"Stay Black:" Spike Lee's 'Do the Right Thing' turns 20
It's a question that has haunted film fans and director Spike Lee since June 30, 1989, when Do The Right Thing was released.
"White people still ask me why Mookie threw the can through the window," Lee said in an interview with the Associated Press. "Twenty years later, they're still asking me that. No black person ever, in 20 years, no person of color has ever asked me why."
And 20 years later, there is no answer from Lee about the climactic scene outside the Brooklyn pizza shop in the film that made him a household name. Lee wrote and directed the movie, but also played the part of Mookie.
"People were fearful of the backlash," Rosie Perez tries to explain, in her AP interview. (Perez played Mookie's Puerto Rican girlfriend, Tina, and dances to Fight The Power during the opening credits.) "A lot of things happening in the movie were happening in real life. People were afraid when the truth, although a little exaggerated, was put up on the screen for everyone to see."
Sadly, Do The Right Thing came up short at the annual award shows, though at the Oscars Danny Aiello was nominated for best supporting actor and Lee was nominated for best original screenplay. Still, Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert was so moved at seeing the movie, the AP says, that he was left crying at its conclusion. (Read his full review here.)
TOP 5 MEMORABLE LINES FROM DO THE RIGHT THING:
5. "Trust you? The last time I trusted you, Mookie, I ended up with a son."
4. "You fool! You're thirty cents away from having a quarter!"
3. "One day you're gonna be nice to me. We may both be dead and buried, but you're gonna be nice."
2. "My people, my people, what can I say, say what I can. I saw it but didn't believe it, I didn't believe what I saw. Are we gonna live together, together are we gonna live?"
1. "Stay Black."
Relive the music, movies and culture of the greatest decade ever with Times online editor Steve Spears. A teen during the decade, Steve is obsessed with everything from Duran Duran to Journey, John Hughes to John Cusack, and parachute pants to Reaganomics.
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saw this movies that Tryrone Square Mall in 89'. The place was so loud that I had to see it the next day.
Posted by: rick | June 30, 2009 at 09:57 PM
Interesting idea, Neil. One I hadn't considered. Makes me want to rewatch it and see.
Posted by: Douglas Arthur | June 30, 2009 at 02:40 PM
One of the absolute best from the decade,though i agree that the ending is surprising. Not my favorite Spike Lee movie only because he made the masterpiece "The 25th Hour" a few years ago.But a great,great movie.
Posted by: Miguel | June 30, 2009 at 12:26 PM
I remember I saw this movie in the summer of '89 at the cheap theater in a not so good part of Chicago. I was a little worried leaving the theater. I thought the ending showed that Mookie was trying to help out Sal. He attacked the store so people wouldn't attack Sal. That is what I thought at the time. I would have to see the movie again to see if I remember that correctly.
Posted by: Neil | June 30, 2009 at 11:55 AM
Sorry for all the Jackson news items I'm posting this week. It's just overload on that story for a while longer, I'm afraid. Just amazing what sort of details we're hearing.
Posted by: Spears | June 30, 2009 at 11:02 AM
That's really a great idea, Clark.
Just keep it away from Hollywood or we'll have "Do The Right Thing: The Musical" starring Zac Efron as Mookie before the year is over.
Posted by: Spears | June 30, 2009 at 10:51 AM
I wish someone would adapt it for the stage, which I think would be pretty easy to do. Since the theme is still relevant and the climax is open to interpretation, it would be really interesting to see that story told by different directors and different actors.
Posted by: Clark | June 30, 2009 at 10:19 AM
I absolutely loved the movie when it came out, but I am still perplexed by the ending. What Mookie did was so completely out of character, and there appeared to be no build up for him personally to do what he did. I haven't watched it in a while, so maybe I need to revisit it with the eye of experience and history to guide me it might make more sense. I wish Spike would explain it better than he has (or hasn't) but I suppose that is what makes it so thought provoking.
Posted by: Douglas Arthur | June 30, 2009 at 09:39 AM
I have never seen this movie in its entirety. I'll rectify that today. Or, in 3 days when Netflix delivers
Posted by: Marissa | June 30, 2009 at 09:37 AM
I remember seeing the movie later in 1989 on VHS, I think, because frankly I was fresh out of college and couldn't afford a movie ticket and had no friends to go with anyway.
But I had heard everyone say to keep an open mind and just see it. And wow, it was an experience. It will always be my favorite Spike Lee joint.
Posted by: Spears | June 30, 2009 at 09:35 AM
Sweet Daddy D, a puppet of Jeff Dunham, quoted the "Stay Black" during the act. I have never seen this movie so it is good to know where that quote originally came from.
Posted by: DerekT | June 30, 2009 at 07:35 AM