Do the Right Thing

“Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral. It is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. The old law of an eye for an eye leaves everybody blind. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends by defeating itself.It Is Immoral because It seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding; it seeks to annihilate rather than to convert. Violence is immoral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends by defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers." Martin Luther King, Jr. "I think there are plenty of good people in America, but there are also plenty of bad people in America and the bad ones are the ones who seem to have all the power and be in these positions to block things that you and I need. Because this is the situation, you and I have to preserve the right to do what is necessary to bring an end to that situation, and it doesn't mean that I advocate violence, but at the same time I am not against using violence in self-defense.I don't even call it violence when it's self-defense, I call it intelligence.” Malcom X I have not seen a movie so complete in so many aspects simultaneously in a long time. To begin with I just want to say this entire movie takes place within one single scorching hot summer day. That’s it. Spike Lee introduced an incredibly big amount of charachters with all their aspects and details, in what, the first half hour. He was able to have you connect with them all so quickly as if you’d known them for years. Set in a predominantly black neighborhood, Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, this movie is about forcing you to sit with injustice without giving you an easy answer. It centers around how systematic racism shapes every day life and how society  just accepts it the way it is. It is a clear display of how progression of anger and hate builds slowly from just small humiliations and unequal power, to something horrific and cruel. Spike Lee here tries to tell us how it isn’t about violence being bad or X being right, it’s about ignoring injustice until it boils over being a choice in itself, one that is the epitome of what a moral code is. And this isn’t just for racism. Any issue ignored or dismissed, just for the sake of not wanting to get involved or stir up unwanted attention is essentially a choice in itself. One that perhaps might just ruin thousands of people’s lives.  The cinematography was absolutely stunning. You could feel the heat through the screen, if you tried hard enough, could just feel the sting of the sun prickling your skin, sweat dripping down your forehead. In a way that makes you yearn for summer so bad. Truly I cannot wait to put this on in the summer and watch it again while I slurp down one Popsicle after another.  And the music. Oh the soundtrack for this one won. My ears were ringing the entire time, it was like putting me into a trance. My favorite scene was the scene in the end when Smile made his way through the burnt down pizzeria, and slowly putting up the photo of Martin Luther King Jr and Malcom X, smiling and shaking hands, on the wall. The single photo to remain. Spike Lee, I truly hope your work, like theirs, won’t be for nothing.  Also, I’m just finding out Spike Lee is the main lead here and holy MOLY. It makes the experience so much better. No wonder he absolutely aced the character.  Also, Radio Raheem’s Love and Hate speech will forever be ingrained in my mind. *R.I.P. Martin Luther King Jr. (1929-1968) R.I.P. Malcom X (1925-1965)*