Do The Right Thing Theme

movie, “Do the Right Thing” is one of the all-time pieces of art with great depiction of how race and class have dominated the society. The setting takes place in New York City, a location that is mostly populated by African Americans. The setting is full of paintings, which reveal the obsession of the blacks against the racial segregation that they face. The African Americans are stereotyped as hoodlums and whenever a crime occurs, the police go on a shooting mission and end up killing them for alleged lawbreaking (Lee & Lisa 12). The population gets infuriated and the theme of violence heightens. “Do the Right Thing” aims to teach about the application of violence in solving social issues, and the need for people to consider better ways to bring upon peace.

To begin with, the events of the movie mirror the type of rage that is elicited by the differences in class and race. It is a perfect illustration of racism at institutional and individual levels. It was done at a time when ethnic resentment appeared to rule every aspect of the American society. The blacks were not allowed to rule the political sphere and their attempt to do so was seen as a

reversal of the norm. For example, the movie gives a scene where Dinkins David wins the battle for a mayor’s office and the idea of him becoming the first black American to be in the position does not augur well with the white community. It is, therefore, an account of modern racism and endeavors to expose how class difference propagates discrimination (Lee & Lisa 17).
The element of institutional form of discrimination is illustrated through an Italian couple whom which are portrayed as having strong hatred against the black community. The family owns a pizzeria, but it becomes unfortunate that most of their clients are African Americans. The rift in ideologies between these two communities becomes a major source of tension. The foremost instance of violence ensues when the customers ask the store owner, Mr. Sal, his reason for hanging the images of people from his race only and none for blacks. The question enrages Mr. Sal and as his yelling gets out of control, they are forced out of the shop premises. In an interview about the film, Spike Lee stated that his aim for this scene was to prompt viewers to think of the peace that could have prevailed in an event that Mr. Sal changed the pictures to entice the clients instead of sending them out (Lee & Lisa 22).
Another tension is displayed when Radio Raheem gets to the store while playing a freedom song in his stereo. The idea offends the store owner but he declines to reduce the volume. He acts in such a manner to prove to Mr. Sal that they are actually not afraid of his influence among the wealthy community. It is a form of payback as they have not been able to receive the form of treatment they deserve as humans. The simple disagreement ultimately intensifies and leads to the whole locality working in unison to burn the shop. However, even though the neighborhood feels that they have performed justice, the truth of the matter is that there is no any gain because they have only paved way for continued fight (Lee & Lisa 12). In moral sense, the community is obliged to experience feelings of shame.
Further, the track that continues to play from the beginning to the end of the movie gives emphasis to the point that power cannot be obtained through war.

The song is harmonious with the theme of the film and it becomes sad that even Radio Rahim could not heed to the message of the song. He is portrayed as the perpetrator of the fire that burnt down Sal’s shop. With its ironical message of fighting for power, the song is important especially at this moment when major conflicts are caused by racial bitterness. During the year of the filming, the track used to play frequently when instances of war would arise (Wodak and Martin 576). The idea that the boom box also went down in the fire was significant as it points out to the fact that war only leads to loses, hence the need for civilized ways to solving

problems.
Similarly, there are multiple cases of individual prejudice. Such instances are common among people or smaller groups of individuals. For example, the film presents situations where members of the different races frequently disagree and talk harshly to one another on the basis of their origins. Such encounters are noticeable whenever a member of a particular race meets another. The key question about the film is whether morality is justified by the desire for equality or revenge. To respond to this, it is of essence when one ponders Martin Luther ‘s ideology of diplomacy. He was an advocate of peaceful ways to attaining ceasefire. In addition, Malcolm X encouraged disharmony and war if it was the only resort to justice (Wodak and Martin 576). As for the case of Lee’s film, there was no need for violence because the community was still premature for disunion.
The other principal issue of the film is the social depression of the black lives. Raheem’s case is a reflection of the present day phenomenon where war is reacted to by severest forms of hostility. Lee uses the character, Raheem, as a depiction of an individual who relentlessly wants to reveal that the blacks should not be frightened by the whites. The actor appears to be above his friends in terms of everything and all his actions are directed against the white dominance. At first, he seems not to be interested in any form of violence and he is even seen practicing for a performance on moral matters with the theme that friendship overrides animosity. Nevertheless, this changes immediately he realizes that Mr. Sal holds hatred for his African American race. As a result, Raheem poses as an embodiment of justice, but in the wrong way (Lee & Lisa 15). His actions are not guided by knowledge of morality that he alleges to envoy.
The various characters in the film are either connected or differentiated by the virtue of race. A sense of an artistic society is manifested in the movie through the hip-hop culture but the existence of oppressive politics seems to hinder every attempt by the individuals to express themselves. They cannot engage in practices that reveal their artistic ability because their cultures are characterized with criminality. The portrayal limits their ideals and they see this as a form of social injustice. The movie is coupled with images of the black community being murdered, a concern that spurs panic from the entire neighborhood. The events are direct allusions to what happens in today’s society when people attempt to fight for their civil rights. It leads to the proposition that the nation has not been successful in its mission to develop in terms of cultural tolerance because ethnicity is still at the center of every affair (Lee & Lisa 21).
Lee’s film awakens viewers to the fact that the law enforcement units in the U.S. have equally participated in intensifying the element of racial prejudice. It reminds people that the military has played a role in hindering the currently needed interventions to salvage the people of color from suffering. In another interview, Lee noted that if the movie were to be re-acted today, there would be very narrow differences between the sequels because not so many changes have taken place since the time of its original filming (Wodak and Martin 576). In other words, the horror of the old racial intolerance and the police involvement is still an event of the current society (Wodak and Martin 576).
Conclusively, the film “Do the Right Thing” not only points out the racial dissimilarities as the cause of intolerance, it also presents class as the other principal cause of violence. It gives emphasis to Martin Luther’s idea that people fail to solve peace harmoniously because they believe in mitigating problems by the use of force. Lee had two reasons for the production. First, he wanted to show how the wealthy people who relate with the less fortunate neighborhoods have a great feeling of hatred for these neighbors and this leads to intensified disharmony. Secondly, he purposed to show that any attempt to curb problems through war only results to further chaos hence the essence of amicable means to peace.