Stereotypes In Do The Right Thing

As conventions evolve, the cultural regard of race remains a contentious issue. Do the Right Thing, (1989), directed by Spike Lee, depicts the increasing racial tension in a lower class Brooklyn neighborhood. Controversy begins as members of the community find a “wall of fame” outside of Sal’s pizzeria degrading to the urban black culture of the community as it displays exclusively Italian actors. The outcry of complaints evolves into a protest, led by Radio Raheem, a young black man. As tensions build, the situation rapidly disintegrates into violence. The police flood the scene, a white officer, refuses to release his chokehold on Raheem, killing him. His friend Mookie, outraged, throws trash through the window of Sal's pizzeria. Before the

For each character, he relies on iconography to communicate how they are connected to their stereotypes. Mookie is shown in a basketball jersey and a grill. Pino wears a chain and across, the pizza shop displays a picture of the Pope. Stevie, a Latino man, is wearing all red. Gary long, a Caucasian male is a police officer. Sonny a Korean man wears glasses, and owns a shop. Although these over-generalizations have negative connotations, Lee’s weaponized stereotypes work to build a sense of equality in the community. Using stereotypes of every race is a way to express that everyone is frustrated with someone else, leveling the playing field, so-to-speak. Their words are less aimed at each other personally, and more so their racial identity. Lee perhaps was commenting on the how racism is rarely a personal attack on a person, and more-so an attack on the race. As inequality was intensified, identity became visually evident, past the point of the person. Status was not only about the color of the person’s skin, but also the environment you were in, and the racial group you represented. These differences in identity were emphasised by stereotypes. During this time, different ethnic groups were targets of systematic and personal racism, enforced by the lack of government support and economic policies. People were often characterized between those who had money, and those who didn’t, minorities often occupying that low-class sector. Racism was a result of this class division. In order to criticize these social issues, Lee needed to embrace