Spike lee's do the right thing : Filmmaking in the American grain

Abstract

Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing is one of the most important American films of the 20th century. On one level it raises questions about racial conflict in New York City during the 1980s but, on another, about the struggle to be human in America, specifically the requirements of a justice that takes into account the needs of all. In other words, the film is about the struggle each of us faces to recognize each other as a being of value and worth regardless of our state- and market-defined merits or deserts. The authors argue that Do the Right Thing is a film consistent with the true American character which reflects a desire to be not a power-wielding sovereign but a person connected to a community of human concern, one in which the needs of all are taken into account.