Do the Right Thing (1989)
Tragedy still rings true 30 years later.
Over the past few months, I’ve heard a lot about Spike Lee and his uncanny ability to make films that speak truth, share complexities about the human existence, and make you think about the world. I have been left speechless after every Spike Lee Joint I’ve watched, and Do the Right Thing was no different.
Whenever I start a movie that was made 30 years ago, I never expect it to be very relevant to today; so much has changed in our world, how can events from decades ago still be a carbon copy of what’s happening currently? Yet Do the Right Thing was a little too real, too relevant to recent events. Spike’s truthful tale reveals that our “progress” really hasn’t brought us as far as we might have hoped or thought.
In Do the Right Thing, we follow Mookie on the hottest day of the year in Bed-Stuy as he goes about his daily life. He delivers pizza for Sal’s, a pizza parlor that has been in the neighborhood for 25 years. Mookie has a whole host of interesting friends and he knows everyone in the neighborhood. These residents are simply living their lives and trying to survive financially while they suffer through the terrible summer heat.
Many films start out in the middle of the action: you’re dropped in and then watch as the characters navigate through a…
