Do the Right Thing Analysis

One can see that Mookie did not do the right thing in Spike Lee’s film Do The Right Thing through analysis of his reasoning for throwing a trashcan through Sal’s window, comparing his violence induced reaction to present day violence groups such as the KKK and through analysis of Martin Luther King Jr.’s words concerning violence as a way of achieving racial justice in his speech.

In the final climax of the film Do the Right Thing, the main character, Mookie, throws a trashcan through the window of Sal’s Pizzeria. He did it in a fit of anger. His fellow community was in an uproar because they had just witnessed the death of Radio Raheem. A white police officer had strangled him to death after trying to control him. Radio Raheem and Buggin out got into an argument with Sal about his wall of fame, which only had Italian film stars. So to title, Do the Right Thing, corresponds to Mookie throwing the can through the window. Why did Mookie choose to provoke violence as a measure of achieving racial equality? Surely, if Mookie had considered the consequences of his actions, he would reconsider his act. If Mookie would put the trashcan down and gotten in front of the crowd and asked them to stop, chances are, they would have. Throughout the film, it seems as though Mookie is a respected character in his neighborhood in Brooklyn. People seemed to like him and respect him because he had a steady job and was doing something with his life. I believe he had enough say in his neighborhood to say a decision. But Mookie choose violence instead, and the consequences were severe. The neighborhood uproared with frustration and let it out on Sal’s shop, even though he did not do anything.

If one compares Mookie’s actions to actions of violence advocates such as the KKK, one could begin to rationalize that Mookie did indeed make the wrong decision if he was attempting to gain respect for race. The Ku Klux Klan is a group of white supremacists that dislike all other races except...