Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (1989) depicts an important social issue of the time: interracial rivalry. The film was one of several ghetto action films made at the time. In the article "Producing Ghetto Pictures" by Craig Watkins, he says that the films in the ghetto film cycle devoted much of their storyline to that of the relationship between poor young black men and the ghetto (170). The film depicts the lives of those who live on a block in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York, where the famous Sal's pizzeria is located. Racial and ethnic hatred manifests itself through the characters who frequent the Italian restaurant. Sal's son, Pino, wants to move the pizzeria to his own neighborhood, away from his father's black clientele, whom he despises. In Mark Reid's article, “Black Comedy on the Verge of a Breakdown,” he argues that Pino celebrates a system of ethnic-racial apartheid in which ethnic and racial groups remain in their respective neighborhoods” (101). In response to his son's retrospective question, Sal responds, "What if it was a black neighborhood, what if we were a minority." I never had any problems with… [those] people. I don't want one either, so don't start one. This is America. » It's ironic because Pino's favorite people are black, but he doesn't see them that way. It's like he's contradicting himself. Pino's brother Vito disagrees with his brother's racist behaviors, but Pino forces him to accept racism. Reid goes on to say that this behavior is characteristic of those who join violent crowds because they do not support violence, but they give in to it (101-102). It's similar to peer pressure, except on a larger scale. The climax of the film is when Buggin' Out and R...... middle of paper...... a successful, middle class guy... makes a film in what he basically says …to the…lower black class: “Well, you won’t get justice. They are out to get you. It's you against them. And that’s what they do” (105). This film is a direct example of how media influences members of society. This goes back to the saying about the butterfly that flaps its wings and causes a hurricane on the other side of the world. In a sense, this film is a realistic look at the racial animosities of the time. Works Cited Reid, Mark A. "Black Comedy on the Brink. Redefining Film Noir. Los Angeles: University of California Press, 1993. Watkins, Craig. "Producing Images of the Ghetto." Representing: Hip Hop Culture and the production of black cinema Chicago: U of Chicago P, 1998. 169-195. Do The Right Thing, Dir., 1989.