The article on Do the Right Thing(1989, Spike Lee) discusses elements of film and themes throughout the film. Bordwell talks about the film’s many individual sequences with at least 42 segments. These sequences all happen in the same temporal range of the day and a half the plot depicts. The setting is very important in this interweaving of segments because it unifies each individual character’s story together. Places like Sal’s, the Red Wall, the Korean man’s store, and the Radio Station all take place on the same block. The location gives character to the street as a whole and speaks to the culture fostered by those living in it. In its essence, the block can be looked at like a family, especially for the African Americans living there. Figures like Mother-Sister and Da Mayor serve as parental figures to the children and characters in the movie. The old men at the Red Wall serve as the stereotypical “crazy grandpas”, and Mookie and his friends as the kids who need to take life more seriously.

This sense of community sets up the conflict for the movie. Sal’s pizza, while a staple of the neighborhood, has a more removed place in the community. Sal views his shop as “his domain”, as Bordwell Says. This idea conflicts with the community because they see the entire block as a family while Sal sees his store as its own entity; he believes he has the right to put whatever he wants on his wall of fame. Buggin Out, however comes from a communal view and he views Sal’s as something the community owns together, not just Sal. This conflict stems deeply from the racial differences between Sal and the community he runs the business.

The idea of who is doing the right thing is ambiguous in this scenario. Sal has a right to do what he wants with his store but to deny the community can also be negative. In the end everybody ends up choosing the wrong thing; violence and death occur. This is the overall theme of the movie. The methods by which we protest are only effective if they change minds, not if they destroy our enemies.