Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing”
(1989) is a dramatic comedy that depicts life on a sunny Brooklyn
street were racial tensions are at an all time high. The story is about a young
African-American man named Mookie (Spike Lee) who works at the local pizza shop
in his neighborhood. The store is owned by Italians but the clientele is
largely black which causes for Mookie to feel somewhat stuck in the middle of a
race tug of war. He feels like he should do well at work and be a good employee
to Sal (<a title="Danny Aiello" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Danny_Aiello">Danny Aiello</a>)
the man who hired him. But his friends in the black community are constantly
telling him to stay black and that he shouldn’t go to work for that racist
Italian. At the time of the movie’s release in 1989 there were talks amongst
the leaders of the US and
the USSR
that the cold war would soon be coming to an end. The nation as a whole was in
very cautious and suspicious state of mind as we felt a constant threat from
the Russians throughout the Cold War. The Cold War ties into the film as it
portrays the ignorance that many citizens had about stereotypes and suspicions
of other races. This movie deserves preservation for multiple reasons, not only
for its astounding award resume, but for the ability of a black director to
make a box office movie about racial tension through the eyes of a black man.
During a time were racial tensions in America was a new theme as the new nation
learned how to deal with racial freedom whether it be economically,
politically, or socially Spike Lee’s “Do The Right Thing” covers all aspects.

Spike
Lee’s “Do The Right Thing” is typical of its era in the sense it’s a box office
movie with noteworthy actors and is viewed in cinemas until its VHS release. There
are not any major changes in the production of the film, and the fact Spike Lee
directed and acted in it is a remarkable trait of the film. What is significant
about this film from its era is that it was one of the first movies to tackle
racism and stereotypes head on. The subject matter was extremely rare at the
time and the film was reviewed by critics to possibly bring about an uproar of
violence in the black community. “<em>New York</em> magazine said, ‘Lee appears to be
endorsing the outcome, and if some audiences go wild he's partly responsible.’”
(WORLDBIO).

The ability for Spike Lee to make a
movie about race that was unbiased to all races, and to not take sides but just
portray the movie as how things truly are is what makes the movie stand out
from its peers. Movies at the time were starting to focus on more controversial
topics like the film “Black Rain” which focused on the dropping of an atomic
bomb on Hiroshima.
That movie is seen to have much more of a political motive where as Spike Lee’s
can’t be thrown into one particular category of having a specific goal to
achieve as it accomplishes so many. The movie has so much cultural context to
it as truly remarks a time in America
were racism was a rising topic. Blacks had been previously enslaved in America,
and then segregated from white Americans as the laws in the south allowed for
it. Then in later court cases and through influential leaders such as Martin
Luther King and Malcolm X the end of segregation began in the mid 60s. The
black community was finally in a time were the ever present thoughts of past
oppression were starting to fade away. America
has always had a relaxed immigration policy and the cultural tension between
Blacks and Italians in Brooklyn was a rising
heated topic. Spike Lee does an excellent job of covering the time period in
which he was living in as the movie accurately displays how things were at that
point in time in 1989. Racism was not a common topic in the film industry, let
alone by a black director, where the film industry is dominated white males.

The film was one of those extraordinary films
that no matter who you were when you walked out of the theater you were touched.
Whether it is by the racial tension, the dilemmas faced throughout the film, or
by the sheer quality that was taken into the film and by its cast members and
amazing director Spike Lee this film was instant success in the film world. The
film is noted for winning numerous awards as a film and through individual
efforts as well. The film is noted for giving film debuts to actors Martin
Lawrence and Rosie Perez. The film also has some high profile nominations to
its name. According to IMDB the film was nominated for 4 Golden Globe awards
and also for 2 Oscar Awards. It also won awards from Chicago,
Los Angeles, New York
and Boston’s
film critics’ awards committee. (IMDB) Critics of the movie were expecting for
a violent reaction form the black community to the film, but there wasn’t
anything like that to note of. Through the nominations and awards that the film
won, I feel it is safe to say that the film was received as a masterpiece in
its initial perception. Spike Lee was able to staple himself as a prominent
director and showed his ability to conquer touchy subjects in a tasteful way
that can appeal to the masses.

