Do the Right Thing

Do the Right Thing took the setting of a multicultural Brooklyn neighborhood with all of its issues and did some interesting things with them. First of all, with all the different racial groups in the neighborhood that each have a distinctive color (black, white, Hispanic), you could see how they tried to emphasize this difference by super saturating all the colors in the film.
 Also, there was a lot of conflict in the film, often represented by clashing diegetic music. Radio Raheem walks all over the neighborhood with his huge boombox, blasting “black music”: Public Enemy. There were several points where he was asked to turn his music down (the multiple scenes in Sal’s Pizza, on the street with the Hispanic group and their music).  The fact that the radio host and Radio Raheem are the most prominent music players in the neighborhood sets the stage for the huge destructive riot at the end of the film. When Raheem dies, diegetic music comes to a halt.
 One can argue that the hot day in which it all takes place also shows the escalating heat of the conflict between the racial groups. All the heat and tension built up during the day is released at night, when the riot happens and Sal’s Pizzeria falls. It is after this event that the radio host makes it a point that everyone needs to “cool down” or the madness between them will continue.