Do The Right Thing (1989) Screencaps- Spencer Berger

 

This scene is depicting Sal's wall of fame that he keeps in his pizza shop of famous Italian-Americans. It serves as a catalyst in the film after the character Buggin' Out asks Sal to put photos up on the wall that are more representative of his customer base in the neighborhood. Sal refuses, stating that it was his store, and he made the rules. This conflict between Sal and others in the neighborhood serves as the main conflict, being a microcosm of the larger conflict in the neighborhood shown throughout the film. 

This still is part of the ending to a scene where many of the characters in the film start to complain rather insensitively about people of other races in the neighborhood, blaming them for all the problems. Samuel L. Jackson's Character, Mister Señor Love Daddy, ends the scene by addressing both the characters and the audience as a whole, stating that this kind of behavior needs to stop. He's not only speaking specifically about the words in the context in the film. Rather, Jackson's character is saying that tearing each other down in racist and antisemitic ways only hurts everyone in the end. This scene is reminiscent of Jackson's role in Kendrick Lamar's Superbowl Half-time Performance. 

This scene, near the end of the film, has Sal and Mookie, in their own sort of way, come to a resolution. As Sal sits in what is left of his restaurant, Mookie goes to collect his pay. After a brief spat between the two, Sal blaming Mookie for the riot that destroyed his restaurant, the two men reconcile. The men part with a better understanding of each other. The scene is representative of the two conflicting arguments surrounding liberation and violence, as well as the consequences of violence in communities.