• Is it age appropriate?

  About our ratings

  (Flash is loading. If this text does not disappear you need to install the latest flash version)

  Not age appropriate for kids under 16, age appropriate for kids over 17; suggested age 16.

• Is it any good?

  4.0

• Common Sense says

  Spike Lee's masterwork of racial unrest; discuss with kids.

Why We Rated This for Ages 16–17

What to watch out for

• Messages:

  Blame and anger lie just below the surface of civility in humankind. That blame and anger often take the form of racial prejudice and, no matter what previous relationships have been formed, decency and morality disappear when basic, crueler instincts are set free.
• Role models :

  There are no heroes in this film. Every character is flawed to some degree.  People cope with life in myriad ways: withdrawal, alcohol abuse, overt anger, disappearance into music or history, or exhibiting a persistent, self-destructive urge for confrontation. When pushed to the brink, the universal response for these characters is to strike out, to fight, and to destroy.
• Violence:

  A fire hydrant sends gushing water into a crowd, nearly causing a riot when police and fire fighters turn their high-pressure hoses on those who've gathered. Several tense scenes are played when groups of angry Brooklyn residents confront and threaten each other. Finally, the entire neighborhood erupts as barely-controlled, intensifying fury sets blacks against whites. The street is ablaze with violence: a man is killed when police put him in a choke hold; rioters set fire to a business; vicious fist fights take place, as well as an attack with a baseball bat.
• Sex:

  One seduction scene in which a couple engages in repeated kisses, followed by extreme close-ups as the man begins to undress his female partner and then seductively runs ice over her bare breasts, legs, and thighs.
• Language:

  From beginning to end, the harsh and offensive language is non-stop. The f-word in various forms is heard literally hundreds of times. Also constant use of "motherf----r," "s--t," "ass," "hell."  Racial slurs are frequent with taunts and insults to Italians, Jews, Puerto Ricans, and above all, African-Americans. The "n" word is heard persistently. 
• Consumerism:

  Miller Hi Life Beer.
• Drinking, drugs, & smoking:

  Beer drinking in various scenes. A leading character begins drinking beer very early in the morning and is intoxicated throughout the film.

What Parents Need to Know

About Do the Right Thing

Families Can Talk About