MMMMalcolm…MMMMartin. By Holly Williams

Who could forget the presence of the brother in Do the Right Thing following everyone with pictures of black heroes in his hands stuttering? When we saw this movie, we all had to wonder at first what was Smiley’s purpose? One would assume some of us either felt bad because we knew he was a man with special needs and or we thought he was irritating due to the reactions of some of the characters in the movie when he would just pop up pushing photos into people’s hands. Interesting enough this character played by Roger Guenveur Smith was not even going to be in the film. Originally Spike Lee had not written this character into the movie but eventually it was created specifically for him. Smith literally pitched the character relentlessly to be in this film and because of his tenacity Spike relented and decided to use the character invented by Smith. Ultimately Smiley’s role in the movie even though seemingly small was profound and had an immensely powerful impact.

One most important cinematic tools employed by Spike Lee was the fact of Smiley being alone through out a lot of the film and or ignored by almost all the characters. It was a symbolic journey through the apathetic African American attitude seen in many young blacks who are ignorant of their own history. It also symbolized the lonely journey of men like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X who sacrificed it all in defense of their people and the personal sacrifice of ones life to a cause many were and in some cases still are scared to pick up. It was these voices of liberation now silenced that resonate most with people at the grassroots level who celebrate their lives and historical accomplishments today. Ironically it was smiley that lit the fire that burned down the Pizza shop and he also placed a picture of Martin and Malcolm X on the wall while the shop was burning. Just like Martin and Malcolm lit the fire of African American consciousness and stoked the flames of societal change.

What smiley represented was ancestral memory personified. The scene set in Do the Right Thing was a hostile, racially biased, uncompromising environment where tensions were high. Each character in the film represented some aspect of real life racial interaction we could all relate to in a sometimes exaggerated form. Smiley had various pictures in his hands of Dr Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. The picture that was shown the most was the one of Malcolm and Martin meeting in person for the first time. This expressed a balance of peace and bBy any means necessary. This basically expressed the duality in the struggle of African Americans for not just civil rights but human rights. Smiley was a constant echo in the film. If one would look closely you would realize the potent symbolism he embodied as the conscience of two different movements basically coexisting and fighting the same enemy at the same time. He was a living hieroglyphic bringing us to a deeper understanding that the Black liberation movement and the Civil Rights movement took diametrically opposed attacks on the same oppressive system.  He gives us the understanding that they both were relevant and though seemingly opposite the shared the same ultimate vision of liberation of African Americans. The message was Fight the Power by any and all means necessary from within the system as Martin intended or from without the system as Malcolm intended. Dual roads, one destination the end result is liberation. Smiley – though he spoke few words his message spoke volumes.