bkdevries An amazing, creative, thoughtful treatise on racism. It shows how the simmering undercurrent of anger against injustice and racism can be ignited by something so simple as an unintended slight, a lack of respect shown for a photo on the wall (or lack of). Then, at the end, it underlines that racism is an endemic disease of institutions and systems, symptomatic of an entrenched culture versus an emergent culture, rather than one on one relationships (except for stranger with stranger encounters).

hmoore-03348 I just watched Do The Right Thing about 30 minutes ago, and for the majority of the movie, I was just waiting to see the lesson that would be learned, or the right thing that would be done. I feel as if this film gives black people a negative portrayal overall. Mookie is irresponsible and non-dependable, Buggin Out and Radio Raheem are disrespectful to Sal's business, the group of people that Martin Lawrence's character was with, were ignorant and disrespectful as well. And overall it seems as if the black community in this film weren't welcoming to non-black people. I feel as if Sal deserved much better. The end really upset me because I feel as if the riot was aimed at the wrong character. It was not Sal or anything that Sal did that led to Radio Raheem's death, yet a riot broke out that left his business ruined. This leads to the stereotype that black people are violent and ignorant and don't know what they're fighting for. I felt as if no one did the right thing, and there was no lesson to be learned really, and I just don't get it. I don't understand why racial tension grew because Sal didn't want loud music playing in his store, and because he didn't want to put up pictures of African Americans. I don't get what Spike Lee was trying to say with this film. I do like how it explored police brutality and the relationship between the black community and the police, although I wish that would've been touched on a little bit more in detail.

outpix So Spike bothers to take us a on a somewhat shaky but interesting journey all the way to a finale just to make the point that whites are racists and blacks are sorely persecuted. Sorry Spike your quick quote from MLK at the end doesn't absolve you from making a biased and twisted statement on society. You made a near classic in Malcolm X but this dribble is your low.

OliverBagshaw My initial response to this film was somewhat mixed as I was perplexed with Spike Lee's intentions in the film. I was somewhat confused as to whether Spike Lee was trying to portray "the right thing" as anarchy, rebellion, frustration and disrespect due to the film's catastrophic finale as well as the many conflicts before. Throughout the film, there is also many questionable motives for characters that, as a viewer, I couldn't help but disagree with, from petty yet aggressive arguments in ethnic-owned convenient stores to buy batteries, to a scene where middle aged African Americans have racist discussions on the street corner. Morals and ethics in the film are somewhat blurry and ambiguous. But that's clearly the intention. On repeated viewings, I found the film to be asking the rhetorical questions of "what is the right thing to do?" and "what would you do in these situations?" This perspective for the film made it much more accessible and effective with its multi-layered narrative. There are many scenes where the viewer may disagree with the intentions of the characters, or may simply not. The film's protagonist - and for the majority of the film, its middle-man - Mookie (played naturally by the film's director, Spike Lee), tries to bridge the gap between tension in many of the scenes, from the local pizzeria's owner's eldest son's abusive relationship with his younger brother to the volatile relationship between the pizzeria owner, Sal (a fantastic performance from Danny Aiello, ranging from endearing to aggressive) and a customer who requests for more photographs of black people on the walls of the business.The film is based on the hottest day on Brooklyn streets as many of the locals take the time to enjoy themselves on such a scorching Summer's day, with the main focus on Mookie, an intelligent yet somewhat slack pizza deliverer for the local pizzeria. Many scenarios in the film portray conflicting perspectives of the locals in the area and in the middle of much of it is Mookie or acquaintances of his. These characters are written as independent thinkers as each one is doing "the right thing," or at least their definition of it, which may conflict with another's definition of it. The film therefore encapsulates the subjectivity of morals - what is right and what is wrong, exactly?It's a fascinatingly told narrative that's full of late 80s/early 90s quirks, boom-bap hip-hop and funky editing and acting. The cinematography is ambitious, somewhat extravagant at times for its use of crane shots to tilted framing, but it works to deliver a somewhat hectic portrayal of a somewhat hectic day. Spike Lee shows his effortless ability to direct and write such an exciting yet complex story in this late 80s black-cinema classic. I would recommend it highly and I would also recommend re-watching it frequently. Watching this with others would also invite debate over the film's representation of morality. It's definitely a powerful piece of cinema and will leave you contemplating what exactly you watched and whether it was "the right thing."