By Imogen Prince, written for Kim Simard’s Explorations in Cinema and Communications class

Winner of the Cheryl Simon Writing Award for Subtext’s Winter 2024 issue

Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing (1989) takes place in the span of one day in a  predominantly Black New York neighborhood during a heatwave. The film centers on a conflict between an Italian pizza restaurant owner, Sal, and Buggin Out, a Black man who  notices that even though most of the customers at the restaurant are people of color, there are no pictures of Black people on its “Hall of Fame”. Tensions rise as the temperature does, and the  film ends with the murder of a Black man named Radio Raheem at the hands of the police. The  film makes the viewer reflect on their own racial biases and the realities of systemic racism and white supremacy. These themes are especially prevalent in the Love/Hate Scene in  which the director uses juxtaposed framing to present Radio Raheem’s character, as well as  Radio Raheem’s decision to break the fourth wall, and the music he chooses to play out of his  radio. 

The Love/Hate scene begins with Mookie, the main character, walking down the street and  running into Radio Raheem. Radio is characterized as an intimidating character; he is a tall man  who looms over everyone he speaks to and carries a boombox that plays music in every scene he  is in. Mookie compliments Radio’s rings: one depicting the word “LOVE” and the other  “HATE”. He then tells Mookie about the battle between love and hate in the world, ending with  the pertinent words: “If I love you, I love you… but if I hate you….”(Lee, 51:28). 

Do The Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989)

 It is in this scene that the audience first hears Radio speak, and the significance of his words become painfully true in his final scene, as a police officer chokes him to death. Hate being highlighted in its truest form. 

 Lee’s framing technique throughout the film draws in the audience. Depending on who is interacting with whom in any given scene, characters will be framed in different ways to reflect their contrasting points of view. This is  especially apparent when it comes to the camera’s framing of Radio Raheem. In almost every scene, Radio is depicted with close-up shots of his face from a low angle, making him seem  larger and more intimidating to audiences. His face takes up most of the frame, looking directly  into the camera. This reflects the way that many of the characters in the film view him, their fear and racial biases apparent. However, this is not the case in the Love/Hate scene, in which he is  framed in a neutral way for the first and only time in the film. As Mookie walks down the street and greets him, the two are framed at a shoulder length shot. The scene then becomes much more  personal as the camera shifts to eye level, making the audience feel as if they are a  part of the conversation. This new way of presenting Radio reflects how Mookie himself views  him, as a friend. By capturing a unique perspective of this character, the director presents to  audiences the way that many people in society view each other based on preconceived notions,  and how these are often assumptions based on little truth.  

 This is further reflected when Radio Raheem breaks the fourth wall and speaks directly to the  camera and audience. The camera physically takes the place of Mookie’s point of view in this  scene, as Radio speaks about the fight between love and hate that takes place in our society and  makes air punches directly at the camera. Through this method of framing him, Radio speaks to  both Mookie and the audience, so that they become one and the same. He begins by making a reference saying: “Hate: it is with this hand that Cain iced his brother”(50:32), referring to the first  murder in the Bible, in which Cain kills his brother Abel, jealous that God favored his offering.  Then when he moves to his other hand, with the word “Love” across his knuckles, he unfolds his fist saying “Love: these five fingers, they go straight to the soul of man”(50:42). Finally, he ends with  “Love” winning the fight, leaving audiences with a positive outlook on the future.  

 Another important aspect of this scene, as well as Radio Raheem as a character, is the music that plays out of  his radio. Throughout the entire scene, Public  Enemy’s “Fight the Power” is playing. This is a diegetic sound as both Radio and Mookie can hear it. When Mookie first walks up to Radio,the music is playing at full volume, but becomes background noise as they start conversing. This song is consistently played  throughout the movie, often by Radio himself. In fact, the song is playing in the opening  scene in which Tina dances in a boxing outfit and punches at the camera, similarly to Radio.  The song “Fight the Power” is a call to action, urging its listeners to bring change and take down the oppressive system of power working against marginalized people. By choosing this song to play in the background during Radio Raheem’s monologue about the fight between love and hate, the director links the two fights in audiences’ minds.   To conclude, Do the Right Thing’s Love/Hate scene reflects on racial bias and works against systems of oppression through the characterization of Radio Raheem. To do so, Spike Lee drastically shifts Radio Raheem’s framing depending on who he is interacting with, breaks the fourth wall, and plays “Fight the Power” in the background as the scene plays out. 

Do The Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989)

Works cited

“Cain and Abel.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 26 Oct. 2023,  en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cain_and_Abel#:~:text=Cain%2C%20the%20firstborn%2C%20was% 20a,to%20a%20life%20of%20wandering 

Smith, Niall. “Racism, Morality and Violence – Analysing Do the Right Thing.” The Culture Crypt,  The Culture Crypt, 19 Aug. 2020, www.theculturecrypt.com/posts/racism-morality-and violence-analysing-do-the-right-thing. 

StudioBinder, et al. “50+ Types of Camera Shots & Angles.” StudioBinder, 7 Sept. 2023,  www.studiobinder.com/blog/ultimate-guide-to-camera-shots/.