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values and street values. Of course it is not sure whether it believes in liberal pieties or militancy. Of course some of the characters are sympathetic and others are hateful. And of course some of the likable characters do bad things. Isn ' t that the way it is in America today? Anyone who walks into this film expecting answers is a dreamer or a fool. But anyone who leaves the movie with more intolerance than they walked in with wasn ' t paying attention.
Ebert admits that there are contradictions in Do the Right Thing. But rather than chastise Lee for making such a film, he praises him for it. He strongly asserts that this kind of film is supposed to be contradictory and messy because it reflects life, and life is incredibly contradictory and messy.
Lastly, in addition to accepting the complexity of the film and the responses it creates, Ebert understands what the real message of Do the Right Thing is— or, at least, is not:
Lee does not ask us to forgive them, or even to understand everything they do, but he wants us to identify with their fears and frustrations. " Do the Right Thing " doesn ' t ask its audiences to choose sides; it is scrupulously fair to both sides, in a story where it is our society itself that is not fair.
In a film as complex and sophisticated as Do the Right Thing, it would be naïve to attempt to understand it through one moment, one character, or even one initial reaction to it. Ebert himself admits that his initial reviews from his exposure to this movie at the Cannes Film Festival( where Lee called his detractors racist) were misguided, focusing on the violence depicted even as the other critics did. He understands, as we all should, that even through