Patrick DePeters

Leadership 101—Dr. Mitric

Essay #2

Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing depicts the life and times of a multi-ethnic urban community living in Bed-Stuy, New York in the late 1980s.  The racial communities, focusing primarily on the African American, influence the dynamics of the neighborhood most. Lee quickly demonstrates the close, family-like relations among people of particular races by showing how they interact and relate to each other on a daily basis.  People are shown to adhere to their racial community because most can relate to similar beliefs, intents, resources, needs, connections, and origins etc. — which all factor into a large piece of their identities. The larger community is divided by race, and each person has a place within a particular racial subgroup.  The black race, for instance, seems to define much of their everyday life, and as a result, any injustice done to any individual seems to be an injustice done to the community.  Lee’s carefully crafted movie leaves no ambiguity in depicting a close African-American community that greatly influences the thoughts and actions of his characters within it. Individuals are less prone to stray from their racial communities because it is through that group that they feel at home and secure by their common situation and values. While a sense of belonging as a cohesive community can be beneficial in protecting individuals and inciting change, often groups with stubborn, close-minded ideologies and prejudices perpetuate hate and misunderstanding as opposed to seeing eye to eye and reasoning through superficial differences.

Lee shows the meaningfulness of one’s black community by making Mookie (and others) cross the boundary between black and white on a daily basis. Sal’s Famous Pizzeria is a representation of the small white community within the larger black community. The pizzeria is shown to be almost stuck within the black community. Regardless of its relatively small size, it greatly impacted, for twenty-five years, the black community. While most of the blacks only eat at Sal’s, Mookie forms a relationship with Sal as an employee. Though Mookie is hardly offended by the all-white “Wall of Fame,” Buggin’ Out demands that famous “brothers [be] put up on this of Wall of Fame” (Lee).  He explicitly asks for the role models Malcolm X, Angela Davis, and Michael Jordan. Because Buggin’ Out can not do much in the way of protest alone, he must leave and garner the support of his community, which—because of its identification as black—he thinks will be willing to support him. Most of the people he talks to do not take him seriously at all, and dismiss his claim as ludicrous and unwarranted. He finally discusses his grievances with Radio Raheem who also feels angst towards Sal. Radio Raheem’s boom box blasts Public Enemy’s Fight the Power which—with rallying lyrics—eventually aids to ignite the edgy petulance of the community.

The community immediately recognizes racism that is pervading the situation, and feeling directly affected, takes action against the opposition. The riled anger and chaos present at the end of the movie is rooted in the black community. Lee does not make a statement as to whether or not Sal is wrong, as it is left up to us to decide if the black community has the right to be angered at Sal. Da Mayor rightfully exclaims that Sal didn’t kill Radio Raheem. While Da Mayor attempts to be the voice of reason, the circumstances seem to automatically dismiss any rationale. The people feel a need for revenge and an object (Sal’s Pizzeria) to which they can place blame and rage. And while the community united in support, it was their stubborn antagonism and energy that contributed to the death of Radio Raheem. Perhaps the pressures from the on-looking black community forced Mookie to identity himself with the black community, and do what he (and they) considered “the right thing.” As a result, he capriciously shatters Sal’s window—welcoming further riot and rage. For Mookie, his employment and livelihood are sacrificed in order to “stay black” and true to his community. Sal’s employment provided Mookie income temporarily, but Mookie’s loyalty remains with his black people—the part of him that will never change. In a sense, Mookie followed his community. And while the community provides a sense of belonging to Mookie, it also encourages him to think as they do, and disregard responsible reasoning for the principle of “fight[ing] the power.”  

            The sense of community and the differences among communities are further illustrated by the stereotypes exposed. The men of the “corner crew” transfer the blame for their unemployment and poor quality of life from themselves to the Koreans. They are envious and angered at the Koreans for starting a business so quickly on their block. And while they are referencing a particular Korean fruit stand across from them, they are stereotyping all of the Koreans and collectively loathing them for unjustified reasons. ML says “Look at those Korean motherfuckers across the street.  I betcha they haven’t been a year off da motherfucking boat before they opened up their own place…in our neighborhood” (Lee). Because they fear the Koreans will take away their own opportunities for employment, they justify their hatred based on stereotypes of Koreans as a whole—as a community. The same prejudices are shown coming from whites. Pino says to Sal, “I’m sick of niggers, it’s a bad neighborhood.  I don’t like being around them, they’re animals.” He assumes that his limited experiences with some black people most apply to all of them. Similarly, when Buggin’ Out’s Jordans are scuffed by a white passerby, his crew supports him by harassing the man with unwarranted racial stereotypes as they assume he is from Massachusetts. By making these stereotypes easily identifiable, Lee encourages the audience to recognize just how inappropriate and un-useful it is to characterize communities of people based on an isolated inkling of truth.

Communities have always been a way for individuals to group together based on varying commonalities in order to make them feel a sense of belonging in larger spheres. While communities can be determined by locality, culture, organization, religion etc., Lee focuses on the racial communities because they are inherently the most exclusive and that exclusion results in a kind of unnecessary hate. By showing how Mookie’s harmful actions and others racial stereotypes are linked to the values of the community, Lee affectingly asks the audience to reconsider just what “the right thing” is regardless of what one’s community might think.

Bennett, Tony, Lawrence Grossberg, and Meaghan Morris, eds.  “New Keywords: A

Revised Vocabulary of Culture and Society.” Oxford: Blackwell Pub., 2005.

Lee, Spike, dir. “Do the Right Thing.” Prod. 40 Acres & a Mule Filmworks.

Universal, 1989.