Do The Right Thing 20th Anniversary

20 years ago to the day, Do The Right Thing was released in theaters around the United States. Many hail this as Spike Lee's greatest work as it often pops up on various lists of the 100 greatest films and/or scripts of all time. Do The Right Thing marks a a huge moment in the history of black film. Never had a black writer or black director helmed a project that garnered such wide-spread acclaim, and to do it with a film dealing with race and race relations was revolutionary. 

           

                                                                                                 

Do The Right Thing deals with a hot, summer day in Bedstuy New York when racial tensions hit a peak. The main conflict centers around a pizzaria owned by Italians in a predominately black neighborhood. The Italians feel since they own the pizzaria they can conduct business as they choose, however the blacks feel a certain hand in ownership since the pizzaria is in their neighborhood and feels like they should give them more respect. 

                         

While taking a Spike Lee class in college, we watched the film to discuss the issues of ownership and responisbility depicted. The teacher asked us who felt Mookie did the right thing in throwing the trash can through Sal's window. The classroom was split. The white's felt Sal's ownership constituted his freedom in running the pizzaria. The black students on the otherhand understood Mookie's frustration and refused to crucify him for what he did. I regarded Sal's pizzaria as an interesting metaphor for America. 

                                

Lee became the first African-American to be nominated for Best Director and Best Writer at the 62nd Academy Awards. Many felt the film should have been in the running for Best Picture and called it one of the all-time greatest Oscar snubs. The Academy instead decided to award Driving Miss Daisy the distinct honor, a film about a grumpy old white lady befriending her black driver. It showed exactly how comfortable Hollywood felt dealing with race relations. Despite their avoidance Do The Right Thing has become legandary as was deemed "culturally significant" by the United States Library of Congress and selected for perservation in the National Film Registry.