I don’t think Lee wants us to assign blame to particular characters, but instead to contemplate how easily violence can erupt in tense and racially charged environments. The greatness of the film is that these are not caricatures, but very flawed people who nonetheless all have valid perspectives. None of the individual actions would have resulted in violence had a toxic level of hate not been brewing for a long time. The lessons conveyed are so much larger than a simple issue of blame.
The point is that there are enough culprits to go around…and enough victims too.
Bugging Out and Raheem sure weren’t in the right, but do you think any of their actions justified the police overuse of force that led to Raheem’s death?
I made a detailed analysis of this in the ‘Last movie you saw’ thread a week or two ago. Here’s a copy/paste:
Remember the scene at the end when the stutterer walks into the destroyed pizza place, a scene of racial violence, and then slaps a picture of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X on the wall. The stutterer sees the destruction of the pizza parlor as a racial and a class victory, when in fact it’s exactly the opposite of anything either of those two would approve of. The film shows the reasons behind the racial hostility, shows that hostility reach a boiling point it’s always a step away from reaching, and calls it all out on it’s hypocrisy.
The owner of the pizza parlor is a hypocrite because he talks about how happy he is to be a member of the community, but then in a conversation casually mentions that the only reason they set up shop in a black neighborhood is that there is no competition. He claims loyalty to the main character, but makes not even a gesture to help him spend time with his family. The rioters are hypocrites because they’re acting directly against the wishes of the leaders they claim to revere. The man with the boombox is compared directly to the killer in Night Of The Hunter, giving the same speech about Love and Hate. He’s a false prophet, who uses the language of righteousness as a cloak for his rage. The old drunk who protects the pizza parlor owners during the riot, he’s the only one who’s acting on the message of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X.
I also want to bring up a scene from 25th Hour, when Ed Norton is going on a racist tirade to the mirror. Fuck the immigrants who don’t try to learn english, fuck the police who abuse their power, fuck everyone. No, fuck (To the mirror) you. You had it all and you threw it away, you fucking idiot! This tirade is similar to the part in the middle of Do The Right Thing where characters let out a barrage of racial slurs, ended by Samuel L Jackson yelling “Cool it!” This kind of nonspecific rage, blaming the rest of the world for your own problems and casting anyone who rubs you the wrong way as a villain, is the most hypocritical.
While it’s calling out every side in the battle as hypocrites, it also explains the specific grievances in a nuanced, reasonable way. It shows the new tone racism has taken. People don’t say outright that they believe one race is superior to the other, but their actions often say they do. The pizza parlor owner speaks in a friendly, respectful way, but his actions betray a hidden contempt and a desire not to see the community as his equals. Today’s racism is ‘Soft racism’, and Lee wants to show that it’s just as bad as direct racism.
I think Smiley placing his picture on the wall is a more complex action than simply him believing in a racial/class victory.
@Jirin
I’m not a big fan of this film but I have some quibbles about your analysis. I don’t think, as heavy-handed as the film is, that Sal is a hypocrite because he casually says that he originally set up shop in the neighborhood for the lack of competition but that he is currently content to be a business-member of the community. Also, there’s no reason that Sal should help Mookie spend more time with his family during business hours. Mookie works for Sal and if Sal was Black or Mookie was white, according to this film’s internal logic, these issues probably wouldn’t exist. Mookie’s own sister calls him out on his slacking.
I also don’t think Radio is set up to be, or sets himself up to be seen as a prophet of any kind. Some members of the community, especially Buggin’ Out, set him up this way in the film because it suits there needs or because it’s fun. Radio isn’t really righteous until his final confrontation with Sal. Up until then he’s just an angry young man who only finds an outlet for the rage within through his boombox. Da Mayor, the old drunk you mentioned, isn’t really holding up the ideals of King or X as much as he simply thinks that this particular fight is pointless and dangerous. The fact that he’s a drunk pretty much negates the idea of him representing King or X and his lack of anger could be seen as weakness when combined with his utter lack of ambition. It’s kind of interesting that Mother Sister, who seemingly has nothing in common with Buggin Out or Radio Raheem is screaming for violence towards the end along with the rest.
I also don’t think anything Sal says shows a hidden contempt for anyone. I think he’s too ignorant to realize that in a community filled with people whose parents and grandparents were prevented from creating these types of businesses in their own community, anything Sal says may burn. When he is talking to his sons and Mookie at the end of the day about how they will always have a place in his pizzeria, there’s nothing sinister behind his words. That’s one of my favorite moments in a film that feel otherwise is as divisive as the system it criticizes because Mookie and Sal’s sons are united in horror over the prospect of a happy lifetime at Sal’s. There terror isn’t created by Sal’s bad intentions as much as it is their bad choices or their lack of choices.
