Do the Right Thing: Spike Lee's Portrayal of Racism and Stereotypes in 1980s USA

Do the Right Thing directed by Spike Lee, highlights the racial problems that were in the USA
at the time the film was produced (1989). The film portrays racial and cultural stereotypes of the
time, especially with regards to the Italian American, Korean American and African American
communities. The impact of racism and police brutality is also depicted in the movie. The moral
decisions that the people make are highly influenced by race and the film shows the impact of
negative perception, based on their race. The characters in the movie are represented
stereotypically to stress the theme of racism more. The use of cinematic attributes such as
camera, lighting, music, and narrative structure further help the director to pass the thematic
messages to the audience. These themes are explored here.
The movie uses iconography to highlight the segmentation of the society in Brooklyn along
racial lines. The American Italians in the movie such as Sal appears in the film in a jaunty
Hawaiian shirt. Whereas the typically racist Pino appears to be clad in his jet black shirt and
slacks, reflecting negative vibes in his characterization. Radio Raheem wears a medallion and
plays loud rap music on his stereo, all which are stereotypical attributes of African Americans.”
There is also a group of Latino youth with Puerto Rican descent who listen to salsa music all the
time as they share beers. Their ethnic origin is revealed through their dialogues and
conversations where they reveal that difference in their ethnicities might lead the way to power
struggle. As such, they confirm that they would come down to openly insulting each other with
ethics slurs (in comic as well as serious fashion)1. The youth also speak Spanish despite the
fact they are in a neighbourhood that uses English as the main language. The film is dominated
by insults in which the characters bring out the sentiments that they hold against each other.
The belief in injustice and the lack of equality is evident throughout the film - most prominently in
the segment where Buggin’ questions the Italian wall. The struggle for power in the society is
also aligned to the racial groupings. Racism is, in fact, the cause of the power struggle in the
neighbourhood. Activism in the film such as by Buggin’ and Mookie’ sister is also racially biased
and it leads to animosity instead of help the people to live in harmony.
Racism and social discrimination are beautifully portrayed by Spike Lee in the movie segment.
Time and again, Lee pulls up from narrative to the present montages, characterizing time, place
as well as urban condition. There is presence of heat and noise that are palpable through the
juxtaposition of imageries scored by steel pulse number “Can’t Stand It”. At a different context of
time, blacks, whites, Koreans as well as Puerto Ricans are seen to recite litany of bigoted
epithets in turns. With the rise in intensity of heat, the tempers also rise in the film. For a certain
time fragment, potential fights are poised with good humour. However, then, kidding starts to get
converted in to mean-mindedness. The question raised by Buggin to Sal is extremely relevant.
He asks why there are only pictures of Frank Sinatra, John Travolta and Sophia Loren hung in
the pizzeria, but no pictures of any black. Next, he again, questions,
"Rarely do I see any Italian-Americans eating here."
Discussion might involve here, the highly relevant mise-en scene of Do the Right Thing. The
scene is replete with the usage of actors, props, costumes, actors as well as lighting. The usage
of the scene in the movie helps in the propelling of plot and also helps in communicating
1 Valdez, W. (2016). “commons.marymount.edu”. https://commons.marymount.edu/magnificat/do-the-right-
thing-analysis/

emotional as well as intellectual significance of the main message about racism in the movie. In
this scene, there is a major role of jewelry of Radio Raheem. The presence of the love and hate
knuckles` in each of the hands portrays a struggle between the two different communal forces in
the same neighborhood. His punches in front of the camera, are an embodiment of the
symbolist icon of his anger against racism and the viewer perceive that he wishes to punch it
out of the picture.
Another important ornamentation of the scene is costume that the white man who runs
over Jordan sneakers of Buggin’Out, wears. The man is seen wearing a Celtic jersey of Larry
Byrd and it is a significant parallel consideration here that Byrd has been a star white player of
the team of Celtic. In contrast, Buggin’ Out is seen wearing the sneakers of Michael Jordan.
Jordan had also been a star player in the team, the only difference being that he was a African-
American.
“The negative racial sentiments lead to a violent confrontation in Sal’s pizzeria”2. The fight
starts with a lot of racial-based insults and the destruction of Raheem’s radio, the fight is
divided along racial lines in which Raheem is defended by the African Americans and Sal by his
sons. The fight is a culmination of the long-held racial and power rivalry. The African Americans
tell Sal and his sons that they have monetary power over the other people, they lack the actual
power since they are very small in number and would not be able to fight back to a great extent.
“The judgement of the people of the events that had just occurred was also based on racial
interests. The crowd ignores the fact that Raheem was choking Sal before the police came and
they pin all the blame on Sal and his sons.”3 The biased judgment raises tension and Sal’s
restaurant is looted and destroyed in the process. “The reaction of the police also shows that
they are biased and they protect the people that have more financial power in the
neighbourhood more.”4 A view of the Marxist society is seen in this scene as all the opinions of
the people and the police are biased on the one who is in power. Sal and his sons are not even
considered since they are seen as powerless beings. The arrests made only included African
American and Sal and his sons were left free despite their active participation in the fight that
they too had caused
“Cinematically the film brings out the heightening racial tension and power struggle in the
neighbourhood.”5 The camera, in the last scene, where Mookie throws a trash in to the pizzeria
of his employer, Sal, after Radio Raheem was killed by the police, pans over black people and
finally focuses on the Sal and his sons. This shows the inferiority of the Italians in the fight since
they are clearly outnumbered, this being the only situation that Sal’s financial superiority does
not count. The African Americans in the crowd are sweating and this shows that they have
taken the heat for too long and they are willing to take extreme measures to take control of the
society in which they have previously been exposed to a lot of brutalities and economic
oppression. The smashing of Raheem’s radio by Sal is played in slow motion and this brings out
2 Mack-Shelton, Kibibi. Great Events from History: African American History. Salem Press.
3 Marie, Michel, and Richard John. Neupert. The French New Wave: an Artistic School.
4 John Leazer, "History and the Movies: Some Thoughts on Using Film in Class," Teaching History: A Journal of
Methods.
5 Marie, Michel, and Richard John. Neupert. The French New Wave: an Artistic School.