welcome to burning in paradise

Do The Right Thing is a movie I’ve heard about for years now and I finally made my way to see it. Spike Lee’s movies are always powerful with what feels like a hidden message if you’re sharp enough to catch it. Mookie, the main character played by Spike Lee, works at Sal’s Pizzeria delivering pizzas around the neighborhood on foot. As he makes his deliveries we meet the neighbors(or supporting cast) which all play their part in communicating Spike Lee’s many messages throughout the movie.  

Mookie, the main character, is a hard working young man that tends to play peacemaker throughout the film. He focused on making money and though he’s not like the majority of the people in the neighborhood without a job, he still has his own sets of issues when it comes to responsibilities and maturing as an adult. 

The three elders, as I call them, watch from across the street observing and criticizing the neighborhood, amazed at how the Korean shop owners have done so much in such little time since their arrival to the neighborhood. One of the wise men says that in time he’s going to save up his money and do the same thing as the Korean shop owner. But quickly the one of the other elders confronts him telling him that he isn’t going to do anything. That he’s just all talk. 

Tina, played by Rosie Perez (Mookie’s baby’s mother), complains about Mookie not doing enough for her and the baby but also is continuing to see Mookie for good times. When Mookie tries to leave she quickly switches back from loving partner to angry baby mother.

Each character has a message or a theme that they are trying to communicate either directly or indirectly through their actions. If you haven’t seen Do the right Thing, I suggest you give it a watch and see if you can catch all the different themes and messages that the cast is trying to communicate to the viewers. I feel a lot of these characters are still around in modern day.