To Fight or Not to Fight

        In terms of finding hope and possibility in Do the Right Thing, the obvious place to look is the scene between Mooky and Sal the next day, after the flames of the riot had been put out. I do find this to be a credible source in terms of looking for salvation for this Harlem community. However, if we are to look a big deeper at the real dilemma of this specific community, it would seem that the first sign of hope is the riot itself. 

        While this may seem ridiculous because this is-- on the surface-- the peak of the hatred and violence of the movie, it is also the first time when we see the racial tensions diminishing. The act of the riot is simply a release of tension that had been sitting right beneath the surface for the whole movie. As I have stated previously, Mooky making the decision to finally take action and throw that garbage can through the window is the climax, the turning point, the new beginning. While these acts of violence may be seen as antagonism, I would venture to say that the most harsh antagonism was more symbolic. I would say that the antagonist was the high racial tensions I mentioned earlier. At the point of the riot, everything was out on the table. The black people had their opportunity to get out their anger and aggression that had been built up from being the target of terrible racism for too long. At the point of the riot, everything was in a strange way, at peace; the community had corrected itself. From then on, it was back to the normal, more comfortable way of living in this particular Harlem neighborhood. 

       

       Before this riot scene, it seemed that the community was in serious trouble, something needed to happen. A man had been killed, there was a potential boycott, and all the different races were bickering constantly about concepts based on a lack of tolerance. Something needed to be done. And unfortunately for this community, the people simply weren't ready to move forward and develop a multiracial, tolerant community. So, the only solution for the salvation of this community was a violent act, that lead eventually to peace, for the time being. Taylor summarized the final result very well: "The climax of the film involved hate, violence and fire. The burnt down pizzeria was destroyed and indeed miserable looking, but not full of flames. The flames themselves, along with the hate and violence, were gone. Again, leaving a perfect path for rehabilitation for the community." Since community is most likely to take hold when the people in it can unite under one common cause, it is least likely to take hold when everyone is in constant conflict. So, with the dying of the raging flames that were that conflict, a more stable and functional community was born.

Communication in Do the Right Thing

        There are many times in which Spike Lee uses communication, or the lack of it, to make important points. I personally think that the most important time in which this method is employed is non-verbal communication. Throughout the whole movie people are taking action, violent or nonviolent, to underhandedly convey a message. I think the most obvious example of this would be Mooky throwing the trash can through the window of the pizzeria. He was hesitant. It seemed as though he didn't even want to do it, he was struggling with the decision. But in the end he does it and then sits back and watches the scene unfold. The message he was trying to send was clear, you are responsible for this and that is more important than the relationship of an employer and his employees.
      
       I think that Spike Lee is trying to show through these instances that there are sometimes choices that need to be made, hard ones, and in a time like that, people need to suck it up and make the right choice, violent or nonviolent. Im not sure what Spike's stance is on violent protest but the two conflicting quotes at the end made me think he was trying to simply set a forum for the conversation of what is appropriate protest. I think either way, the point he is trying to make is that we all have a choice, and we are responsible for the outcome no matter what.

We're all Buggin Out

       At first glance, there are very few characters to which one can relate in Do the Right Thing. Most, if not all, of the characters are filled with a distinct hatred for anything different than themselves. These people lived in a different time than we do now, one of racism and scapegoating. But the truth is, we are all subject to the same human condition: fear and the decision of whether or not to fight that fear by whatever means we find necessary. So while our initial issues may be different, I doubt there is one person who watched the riot scene where Radio Raheem was killed and felt nothing. Black, White, Hispanic, Italian or Jewish, we all have the capacity for empathy, which has no color.
       

       Therefore, despite the fact that few people, fictional or real, can put up with the character of Buggin Out, his righteousness inspires others to take some sort of action, to fight that ever so human feeling of fear. In his case, Buggin Out is fighting his fear of being insignificant, of being unrecognized and unappreciated. This is made clear by his conversation with Sal when he demands that there should be black people on the wall of fame. I personally agree with Buggin Out, I think that all of these people are intertwined more than they know. After all, they grew up on Sal's Famous Pizza.

       But by fulfilling this request, Sal would be consecrating the bond between the members of a new, multiracial community. And at this point in time, they are simply not ready for that because of fear and racism. Much like the weather throughout the whole movie, the racial climate in this community is too hot, and it is coming to its tipping point. There was a choice to be made, either put the pictures on the wall and take steps toward living in peace despite race or previous community bonds, or deny Buggin out his request, deny change.

       While I believe this to be the case, I think that Wendell Berry might disagree. He may say that the Italians are not a part of the community, but rather an outside influence, much like the media is to the modern communities Berry describes. I think that this may be based simply on different ideas of what community is. I believe that it is more based on day to day interaction, and not necessarily different beliefs or cultures. In my opinion, the Italians are just as much a part of that community as Mooky or anyone else. Berry may say that Buggin Out's response is simply the clash of two worlds far from each other. But similar to Mamet's theory, we are too human to be so distant from each other. For better or for worse, all of these people affect one another every day because, whether or not they know it, they are fighting the same human condition, trying to do what is right to live not in fear but in peace and, for most in this case, equality. The riot at the end was not a clash between two worlds, but rather one world correcting itself, adapting based on the fact that Sal wouldn't accept more positive change.