Question: Why might Spike Lee have chosen to end the film
with two opposing views by Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr.? How do these
passages inform our understanding of the film as a whole?
These
two seemingly contrasting quotes that run like credits at the end of the film
are symbolic for the feelings of Mookie, the main character of Do The Right
Thing. The Martin Luther King Jr. quote that runs first preaches silent protest
and working through problems both big and small using absolutely no violence.
Mookie follows this creed through most of the film. Even at the end when Buggin’
Out and Radio Raheem are in a screaming match with Sal, Mookie continues to try
to be a calm mediator for the conflict. He had always tried to be a third party
and fix problems using words not violence. Mookie does this with Vito and Pino,
and with his own problems involving Tina.
However,
after the death of Radio Raheem, Mookies anger gets the better of him. As he
feels rage against the police, against Sal, against the establishment in
general, he reverts to a Malcolm X
mentality. He feels that he has to “preserve the right to bring an end
to that situation (where the bad people have all the power).” Because he is so
angry with his surroundings, he reverts to his destructive instincts and
smashes the window of Sal’s Famous Pizzeria.
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