Usually, there is an established rule for movies that tries to depict a socially persecuted group. In typical Hollywood movies, the oppressed ones are framed as people who are powerless, innocent, and not worthy of any blame with all the guilt and criticisms falling solely upon the oppressors. However, this film, Do the Right Thing, by Spike Lee breaks away from such a rule, attempting to show the audience different perspectives in viewing the hottest day of one summer in New York. Although African Americans are supposedly the persecuted group of people, in this film, Spike Lee’s portrayal of them shows that they are not necessarily free of blame. Mobocracy aroused among African Americans in Harlem, New York, fuels irrational angers and instigates violence. Even though the movie frankly reveals African Americans’ impulsive reactions to certain situations, it does not suggest that unfair treatment that they receive in American society is fair. With the use of powerful music, distinctive primary colors, and various angles, this film expresses racial tensions, struggles among generations, and police brutality.

                  Throughout the history of the United States, African Americans were locked in the lowest part of social ladder where they did not meet equal opportunities to maximize their potentials. The presence of slavery system is an ineffaceable spot on the nation’s honor, marked by an inherent hypocrisy that lies inside the country which cries out for democracy in its loudest voice. Despite exceptional cases, African Americans in general earn less money and pursue less education. Those phenomena have repeatedly occurred for centuries as it is hard for African Americans to break away from the cycle of poverty and escape from racial discrimination. In the film, the only African Americans that seem to have a job is Mookie. Buggin wonders around the town making troubles, Radio Raheem roams the streets with his radio, and Da Mayor drinks all day. For them, the concept of American Dream (which emphasize that the individual victory can be achieved through hard working and merits) is a mere mirage. Life seems to stay miserable despite arduous efforts, and when failures in stepping forward continuously take place, people lose hope and abandon beliefs that their lives would get better anyhow. African Americans are not inferior. No race is inferior, and no one is inferior. Yet, the social norm that has prevailed the United States for a long time makes African Americans feel inferior. Such a sense of inferiority and a deep rooted feeling of resentment towards the society cause them to become hyper reactive to certain events that may appear trivial and insignificant to others.

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