Film and Media Atlas

How Stories Are Broadcast
Sign In
Text size
100%
Theme
Landmark Work

Do the Right Thing

Hollywood and English-Language Studio Cinema

Do the Right Thing is a 1989 American film directed by Spike Lee, set across a single sweltering summer day in a Black neighborhood in Brooklyn, following the rising tension between local residents and Sal, the Italian American owner of the pizzeria that has served the block for years, as long simmering racial grievances build toward a violent confrontation. Lee refuses to offer a clear villain or a comfortable resolution, instead presenting the neighborhood's frustrations, and the later riot the film's climax depicts, as the product of accumulated inequities rather than any single person's fault. It was selected for the National Film Registry in 1999 and is widely regarded as one of the most important American films to address race relations directly, ranking 24th in the British Film Institute's 2022 critics poll of the greatest films ever made.

Facts
Classification
Original Language
English 1
Award
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Director 2
Award
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Film 2
Award
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture 2
Award
NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture 2
Release Year
1989 1
Country
United States 1
Connections

In Medium

Film, Media Forms
Source Do the Right Thing - Wikipedia
In the Other Atlases
Sources
1. Do the Right Thing - Wikipedia
  • Lead paragraph, first sentence (year)
    Do the Right Thing is a 1989 American independent comedy-drama film produced, written and directed by Spike Lee.
  • Lead paragraph, first sentence (country)
    Do the Right Thing is a 1989 American independent comedy-drama film produced, written and directed by Spike Lee.
  • Do the Right Thing, Description, original language
    Do the Right Thing is a 1989 American film directed by Spike Lee, set across a single sweltering summer day in a Black neighborhood in Brooklyn, following the rising tension between local residents and Sal, the Italian American owner of the pizzeria that has served the block for years, as long simmering racial grievances build toward a violent confrontation.
  • In Medium: Film, Article lead sentence
    Do the Right Thing is a 1989 American independent comedy-drama film produced, written and directed by Spike Lee.
View the Source
2. Do the Right Thing (Wikidata)
  • Wikidata P166: Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Director
    Wikidata P166 (award received): Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Director.
  • Wikidata P166: Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Film
    Wikidata P166 (award received): Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Film.
  • Wikidata P166: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture
    Wikidata P166 (award received): NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture.
  • Wikidata P166: NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
    Wikidata P166 (award received): NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture.
View the Source
Comments (0)
No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.
Reader Challenges (0)
No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.