25 Years Later: Do The Right Thing Still Hits Home

Today marks the 25th anniversary of Spike Lee's classic film Do The Right Thing. The movie tells the story of a young man named Mookie on the hottest day of the year. It takes place in Brooklyn, all on a single block. The cast of characters are truly unique and paint a picture of almost any hood across not only Brooklyn but The United States or even the country. The movie gets a lot of praise for tackling the issues at the time and it should.

Da Mayor, isn't really a mayor, he's an alcoholic. He walks the block doing anything to make enough for a bear, but that isn't his charm. His charm is that he walks around giving advice to the many characters in the film. Early in the film it's reveled that he's been walking around the block for decades doing the same thing. The knowledge he gives often comes in riddles such as "how much would it cost you to go to the store for me" when he wasn't asking about money at all. He also drops a crucial piece of knowledge we can assume he's dropped on every one in the neighborhood. "Always, do the right thing."

Sadly nobody except Da Mayor and Sister Mother do the right thing. Pino is the oldest son of Sal, an Italian who has owned a pizzeria for over fifteen years in a black neighborhood. Pino is a flat out racist and tells his brother Vito that he shouldn't hang around with "blacks like Mookie, because when you turn around, they'll stab you in the back with a spear. They'll chuck it right in your back." The thing about Pino is that he's completely irrational. Mookie is Vito's best friend, Sal refuses to move the pizzeria because "These people are good people who don't bother anyone and put money in your pocket, food on your plate and a roof above your head." Pino's racism comes directly from his friends. Sal raised him better than that and sadly he didn't learn better. Sadly, Pino isn't the only racist.

Some people won't agree with me but Buggin Out is a racist too. He walks around looking for reasons to be upset at anyone who isn't black. He threw a fit about Sal's wall not having any black people. But he didn't even notice the black boxer on the wall. Even if there were no black people on the wall there was no reason to bug out. You can walk in almost any black barbershop and you'll see a wall full of black leaders. You won't see Rocky, JFK or anyone else. The wall of fame is just a way of showing herritage. That's not even Buggin Out's only outburst. At one one point a man stepped on his shoe and apologized. Buggin Out went on a rant about how white people shouldn't be allowed in Brooklyn. Pino and Buggin Out are two sides of the same coin and still aren't the most racist characters.

You probably think I'm going to name Sunny but nope, it's officer Gary Long. Pino and Buggin Out are racist, they'll say a lot of things but they won't ever do anything dangerous. Gary Long on the other hand spent the movie mean mugging and disrespecting every black person he came across. His partner was much more sympathetic in every situation. The climax of the movie happens when Officer Long chokes Radio Raheem to death. Other officers worked hard to pull Raheem free, yelling at him to stop, but he refused to stop. His racism painted the entire police force as racist, causing the citizens to go into a fit of rage before even mourning Raheem. Nobody mouned Raheem except Sister Mother and Da Mayor.

The sad thing about Do The Right Thing is everyone was doing the wrong thing. Radio Raheem never turned down his radio and it annoyed everyone, black, white or Korean. Buggin Out just wanted to lead a race war and never looked at the logic behind his actions. The citizens despised Da Mayor, telling him DA just stood for "Drunk Ass" and he wasn't a mayor even after saving a child. The Koreans removed a popular beer from their store so they could charge more for a different brand and tried to lie to Radio Raheem about the batteries they sold him. Police officers like Gary Long and Sal's son Pino are racist, despite working in a black neighborhood. There's a woman who beats her child after he was almost hit by a car and tells the block "Nobody is going to tell me how to raise my child, not even his daddy." Mookie didn't have to throw the trashcan and should have seen his son more often.

If you're looking for a a happy ending you won't get it. The closest thing we get to that is Mookie standing in front of the burned down pizzeria telling Sal "You know how these things go, you'll get over on the insurance" and Sal saying "Yeah, you're right. I'll see you later Mookie." That's it, that's the best you're going to get.

The movie is sad but the saddest part doesn't hit until it's over and you realize 25 years later nothing has changed. There's still racism, there's still fathers like Mookie who rarely see their kids, or worse, don't see them at all. There's still mothers who won't let the father have a say in raising the children. There's still one bad cop making all police officers look bad. There's still a Korean Store somewhere in a black neighborhood trying to rip people off. But luckily, there's Da Mayor with a heart of gold trying to tell people to do the right thing. 25 years and the movie still deserves it's praise. Sadly, it's still hitting home.

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