Spike Lee has never been known for his subtlety and he's often been taken to task for his less than even-handed portrayals of whites.  To the former, I say it's wrong in many cases and when it's not, his sledgehammer tactics still lead to interesting, if heavily flawed, films like Bamboozled.  To the latter criticism, I would suggest that Lee is often exploring those feelings and preconceptions which lie dormant in even some of the more well-intentioned, socially aware white Americans and, more importantly, not doing so in terms of realism, but by bringing that which lies hidden within to the surface.  It is Lee's ability to do this with nearly every one of Do the Right Thing's vast array of characters that, for me, make it his towering masterpiece and still yet unsurpassed in the 19 years following its release in terms of examining the intangible web of racism on a communal and individual level.

Do the Right Thing remains so durable because it doesn't deal with racism in terms of Us vs. Them or see it as a mentality that exists only in evil people as so many other films have and continue to do.  Lee's more dialectical approach sees the problem as something far more complex, lying within each and every one of us to varying degrees and he sets up the film as a series of oppositions, each of which creates a tension that slowly builds towards the famously explosive finale.  While at times these oppositions are clearly defined in black-and-white terms, most notably in the series of quick zooms towards various characters spouting various racial epithets that had until that point been mostly unspoken, the characters themselves and their relation to one another are incredibly rich and complex.  Sal's Italian American pride and attitude towards Radio Raheem and Buggin' Out make him come off as rather buffoonish, yet when he tells Vito how proud he is that the children of this community were raised on his food or Mookie that he always has a place at his store, the emotion is genuine and it's clear he cares about most of the people who frequent his establishment.  And while Mookie at first seems like the bastion of reason and level-headedness, he is shown as being thoughtless both in his desire to get paid at all cost and his treatment of his sister, which mirrors the same disrespect he rails against Vito for showing his younger brother.  Even the cops, who certainly get the rawest deal of the bunch are somewhat balanced by the three older black men who stew in their rage against the Koreans for having their own business when they've do nothing but sit around and drink and talk.  Aside from the cops murder of Radio Raheem, Lee never resorts to the blame game, setting one group or person as being any more culpable than other.  The stronge sense of place and community, created by the wonderful photography and brilliant editing patterns, allows for a fully realized expression of the swirling winds of repressed hatred, prejudice and general dissatisfaction with their social status that have worked their way into the core of every character.

From the opening montage of Rosie Perez dancing angrily to Public Enemy's "Fight the Power", the frustration that fuels the film can be felt in every frame.  Sam Jackson's cry over the radio for everyone to "Wake up!" embodies its message that people must look within themselves as well as outside to find solutions and, as Jade - the only character in the film presented in a wholly positive light - says, find ways to make positive changes in their community.  The message is never sugar-coated or delivered with even a scent of self-righteousness, which, even as a huge fan of the director I will admit often tinges his films.  In fact, the message comes across only as a warning as Lee is not interested in providing pat, easy answers, but in providing a catalyst for thoughtful discussion and meaningful change.