Duality in Do the Right Thing

The title of Do the Right Thing (1989) commands whomever reads it to be ethical. But, of course, how do you know what's ethical? Do the Right Thing doesn't seek to answer that question, but instead propose that it cannot be answered.

The film closes with a picture of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X together. They were the two most prominent leaders of the civil rights movement in their time, and yet they had conflicting ideas about how to achieve equality. The quotes at the end of the film present their ideas, MLK saying violence is never the answer and Malcolm X saying violence in self-defense is intelligence.

These two ideas are presented in another portion of the film, on the fists of Radio Raheem. The approaches of MLK and X are turned to 11 and presented as Love and Hate. Of course, this simplifies the paradigms of two men to one word labels, but it only serves to further the parallel within the film. Love and Hate, two hands of the same man, the same desire to fight the power, are presented in a wonderful monologue by Radio Raheen, through the metaphor of boxing. These two forces battle within every person. But what is right? Again, we are left without an answer, only to continue our lives, using Love when it's appropriate and Hate when it's appropriate.

Just as every person must decide when to Love or when to Hate--or when to be peaceful or when to be violent--the civil rights movement as a whole also had to struggle with the frustrations that come with the difficulty or progress. Those frustrations, at times, would incite either Love or Hate. Do the Right Thing tackles the difficulty of a movement lead by two opposing concepts and the way that certain situations precipitate certain reactions. Sometimes you try to boycott a pizza parlor that won't cater to it's customers, and sometimes you throw a trash can through the window. You do what you gotta do.