From the films I have seen until now, ghettoes and violence have deeply imprinted in my mind. Is that the New York City people are coming for? Perhaps we can get a satisfied answer from the Korean grocery store owners. Is coming to New York City mean to yell out “We, black” in front of a group of irritated African and Latino Americans? Perhaps that was the way they survive.
Bedford-Stuyvesant is another underprivileged neighborhood like Harlem and West Side. Its residents are among the most underprivileged New Yorkers. Except for Sal, Vito, Pino, Smiley, Clifton, polices, the car driver and the Korean family, all other characters were African and Latino Americans. The teens in Do The Right Thing always loitered away their time (except for Mookie, who has a job but didn’t seem to do it well). I don’t know whether this depiction was exaggerated or not, but it has never surprised me about what happened at the end of the film. Of course, there were good people in the film such as Da Mayor and Mother Sister. During the conflict, Da Mayor and Mother Sister tried to appease the heated situation. They dragged Sal and his two sons aside so the angry mob wouldn’t hurt them. They also tried to dissuade the mob from destroying the Korean grocery store. Radio Raheem was the ultimate victim in this film. It was true that his “boom box” was very annoying, but it shouldn’t cost his life. He didn’t do anything bad except for beating Sal when Sal broke his radio. He symbolized the victimized African Americans, which was greatly controversial at that time. Buggin Out seemed to start every quarrel and conflict. Yet, his quarrels symbolized the African Americans’ efforts in fighting for equality. Sal was a kind-hearted man. He understood the difficulties among the underprivileged residents in the neighborhood. He didn’t discriminate against them but sympathized with them. As he said, “I saw them growing up eating my pizza.” He had passion for the neighborhood. His sons couldn’t understand him, because it was a feeling deeply founded in his heart. When his pizzeria was destroyed, he was very disappointed not only for his business loss, but also for the loss of his passion for the neighborhood. The “corner men” have commented African Americans’ dissatisfactions, but their comments weren’t always neutral and impartial. Mookie was an interesting character. He wanted to work peacefully in the pizzeria, but he also felt obligated to help his people. The residents of the neighborhood in this film were being discriminated against but also discriminated against others. Because of their difficult situations, they were extremely jealous of the people who were better than they were. They didn’t want to provoke violence, but they had to seek revenge if they were treated unjustly.
According to Victoria Johnson, jazz music has played an important role in the film. For example, Radio Raheem’s radio always played “Fight the Power,” which represented African Americans’ call for justice. In addition, there were many rap and hip-hop music that had significant effects in the film. As Johnson pointed out, during the climax, there was no music in the sound track, only some sound effects. This has shown the importance and cruelty of the conflict. The music in Do The Right Thing was not enjoyable, but they fitted the environment of Bedford-Stuyvesant—people in there were struggling in the marginalized society that others wouldn’t understand.
Finally, to answer the last question, Mookie had two reasons to throw the garbage can at the pizzeria. First, he had to avenge Radio Raheem, because Sal had some responsibility for his death. Second, he wanted to save Sal and his sons’ lives. We could see that Mookie had thought for a long time before he grabbed the garbage can and threw it at the window of the pizzeria. If he didn’t do so, the mob might attack Sal and his sons. Mookie’s actions spared their lives. Of course, his action might not be well justified (he could have used other method to pacify the conflict), but it convinced the viewers about his “good” intention, whether it was for Sal or for his own people.
Do The Right Thing is a highly politicalized film. As Catherine Pouzoulet pointed out, to understand this film, we must first understand the historical context of this film. While I didn’t discuss the historical background of this film, we should keep in mind that this film shouldn’t only “viewed,” but also to be understood as a part of history.