The movie in today’s time is still
looked at as an accurate depiction of racial tensions, and sadly to say some of
those same stereotypes still exist in the world we live in today. There have
been other films since the release of “Do The Right Thing” that tackle racial
issues, but none were able to achieve what spike lee was able to do in 1989 as
one of the first to do it. A true testament as to how this film was able to
stand the test of time and show that it would be still a classic is the film’s
preservation into the National Film Registry. (IMDB) The film which was
accepted into preservation during the year 1999 was the movies first eligible year
and it was preserved by the board. The fact the film has been preserved by the
National Film Registry makes me feel good about choosing this film for my time
capsule. These peoples spend their lives watching movies and judging them on
all kinds of criteria for preservation into the registry, and since the board
choose “Do The Right Thing” in its first year of eligibility says a lot about
the film in general. Although 1999 is not 2011, it shows that ten years after
the films release it was already considered a classic. The reception it would
receive in today’s time would be a bit different as the film may or may not
receive as much talk about the racism in the film. The subject of race is
different in a time where we are living with a BLACK PRESIDENT!!!! Also in
today’s media age of facebook and twitter and internet access everywhere, the
amount of racial tension in America
is not what it used to be. Not that its not there, but that America has become
such a melting pot since the year 1989 the racial tensions amongst blacks and
Italians, would have to be changed to blacks, whites, Hispanics, Asians,
Europeans, etc. The film would still hold the same value of depicting the
racial tension amongst a small Brooklyn
community but the nature of racial tension in 2011 is not the same as 1989.

Personally I find this film to be
terrific in every way, Spike Lee himself is playing in the movie, and the fact
he directs the film as well is awesome. There are not many movies that are able
to show racism in the 80s in Brooklyn,
New York which is a mega center
of cultures. There will never be another “Do The Right Thing”; nothing will
ever close to having the same impact on a nation’s society. The cultural clash
throughout the film is special to me as the film truly depicts racism in its
rawest most uncut form. The images are so vivid throughout the entire film and
the scene where Mookie is standing at the store looking at the aftermath of the
store is engraved in my mind forever. “Colorful costumes add to the film's
visual intensity and serve as metaphors for ethnic diversity.” (Eric) What is
particularly meaningful about the film to me is how well he is able to exploit
racism and how he shows it from all sides of the spectrum. He employs special
characteristics in his cast members that truly depict America’s
stereotype of blacks, Puerto Ricans, Italians and white police officers. The
most important meaning is that people are faced with tough decisions everyday,
and that the world is not some open hearted loving place. Anything can happen
in this world, and there are some things that happen without any ones control.
The death of Radio Raheem is a true example of how cruel and unjust the world
is, and Spike Lee does an excellent job of showing how something some simple
can turn out to be a huge tragedy. I also like the film for its comedy as well,
which is very dominant in the film as well. The characters all have strong
real-world personalities that are relatable to and easy to identify with.

A film that is similar to Spike Lee’s
“Do The Right Thing” is John Singleton’s “Higher Learning” (1995) which is also
based on racism. Singleton’s film is a remarkable film as well, but the overall
movie can not compare with Lee’s.
“Higher Learning” is the story of three college kids who are freshman at
Columbus University and have to deal with all
kinds of new problems that they haven’t experienced before. As in Lee’s film,
there are evident signs of racism that are there for the audience to interpret
themselves. The characters in “Higher Learning” are all forced to find their identities
and the focus of prejudice an other problems are all evident in the film. Lee’s
film is a comedic performance which all takes place in one 24 hour period. The
films have similar meanings but the approach to the filmmaking is different.
Where as Lee’s film came first, he was the first one to tackle race issues head
on in a film “Higher Learning” doesn’t as much focus on just race as it does
the true struggles of a college student and identifying yourself amongst a new
set of people and so called friends. The direction that Lee’s film took is one
of a political activist trying to display how things were in a simple Brooklyn neighborhood. “Higher Learning” had the task of
following three characters and there isn’t that much depth into each characters
true dynamics throughout the film. Also it wasn’t accepted into the National
Film Registry like “Do The Right Thing”, nor did it win as many awards and
nominations as Lee’s films. That’s why on the merit of a movie being based
around race topics, Spike Lees deserves preservation over Singletons for his
ability to put a comedic outlook on racial tension.

What is most significant for future
generations to be aware of is the ability to create a movie about race and have
it is received by the masses as tasteful and insightful and funny. The quality
of the movie is amazing and future generations need to be aware of Spike Lee
and what the man stood for, believed in and fought for. He was a true black
pioneer, and still is to this day an icon in the black community. This movie is
more than just its awards and more than just a movie about racial tension. The
audacity Spike Lee must have had to produce this movie and put it out the
public needs to be remembered for generations to come as there truly is not
another movie like it of its kind and era. So for the fact that Spike Lee was
able to make a real world movie about race and racial tension in America,
and have his point be heard and respected is why I feel like “Do The Right
Thing” deserves preservation into my time capsule.

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