Do the Right Thing is a 1989 American comedy-drama film directed, produced, and written by Spike Lee. The film stars Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, John Turturro, and Lee himself. The story takes place in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn during a single, scorching hot day.
The plot centers around Sal's Famous Pizzeria, a popular Italian-American-owned restaurant in the neighborhood. The film follows the lives of the restaurant's employees and customers, who are all dealing with the heat while tensions rise between them due to racial and social divides.
Throughout the film, characters confront incidents of racism, police brutality, and demarcations of race in society. The heat creates a simmering tension and conflict that eventually boils over into a violent climax, with the destruction of Sal's Famous.
As police officers arrive, residents and workers alike have a debate about who is truly responsible for the chaos that has occurred. The final scene shows Mookie, a delivery boy for the pizzeria, returning to Sal to collect his wages. He throws a trash can through the window and the patrons proceed to ransack the pizzeria, ultimately revealing the depth of racial tensions that have been boiling under the surface throughout the film.
Do the Right Thing was met with both critical acclaim and controversy upon its release, with some accusing the film of promoting violence and disorder. However, it has since become widely recognized as a landmark work of American cinema and a seminal treatment of race relations in the United States.