I really enjoyed this movie. It reminded me of ‘Rear Window’ in the sense that the entirety of the film takes place in a small area with recurring characters. I liked this film because it did a good job of illustrating each character’s personality through casual dialogue and exaggerated body movement. The framing also helped portray the characters. For example, Radio Raheem was often shot using a close-up, maintaining eye contact with the camera to create an intimidating persona. Overall, Spike Lee did a great job portraying each character’s unique personality, helping you connect to the cast.

At the center of this film is the debate about ‘Doing the Right thing.’ Da Mayor tells Mookie to “do the right thing,” but what does that actually mean? For Da Mayor, a more traditional mind that promotes peace, the right thing is spreading love. For Radio Raheem, an intimidating, fiery figure, the right thing likely involves violence. While the right thing might be easier for these characters, the choice for Mookie is more ambiguous. Throughout the film, Mookie always finds himself in the middle. He constantly has to navigate between the preferences of Sal and his sons and the rest of the neighborhood. This is exemplified when Buggin’ Out gets into a fight with Sal over hanging up prominent black figures on the Wall of Fame. Mookie then has to serve as the intermediary, calming down both Buggin’ Out and Sal.

However, the biggest example of Mookie having to battle with doing the right thing is throwing the trashcan at the window of Sal’s Pizzeria. Again, Mookie is found in the middle, either inciting the riot or protecting where he works. Mookie decides to throw the trash can leading to the complete destruction of the restaurant. So, the question is, did Mookie do the right thing? I think the answer is it depends. For Buggin’ Out and Radio Raheem, they think Mookie did do the right thing, but for Da Mayor he did not think Mookie did the right thing

In my opinion, Mookie did not do the right thing. As someone who always advocates for peace over violence, I related to MLK’s quote at the end. Inciting violence like this only sparks more tension and creates a larger divide. While the movie does not address this, there likely were larger acts of violence due to the murder of Radio Raheem, which created a bigger divide between racial groups. Looking back on the conflict, a simple act like playing music too loud should have never escalated to this.