Essential Films to See at Least Once Before You Die

Do the Right Thing

Spike Jonze's masterpiece on racial confrontation in New York, Do the Right Things, showcases rising tensions between a pizza shop and the neighborhood residents. A local patron becomes upset when he sees that every actor on the shop's Wall of Fame is Italian, believing that a pizzeria in a predominantly Black neighborhood should feature more Black actors. The owner, Sal, disagrees—and soon the wall becomes a symbol of racism and hate.