The Portrayal of the Black Community in Do the Right Thing, a Film by Spike Lee

Sitting, puffing and watching. In their apartment, the hoodlums are perched above the unrelenting, violent the streets of Harlem. Bishop watches out the window, noting that, “all we do is f**king run.” They run from the cops, they run from security guards, they run from everyone. Frustrated, Bishop admits that, while running, they left their friend to die. Q responds, “If you want respect you gotta earn it,” leaving us with a glimpse of the mentality in this neighborhood. Through repeated tales of crime, drugs and chaos, many black neighborhoods like Ernest R.

Dickerson represents in Juice came to reflect or embody the word “ghetto” in the late 80’s early 90’s. However, in Do the Right Thing, Spike Lee portrays black identity far differently than typical films, books and other texts from that era. In this film, Lee attempts to reframe the black community- exposing us to a troubled yet vibrant and complex community. He addresses lower- and working-class black people, many of whom suffer in an oppressive social system and not due to lack of concern of common good in a community.

As Spike works towards a reformation, other film directors during the time tend to fall back on violence and crime as the only markers of black urban existence. “Lee lends his voice to a rewriting of black urban identity” (Hanson).

Falling back on crime, the rioting stereotype of identifying the ghetto can closely relate to the Dickerson film, Juice. In the film, the four inner-city friends are in search of power as they refer to as respect or “juice.

Get quality help now

RhizMan

Verified

Proficient in: Do The Right Thing

4.9 (247)

“ Rhizman is absolutely amazing at what he does . I highly recommend him if you need an assignment done ”

+84 relevant experts are online

Hire writer

” Because of thrive for power in these kids, there is a common connection to riots, violence and crime in order to gain respect, as they say, “You do not buy respect… you earn it.” This is the mentality of those identified as ghetto at the time, that you cannot buy respect you need to do something significant to earn it. As mentioned earlier, Bishop begins to realize that all they ever do is run; life is like a game to stay alive when you reside in a place like this. In this case the boys in the film robbed a store and shot the clerk for no reason but reputation. The film itself heavily revolves around a gun as the focal point, and black crime, where essentially violence begins to rule. Reversing, Spike Lee does what he can in order to put a positive spin on the image of these inner-city neighborhoods and their reputation. Portraying a complex, functional black community, attempting to destruct the current reputation of ghettoized neighborhoods.

In Spike Lee’s film, Do the Right Thing, the Bedford Stuyvesant neighborhood is a clear visual depiction of a troubled but, promising black community. In essence, it is the way in which Lee portrays the Bed- Stuy inhabitants in this film that is vital; it’s far from the typical image of a hoodlum. The black community that is expressed in this film is not emblematic compared to other ghetto neighborhoods in the late 80’s and early 90’s. The Bed- Stuy neighborhood exhibits an image of a community effort rather than sheer ghettoization, opposing to all others in a number of ways. To exemplify, throughout the film it references that this nature of ghettoization is in result to the oppression. Hanson concluded that, “black family is seriously deteriorating and that Blacks had been consistently damaged since the onset of slavery” (52) it is clear that the ghettoization has done nothing but progress. By emphasizing the black working class in this film, Lee is able to give a contradiction to what is identified as the black ghetto. Lee looks to reframe the image of the black community while just years later a number of film makers were tearing this image back down. Ultimately, rendering this neighborhood not as a constant destination for violence, or for living the thug life. Instead, a rather industrious, working minded neighborhood united as a community. The majority of civilians are seen getting up and going to work. Hanson argues, that Lee has, “a potential for deflecting attention away from social ills that made the community riot-ready and turned the attention back onto the assumed defective family” (53).

The relationships between the people who live in Bed- Stuy are more closely knit than one would imagine. Hanson states, “The film claims that the community or at least much of it exists as an extended family, one of which the film will attempt to demonstrate is based on the shared sub-history of ghetto oppression” (50). When comparing the ghetto identity in Do the Right Thing to the typical ghetto identity there is immense differences in the way the community members connect. In Spike Lee’s example of black community identity in the late 80’s the image shown is unusually close within this community, instead of just neighbors they have become family in a sense. The concern the individuals have for one another is incredible when comparing to the stereotypes at the time. For example, in the film, Boyz in the Hood Contradicting what one might think is Da Mayor, who seems to portray a black man with the ghetto identity from the start, is the man who roams around the streets pestering other people, constantly drunk. In the beginning of the film Da Mayor wonders down to Sal’s to see if there is a way he could make money, Sal lets him sweep the sidewalk for him leaving Da Mayor with enough money to buy beer that day. Although he pesters Mother Sister far too often, Da Mayor is not harming anyone, he is too nice to her as he walks past here stoop day after day. This man has a good heart, spending money on flowers for mother-sister even when he is certain that she will yell at him for nearing her stoop. Later on in the film we see Da Mayor risking his own life to save a little boy he does not even know. As the boy ran out into the street in front of a car Da Mayor leaped into the street tackling the boy away from the car. Da Mayor attests to be a very complex character not just what one sees on the surface, as he tells some of the younger neighbors he is not just a drunk and he begins to explain what he has gone through, arriving home each night to his family, not being able to provide for them, this is where it has lead him. Da Mayor is the main source of linking present ghetto communities to ones of the past.

Lastly, Da Mayor tells Mookie to remember, always “do the right thing,” and as the film go on we see Mookie take this advice and use it when he decides to throw the trash can through the window of Sal’s pizzeria. At this very moment, Mookie takes Da Mayors advice and does exactly what he feels is right. Both, standing up for his people, while withholding his black identity in front of Sal. Mookie may seem as if he was the instigator of the riot and what happened happened to Sal’s. Yet, when we consider how enraged everyone was at Sal’s reaction to Radio, leading to Radio’s brutal murder by the cops. Mookie, standing in the midst of the black rage, looks around realizing that whether Sal is his boss or not, his relationship with Sal is far less important for standing up for his family he has behind him, the whole Bd-Stuy community. Lee’s intention to connect the film with the history of riots and racial incerdents. Hanson argues, “Riots are response to ghettoization, are a typical manifestation of communal identity,” rather than ghetto.

In conclusion, the stereotypical ghetto identity that we know from the late 80’s early 90’s is under attempted reformation in Spike Lee’s film. Lee portrays a community based black neighborhood far differently that other film producers at the time. As a black man himself, his efforts to reframe the picture of black identity are shown in a variety of ways in Do the Right Thing. Successfully presenting a troubled but complex, promising lower-income neighborhood The characters that Spike Lee uses are advocates as an asset to the formation of the Bed-Stuy community the Bed-Stuy family. Lee’s depiction was soon torn down by other film makers following the production restricting the ghetto identity of black neighborhoods during this time.