Do the right thing?

Do the Right Thing is one of those compelling films that leaves you feeling heavy as you walk away. Something is off, and you cant stop thinking about how real and straightforward these issues really are. Racism is inescapable and in this film it is only blocks away from where we currently find ourselves. I can honestly say I was moved through the films raw simplicity and what appears to be somewhat amateur is actually completely legitimate. It was as though I was living inside someone else’s head and perhaps that is what made the ending of the film so difficult for me to watch.

The title of the film provokes the thought process of who exactly did ‘do the right thing’. Who is the true hero, if there is even a specific hero at all. For me, one of the most compelling characters was Radio Raheem. He carries such rich significance as he walks through the neighborhood with a ‘Bed-Stuy or Die’ t-shirt and his beloved boom box. His fingers are laced with gold studded rings that spell out LOVE and HATE on his knuckles. In the middle of the film he gives on a speech on the rift between these two symbols, and this struggle is so evident throughout the entirety of the movie. In the final scene, Mookie takes a stand and throws a garbage can through the window of Sal’s all the while screaming the word HATE. Its a never ending battle. Love and Hate. But does this struggle justify the events in the movie. Radio Raheem is killed by the police in a hate struggle over the blacks in this community. Sal’s is burned down after a protest to his shop because there is only white heroes plastered on the wall. Hate cannot justify violence it? Rage and anger is completely understandable in the film but does that make it ‘right’?