I think Radio Raheem does set himself up as a prophet in a way, and can be seen as a prophet in a way. Not because of anything he says but what he does, more specifically the message that he carries with him and broadcasts wherever he goes. “Fight the Power”. We can call Public Enemy the prophets and then Radio Raheem the medium. Still, I think he is associated with this function of proselytizing. And he is certainly associated with the bad prophet in “Night of the Hunter”. Is he good or bad, loving or evil? It’s not so simple because Lee doesn’t want it to be. Besides, all people have shades of gray within them.
His radio is more than an outlet for his rage. It’s the medium that lets his voice be heard in society, the medium that enables him and lets him matter in an indifferent world that belittles and strangles those like him. By the way, this medium is hip-hop. Just one of many reason why I consider “Do the Right Thing” a hip-hop film, but that’s a different discussion taking us off-track.
Da Mayor is not just a drunk. He’s the community elder. He’s the voice of reason that no one pays attention to. The “sane” one that is depicted as “crazy”. Remember that he is the one who speaks the title of the film. He lives up to those words when he tries to defuse violence, to not let his people do something that they will regret. In a way he’s another prophet in the film.
If he’s drunk, why does that negate his representative capabilities? He’s simply flawed. All are. But I would say he sides more with MLK in the content and form of his rhetoric. His lack of anger is not a weakness. His lack of ambition is a moot point because he is an elder. He’s “retired” so to speak. He has lived his live and done his best. But he still has flashes of greatness within him. Remember how he saves the young boy’s life? That’s hardly a lack of ambition.
Look closer. This film isn’t so simple to pin down, whether you enjoy it or not.
Outside of the analysis. The police for you know killing Radio Raheem, I think they’re most to blame.
His radio is more than an outlet for his rage. It’s the medium that lets his voice be heard in society, the medium that enables him and lets him matter in an indifferent world that belittles and strangles those like him.
Um, Bobby, I wrote a long response and just somehow deleted it. I’ll respond later if I don’t smash my computer:)
That sucks! Take your time and give it to us in bits and pieces.
It is never right to destroy somebody else’s property.
If you don’t like the guy, don’t work for him and don’t buy his pizzas.
The rioters were 10% in the wrong.
@Jason: And…If you don’t want to be murdered by the police, don’t commit any misdemeanors?
@Mike: Have you seen Night Of The Hunter? Lee did not have Raheem make an urbanized version of the same love/hate speech as the murderer by accident. Maybe my use of the phrase ‘False prophet’ was misleading. I only used the term because it’s heavily used in Night Of The Hunter. I feel Raheem is supposed to be a ‘False prophet’, as he pontificates about black pride, but is really only motivated by rage and hatred.
I believe the movie found subtle ways to hint that Sal’s soft racism was equal to his son’s outright racism. That’s why Sal’s a hypocrite when he says he’s proud to be a member of the community. When Raheem wouldn’t turn his music down, he didn’t say ‘You, Raheem, are a jerk’. He started shouting racial slurs. Sal does not think Raheem is behaving this way because of flaws of the individual, he thinks Raheem is behaving this way because he is black. He’s got the same disgust and anger toward the black community as his son, he just doesn’t say it.
@ Jirin, if someone is murdered by the police, do you immediately go to the nearest private business and trash it?
@Bobby & Jirin
I don’t doubt that the Night of the Hunter reference means something I just don’t think Radio and that character are meant to mirror each other that much. Public Enemy has a message, of sorts, while Radio mainly likes the beat.
I agree the radio is his voice but I think his message is simply rage and nothing more complex and political. I agree Spike Lee’s message is political but I don’t think the character expresses himself that deeply.
Da Mayor is much more than a drunk but he’s still a drunk and I don’t think the film fully endorses him as a voice of reason. I think it’s ambivalent because the riot at the end could be seen as a form of post-crisis self-defense, in the Malcolm X sense of the term. It seemed to me that Spike was suggesting that if they didn’t burn down the store the violence could have been much worse for Sal.
I don’t think the film is as complex as it should be but I do think the title and the use of it by Da Mayor is complicated. The phrase is meaningless unless we’re sure the temporary catharsis at the end isn’t the right thing for this community at this time, therefore I don’t think Da Mayor’s use of it indicates that he is the soul of the film any more than Mother Sister or the 3 guys on the corner.
I don’t think Sal’s a saint but his use of racial slurs at the end would be more of a singular condemnation of the character if those were the first slurs we hear. As has already been mentioned, there is a long scene showing every type of character spewing slurs. Even though this scene isn’t totally realistic it suggests that the film is aware that everyone may use slurs from time to time. Sal doesn’t immediately use slurs, which is why the kids who hang out there (Martin Lawrence and crew) are initially on Sal’s side. He resorts to the easiest and most hurtful weapon in his vocabulary after Radio pushes him pretty far.
