Do The Right Thing

In Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing, he successfully brought to life an issue that forever more will affect us as human beings. Though many believe the conflict of racism is no longer an issue faced by all of us, in reality it does. Racism and discrimination are both conflicts that everyone suffers from and has to deal with. Whether they are the discriminate or the discriminator, it’s safe to say most people face both sides of the issue at one point in time.

While discussing this film in class, I was appalled to hear certain people make a claim that the issue of racism is no longer an issue, or at least in our little Edina bubble. Not only is this a really upsetting statement, but it also reveals a lot about our community. Do The Right Thing takes place in Brooklyn, New York, within a neighborhood depicted as lower class and it mostly consists of African Americans. Certain people in my class, and maybe others, would say that that is still a place today that consists of much discrimination and racism. In reality, let’s not kid ourselves; there is still just as much racism and discrimination in our small little suburb of Edina. Because our community is made up of 93.6% Caucasians, when a minority is introduced to our neighborhood, school, business, etc., much of the time the reactions are confusing. We have been shadowed and sheltered from outside cultures much of our lives, at least if one has grown up here. It’s a very sad truth that us as kids have a hard time realizing and recognizing others outside of what Edina would call the “norm”. Though not everyone is sheltered and chooses to not recognize current day issues, it is what many people do, not all. Though Spike Lee’s film is an extreme view of racism, I do think it really makes a good point of recognizing racism from all races towards every other race.

After viewing this film and discussing it, it really made me think about the community I live in. Even though some ignore the issues of racism and discrimination, I’m really glad to see clubs like the multi-cultural club and the gay-straight alliance being formed within Edina High School. Spike Lee may or may not have done the right thing in the end by having his character start a riot, but the issues revealed in the film speak to the audience as a whole, showing us real issues of this world. How you choose to react to these conflicts of racism and discrimination, that’s your choice.