<P> Do the Right Thing is a 1989 American comedy - drama film produced, written, and directed by Spike Lee, who also played the part of Mookie in the film . Other members of the cast include Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson, Giancarlo Esposito, Bill Nunn, John Turturro, and Samuel L. Jackson . It is also notably the feature film debut of both Martin Lawrence and Rosie Perez . The movie tells the story of a Brooklyn neighborhood's simmering racial tension, which comes to a head and culminates in tragedy on the hottest day of summer . </P> <P> The film was a critical and commercial success and received numerous accolades and awards, including an Academy Award nomination for Lee for Best Original Screenplay and one for Best Supporting Actor for Aiello's portrayal of Sal the pizzeria owner . It is often listed among the greatest films of all time . In 1999, the film was deemed "culturally, historically, and aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry . </P> <P> Mookie (Spike Lee) is a 25 - year - old delivery man living in Bedford - Stuyvesant, Brooklyn with his sister, Jade (Joie Lee). He and his girlfriend, Tina (Rosie Perez), have a son . He works at the local pizzeria, but lacks ambition . Sal (Danny Aiello), the pizzeria's Italian - American owner, has been in the neighborhood for 25 years . His older son Pino (John Turturro) intensely dislikes blacks, and does not get along with Mookie . Because of this, Pino is at odds with both his father, who is likewise bigoted but refuses to leave the increasingly African - American neighborhood, and his younger brother Vito (Richard Edson), who is friendly with Mookie . </P> <P> The neighborhood is full of distinct personalities, including Da Mayor (Ossie Davis), a friendly local drunk; Mother Sister (Ruby Dee), who watches the neighborhood from her brownstone; Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn), who blasts Public Enemy on his boombox wherever he goes; and Smiley (Roger Guenveur Smith), a mentally disabled man, who meanders around the neighborhood trying to sell hand - colored pictures of Malcolm X and Martin Luther King, Jr . </P>

Where does do the right thing take place