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Racism In Do The Right Thing

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In the film Do the Right Thing, by Spike Lee, tension among racial groups is effectively shown. Two of the main points that are brought to attention throughout the movie are racism and police brutality. Do the Right Thing stirred up a lot of controversy, along with many emotions. In the time the movie is set (1989), racism was very prominent. In the movie, Lee promotes pride in one’s race and most of all interracial tolerance. There are many views and opinions that are shared within the movie that still exist today. This iconic movie helped change the way people viewed racism. “Smart, vibrant, and urgent without being didactic, Do the Right Thing is one of Spike Lee’s most fully realized efforts – and one of the most important films of the …show more content…

Sal responds by saying that it is his business and can decorate it as he pleases. I believe this is very contradicting, because he has Mookie, who is an African American man, who Sal seems to be fond of, but will not hang African Americans on the wall of his pizzeria. It is hard for me to understand this, because if Sal’s business mostly has African American customers, and also has African Americans working for him, then why will he not allow for African Americans to be hung on the wall? This angers the customers that come in the pizzeria, which causes them to dislike Sal. I believe that this is an important scene in the movie because it really shows that racism can be shown in many ways and is very much a “two-way street”. Lee shows that each race is flawed in the way they think of other races. He is successful in being a voice for the black community, while also showing how they are wrong in how they view white people. Lee never picks a side, he is constantly switching back and forth throughout the movie to show both sides. Violence plays an important role of showing the racial tensions and hostility. Do the Right Thing presents a worst case scenario to effectively show how racism could worsen if not properly addressed. The last scene is very

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