Do The Right Thing. (Wikipedia) For those who have never seen Do the Right Thing, it’s about racial tensions in a diverse Brooklyn neighborhood. Spike Lee directed and starred in the movie which was released in the late 1980’s.
There were a lot of things about the movie that I related to even though I grew up in mostly white middle class neighborhoods. It was funny to see the fashions on display in the movie; the clothes felt VERY dated more than those from Yankee Doodle Dandy. I think this is because I remember when people dressed like the characters from Do The Right Thing, whereas movie’s like Yankee Doodle Dandy are just lumped into an ephemeral “old” category. The music was another throwback to the 80’s. The soundtrack wasn’t used as a tool for nostalgia as it was in Adam Sandler’s Wedding Singer; instead it was integral to the experience that Spike Lee was trying to project through the movie. Some of the acts mentioned and songs played were surprisingly vivid in my memory.
The movie reminded me about a lot of my experiences when I initially enlisted in the Army. I didn’t have many interactions with African Americans growing up. They were represented in my High School, but were a minority group that I didn’t interact with very much. The Army changed that. There weren’t any dramatic confrontations, or cinematic like epiphany moments between the various racial groups in my basic training unit. Instead the cultural gap was bridged as we got to know each other individually. I specifically remember one guy who was originally from Jamaica but had moved to NYC as a child. The stories he told painted a picture of life that was vastly different than what I had known growing up in various suburban neighborhoods. He and I weren’t best friends, but we were friends.
More than twenty years after it’s release, Do The Right Thing still has an interesting message. My hope is that the story of racial tensions grow to a distant memory. I know this will never be the situation universally across our country (or planet) as I think it’s human nature to view people who are different with suspicion. I’m hopeful for my childrens’ future every time I visit the elementary school my oldest daughter attends, and see the wide variety of skin tones represented by her classmates and friends.
What did you think about Do The Right Thing?
