review: Do the Right Thing

Do the Right Thing centers around the various interactions that take place in a primarily black, urban neighborhood. Conflicts take place between black residents of the block, white “intruders” or white cops, Italian shop owners, and Korean shop owners. Even conflicts between neighbors, family members and friends are continuous, venting the anger and frustration that is apparent in many of these relationships. The main source of conflict is Sal’s Famous Pizza, an Italian family business, functioning as the main eatery in the neighborhood and the only three Italian men in the neighborhood. The main character, Mookie, is the only employee besides the owner’s two sons who works in the pizza shop – sometimes he gets along with the owner, he never gets along with his son Pino, and he is friends with his son Vito. Much of the conflict revolves around racial differences, but the people of this community also seem to start trouble whenever the opportunity presents itself- never neglecting the chance to verbally belittle someone. There were times when neither person involved in an argument understood why he was angry or why he was reacting in such a way, and often their actions were ironic: Many people hate an ethnic group for hating them based on their ethnicity; Mookie reprimands his girlfriend for “always f-ing cursing” in front of their son, while their son sits between them. However, in every situation, one person backs down or walks away so that the quarrel dissipates – except for one instance, and it escalates violently and tragically.
The majority of the film is intense and loud – the shouting often escalates until the reason for the disagreement is nearly forgotten, and it frustrated me and made me wish that someone would intervene and force them to be sensible. Despite feeling some aggravation, I remained attentive and invested in the characters’ lives.
The relationships seemed real and believable to me. Many of the characters care about each other, but they mainly show it by yelling at one another, whether they are angry that they don’t spend enough time together, or don’t lookout for themselves, or aren’t doing enough with their lives. In other situations, characters seem to lash out because they were already angry and the closest person is the next target. Underneath some of the frustrations there’s a concern for the other, even though it’s difficult to read under the hurt or anger.
In a way, the strong sense of community in this neighborhood was empowering. Despite the typical arguments among each other, when it came down to anyone or any group against their neighborhood, they were unified without question. In other situations it could be difficult to understand where their loyalties were, because they may stick up for someone at first and then speak out against them later (Mookie defends Sal’s when his friends try to create trouble, but he throws the first trash can through the window to destroy the place), but I think that their own emotions are confused- one action can spark fury against someone who they had respected earlier. While an underlying anger remained, I had a sense that many of the conflicts were forgotten, as if nothing personal happened, when that the community continued to function normally the following day, and this fascinated me. While their actions could make me frustrated, it was difficult to dislike or resent the characters. They had tough exteriors, but I genuinely liked most of them.