The Depiction of Regan’s America
Do the Right Thing (DRT ) is a 1980s noir-style movie by Spike Lee. The movie has received both acclaim and criticism due to its illustration of racism and inner-city violence. It is essential to understand, the cultural, historical context of the period in which it was created and released to thoroughly comprehend why the public response to Lee’s film was so powerful. The following essay will argue that DRT’s characters are a reflection of Reagan’s America since the period was marked with racial tension and a rise in inner-city crime due to the trade of illegal drugs.
Lee’s film serves as a political message in two ways. First, it acts as a protest against the film industry developed by Hollywood which was mainly dominated by white creative voices. Second, and more crucial, it serves as a tool for the director’s social commentary of racial unrest in the inner-city. In illustrating his life in Brooklyn’s Bed-Stuy neighborhood, Lee illuminates the presences of social problems like drug addiction, broken families, and dependence on welfare (Cooper, 205). The decision was founded on Lee’s objective of constructing the movie as a counter-narrative to conventional ideas about black communities in urban regions. By showing the events in Bed-Stuy, Lee centers his work on what he believes to the primary cause of division in the United States; economic exploitation and inequality (Cooper, 205). The film’s two political roles are inter-related . Both functions protest the problem of diversity in Hollywood and refute racist beliefs. Showcasing the state of the nation during Reagan’s regime is key to Lee’s goal of combatting and addressing the role of racism in the country’s popular culture.
DRT addresses mainstream media’s reluctance to narrate events from a non-white viewpoint. In one moving scene, Pino is pulled aside by Mookie who wanted to confront him about his regular use of the racist word. Mookie highlights Pino’s tendency of using the n-word does not match his obsession with African American celebrities like Magic Johnson and Eddie Murphy. Pino gave a reply that ended up offending Mookie even more. His reaction showed the director’s apprehension with America’s lack of respect for African American voices and is a strong motif throughout the film. Commentary on this topic, however, illustrates only a part of the film’s strength as a political message. The primary source of DRT’s strength comes from the way it subtly challenged popular notions about how to explain the social unrest in black urban communities of color (Cooper, 207). Indeed, it was a time when Reagan’s regime enforces stringent policies against policies in such neighborhoods as a measure of fighting drug abuse.
The movie challenges the popular belief that the hardships faced by black communities are due to the collapse of family structures. Lee does this deftly. For instance, in one scene Da Mayor saves a young white boy (Eddie) from being hit by a car after he ran across the streets. After being rescued, his mother hit in the street and told him to run home to wait for his father. The woman’s mention of Eddie’s dad challenges the narrative that single mothers are responsible for social unrest (Cooper, 210). The scene shows that two-parent homes can also be damaging thus refuting the culture of poverty explanation.
Overall, Lee’s film serves as a social commentary that highlights the problems of Regan’s regime. During that time, the country was marked by the social unrest, especially in black urban communities. Lee shows that such problems arose out of racial inequality.
Works Cited
Cooper, Brenda. “‘The White-Black Fault Line’: Relevancy of Race and Racism in Spectators’ Experiences of Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing.” Howard Journal of Communication 9.3 (1998): 205-228.