One of the weirdest things in the film is the whole thing with Sal and Mookiie’s sister. At times, much like in Jungle Fever, it’s like there are two films in a Spike Lee joint. The judgemental film Spike wants to make and the subtler film the actors want to make. Danny Aiello is trying to create a complex portrait of an imperfect man but Spike sees devils. Sal seems smitten with Mookie’s sister when she visits the pizzeria but Mookie is convinced Sal means her some kind of sexual harm. This is reenforced by a concluding shot showing a wall with graffiti that reads “Tawanna told the truth.” I don’t know how many even remember this dated reference but Tawanna Brawley was a young black girl who was found in an alley, I believe in Bensonhurst or a simila neighborhood, naked in a trash bag and covered with feces. During the course of a long investigation there were accusations of gang rape against many high profile, white political officials. Sharpton got involved and the whole thing became big media circus. Eventually, the charges were simply dropped against anyone and it was rumored that the girl had simply had a bad night with a consensual partner and ended up in her predicament on her own. Suspicions and conspiracy theories still lingered in the black community, however. Spike, by ending this scene with this shot seems to imply that Sal is an example of some kind of racist cabal that rapes black girls and get away with it, or some other sinister ideas. It’s one of Spike’s silliest moments in a career that is filled with them.
How does Radio only like the beat? The song is called “Fight the Power” and he does just that. He actualizes the theory into practice.
If the radio is his voice, and the content of the message he delivers is a potent and ruthless critique of all existing conditions, how does he not express himself deeply and politically? “Elvis was a hero to most…”
Da Mayor is much more than a drunk, but he’s still a drunk? So are you saying that his opinion and the messages he delivers aren’t worth anything? Flawed beyond reproach?
The phrase is not meaningless in any context. It’s a schematic for how to live ones life. Simply do the right thing. Whether people adhere to that or not in the film is another matter, whether the director adheres to that or not is another matter, but the message is sound.
Absolutely Da Mayor is the soul of the film, as is Mother Sister and the three “wise men” on the corner. There are a number of souls of the film. This is a community portrait. An extended family, Sal and his family included. Maybe a flawed family, but they must all survive with and through each other. The soul of the film is Bed-Stuy Do (the right thing) or Die Brooklyn.
@Jason
When’s the last time a friend of yours was murdered by the police? I’m assuming that’s not your general experience in life unless you come from the hood. Unfortunately, for those who live there, it’s a bit more common than you think. Know the experience, then pontificate on how you would react or how you would expect others to react.
Bobby,
I don’t think Radio actualizes any theory. He seems to just be walking around avoiding any form of real communication. His interaction with the Korean store owner, for instance, isn’t a political statement but a simple one of easy frustration over having to clarify his request.
You are probably correct that Spike intends the character to represent something about power through the blaring message of his radio but the character is less clear for me.
I’m not saying Da Mayor’s opinion doesn’t matter, i’m just saying X wouldn’t support his message fully and King wouldn’t want young black males to emulate his lifestyle.
I think you’re simplifying the title even more than the film is by suggesting it has only one meaning. It seems pretty clear the film questions whether what happens at the end is right or wrong.
We’ll differ on Radio Raheem. I think hip-hop is as real as communication gets. “Fight the Power” doesn’t avoid, it agitates.
Yes, Raheem has a problem with traditional communication. With the Korean store owner and with Sal. But notice how he becomes effusive when talking to Mookie. “What we have here is a failure to communicate.”
It doesn’t matter if X or even MLK would support Da Mayor. He predates both of them and comes from an even earlier generation. His lifestyle doesn’t matter but the content of his message does. Maybe Da Mayor represents a third way.
Yes, I probably am oversimplifying the title. But I don’t read the title as a self-critique of the film’s themes. I read it as a polemic directed outwards to the audience.
I think it’s difficult to tell how we are supposed to feel abou Sal’s character. Perhaps he is a racist man that is using the local blacks for his own financial gain, but in other scenes he does seem quite genuine. The big racial ‘outburst’ of his could have been just a result of his frustration at an escalating, tense situation rather than the ‘truth’ of his character’s attitudes on race. Maybe he just blurted out the word nigger as an insult in that very moment, without thinking about the consequences. Then again, why use that word and not others? why didn’t he just call the guy a motherfucker or something? The movie isn’t clearly on how we should take Sal’s character, and i believe that was Lee’s intention.
Mookie and Sal are the two most interesting characters in the film to me.
" The judgemental film Spike wants to make and the subtler film the actors want to make"
there is a tension in most Spike films between the way he uses film language to make suggestions about characters and themes, and the dialogue that comes out of their mouths. I can’t figure out whether Spike doesn’t trust himself in this regard, or at least doesn’t trust the audience, so he must include sermonising speeches and obvious devices to avoid misunderstanding, but it can be very frustrating. Maybe it’s just his personality. like he can be insightful and idiotic, even within a single scene.
