bed - Stuy to The Planet of the Apes. He suggests that he and his family "...should stay in our neighborhood and the (African - Americans) should stay in theirs."

I honestly did not like this film at all. However, I do think that the film had a good message to it. Ideally, people would want a multi-ethnic neighborhood to coincide. In reality though, people realize that it is impossible for a multi - ethnic neighborhood to coincide because people will have different values, morals, and beliefs. For example, Sal takes pride in his Italian heritage, which is why he has pictures of Italian people on his "Wall of Fame". Mookie's friend Buggin' Out (played by Giancarlo Esposito), who is an African - American, took offense to Sal's Wall of Fame. He thought there should be African - American people on the wall. After all, it was an African American/Latino neighborhood that they were living in. The message of the film, from my interpretation of the film, was that the people of a multi - ethnic neighborhood should at least attempt to be civil with each other. They should find a way that they all can co - exist.