‘Do the Right Thing,’ is an American film produced in 1989. Spike Lee produced, wrote, and directed the film. The main theme of the film is racial discrimination. He uses the tension between Sal, an Italian restaurant owner, and the black community in the neighborhood to demonstrate the concepts of causality and violence in the film (Lee N.P).
Causality
Causality refers to relationship between an occurrence of something and the reason why it happens. It is a principle that supports the argument that nothing happens without a reason. In the film, Spike Lee paints shows that racial discrimination and tension are the cause of violence and disharmony in the neighborhood.
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In the first example, Buggin’ Out, Mookie’s troublemaker friend, questions the decision of Sal to hang only famous Italian photos on the “wall of fame”. He questions the decision because most of the neighborhood is made of black people. Buggin’ Out demands that Sal must put pictures of black celebrities and uses the racial makeup of the neighborhood as the reason. Sal refuses to honor the demand and says that an Italian owns the Pizzeria. Sal uses his Italian nativity to validate his decision to hang only Italian pictures.
The second example of causality is the conflict between Radio Raheem and Sal. Radio Raheem has a boom box that he carries around, which blasts “public enemy”. “Public enemy” is a hip-hop song by a group of black Americans who are famous for their political criticism against racial discrimination. The song irritates Sal, the pizzeria Italian owner, who demands that Raheem turns off the radio. Sal’s decision not to include black celebrities on the “wall of fame” in his restaurant is the cause of Raheem’s refusal to turn off the radio. In the end, the events lead to violence and the damage of Raheem’s boom box.
Violence
Violence is the use of emotional and physical force to cause damage and pain to people. Spike Lee paints uses violence as a theme in the film to show the racial divide that exists in his Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood.
The first instance of violence occurs after the argument about the “wall of fame” in Sal’s pizzeria. Smiley, Radio Raheem, and Buggin’ Out march into Sal’s restaurant with Raheem’s boom box blaring. The violence breaks out when Sal asks Raheem to turn off the radio but he refuses. It upsets Sal who insults Raheem and his companions and proceeds to destroy the radio with a baseball bat. Sal’s action upsets Raheem and his friends who in turn attack Sal. The fight breaks out and spills to the streets and eventually the police arrive to find Raheem choking Sal.
The second example of violence follows the actions of the police. One of the officers refuses to release his chock hold on Raheem, which leads to his death. When the police realize that they have killed Raheem in front of black onlookers, they are afraid and drive off leaving the Italian restaurant owners unprotected. The violence starts when Mookie throws a trash can through the window of the pizzeria. His actions incite the crowd to rush into the restaurant and destroy everything. Eventually, Smiley sets it on fire. Finally, firefighters and police arrive on the scene and disperse the mob.
In conclusion, Spike Lee uses causality and violence to demonstrate the tension between the Italian and black Americans in Bedford-Stuyvesant town. Sal and his family are Italians who own a restaurant in back community neighborhood. The two communities dislike each other and the racial actions of each eventually lead to violence.
- Lee, Spike. Do the Right Thing. Universal Pictures, 1989. Film.