@Bobby, that is the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever read. If I was from the hood it would be perfectly acceptable for me to destroy another citizens property because a third party committed murder?
Now, if they would have attacked the police, and the police car, that would be more understandable.
As is, there is no excuse for this kind of action.
There’s no excuse for debating the moral qualities of burning an inanimate object before debating the moral qualities of killing someone. It’s obvious which action sends you into more of an outrage.
I never said it was acceptable to destroy property if you came from the hood. I said you have to try to walk a mile in the other man’s shoes to try to understand where he’s coming from and what he’s feeling, what he experiences and what he has to live through. I probably didn’t express this well enough. Of course, two wrongs don’t make a right. Then again, buildings can be rebuilt. Like Mookie said, “Fuck a window. Radio Raheem is dead.”
Sal did not kill radio raheem.
Therefore, it was wrong for the community to trash his business.
This is tyranny, and mob rule, in its most irrational form.
@ Jason
I’m not sure anyone is disagreeing with you on your last post or claiming the riot was “the right thing.” But aren’t you interested in looking deeper as to what motivates a mob, what the underlying issues are and how we can view art as a learning tool to prevent real life tragedy. We wouldn’t still be talking about it more than 20 years later if th themes didn’t still resonate.
‘And…If you don’t want to be murdered by the police, don’t commit any misdemeanors?’ – Jirin
So, the solution is to commit misdemeanors? Yeah, that’s real bright. I didn’t really see any justification in the mob’s behavior. It’s just a typical ignorant solution by a group of people who apparently have no means of dealing with the situation. Vandalism doesn’t resurrect the dead, nor does it reveal injustices inflicted.
Mobs don’t resolve anything, they intimidate, mirroring the intimidation they’ve received. The film depicts an extremely unfortunate scenario (or series of scenarios I suppose), but mobbing isn’t an intelligent solution to anything, it just isn’t, no matter what Spike Lee thinks or implies.
The motivation of a mob is fickle. One can liken a ‘mob’ to an ‘audience’ (granted, a more violent grouping) in that they like what they like but can’t articulate why and they dislike what displeases them; when they’re displeased they rant, complain, and do stuff like say, vandalize things that break real good. Mobs, though their cause may be well-intended and humane, their actions usually produce something much different.
All that being said, I think this is Lee’s best film. That he depicts the mob in this way is to his credit; realism usually being something he bends and twists at a whim.
The problem is that I don’t think that anyone sees Lee as condemning the mob, in the film.
You could say that he lets the viewer decide, but that would be a first for him.
>>You could say that he lets the viewer decide, but that would be a first for him.<<
On his I agree. He has let the viewers decide as he has never done before or since. That’s why this is his best film. Lee’s confrontational stance in interviews and public appearances (including his own retrospective analysis of Do the Right Thing) has given the impression that the film is as dogmatic as Spike Lee. The film actually shows empathy for many points of view and it’s when it is confrontational, it’s not simplistically so. In Do the Right Thing, Spike Lee has created a film greater than he is.
It’s just a typical ignorant solution by a group of people who apparently have no means of dealing with the situation.
Saviukas
Hello people,
I just watched this film and all this day I’m just having thoughts about this movie and now I’m writing my opinion about this film and asking you to add something to this topic,
So, I was thinking a lot about the last scene. It begins when “Bugging Out” comes to Sal’s pizzeria to boycott. This scene is a start for all things – Radio Raheem death, Pizzeria’s destruction, people hates Sal and maybe the brothers unity?
In my opinion, the person who is culprit of this situation is “Buggin Out”, because why the hell in that ITALIAN pizzeria should be some famous black person picture? There was just American-Italians pictures, because it was ITALIAN restaurant.
The other person who is also a little bit culprit is “Radio Raheem”. There is word – politeness, by this word you should know how you have to behave in various situations. So you CAN’T just listen music everywhere you want, so why the hell you have to boycott, when you are not right?
So here is the first question – is this movie shows some people stupidity? Because nobody agreed with Buggin Out, except Radio Raheem and some invalid, to boycott Sal’s pizzeria. This question is bothering me the most (who is culprit of the last scene?), because what is happen later is just a consequences:
Sal is angry about two people stupidness – then he offended the black people – then every is angry about what he said.
Sal destroy Raheem radio – Raheem attack him – Police defend Sal, but also kill Raheem.
Police kill Raheem – People hate SAL (that would make another question, why is that??).
They were shouting “He died because he had radio”. But what about politeness? You can’t listen everywhere you want. By this I mean Sal isn’t guilty. That was the police who killed that man.
Everything in that neighbourhood would be fine if there wasn’t that “Bugging Out”, who incite the last scene?
Of course there are a lot other discussions about this movie, but at this moment I’m very interested in that particular scene. What do you think??