Do The Right Thing By Spike Lee

In Do the Right Thing, Spike Lee argues that racial bias leads to an escalation of tension and conflicts in the community. The film portrays the dynamics between African Americans, Italian Americans, and Koreans in a community that struggles with racial justice. These tensions and conflicts in the film dive deeply into how stereotypes impact this community and their interactions. Sal, an Italian American, owns a pizza place that has been in the area for years. Mookie, an African American, is one of Sal’s employees. Sal considers him to be like a son and tells him that he is like a family. Mookie does not receive this family-like treatment from Sal because when he confronts him about a pay raise, Sal brushes it off and dismisses his concerns.

The little forms of injustice add up and create so much division and erode any sort of relationship between the groups. The actions of Sal and Pino will help contribute to the devastating destruction of their Pizzeria and the death of Radio Raheem. In addition to the subtle forms of racial bias, the movie also delves into prominent and obvious forms of racial bias that truly change the community as a whole. After a fight breaks out between Radio Raheem and Sal, the police come to try to break up the fight but not before long Radio Raheem dies from a choking injury inflicted by one of the cops (Lee). The death of Radio Raheem is a powerful example of how racial bias can turn deadly. The unchecked injustices in the community are a direct result of the brutal force the police used to kill Radio Raheem. It was the preconceived notions and racial bias that led to this escalation of tension and ultimately to this fatal consequence. Spike Lee was right to argue against racial bias and injustice because it had the worst consequences