Emmalyn Ilagan on Do The Right Thing

Do The Right Thing is a movie that has stirred up its audiences, through ambiguity and implied politics on controversial topics.  It defeats expectations in order to instill something deeper—understanding of the different sides in actions of intolerance, specifically in regards to racial tensions.  The words on violence of both Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcom X are significant to the story as well, and close the film to leave a contemplative audience to decide if they have learned something about the opposite view.

Consistently, themes about community, love, and hate arise through visual and verbal display.  The character Radio Rasheem expresses how Love and Hate are always battling one another when he runs into the protagonist, Mookie (played by the director, Spike Lee).  The opening of the movie also features Love Daddy (played by Samuel L. Jackson) sitting at his radio station atop of the block of all the movie’s focused events, alerting how today will be a scorching, hot day.  Throughout this day, the folk of the community interact, all the while with tensions escalating.  Buggin’ Out has a huge ordeal in Sal’s pizza shop about his wall of famous Italians.  Ironically enough, the actor who plays Buggin’ Out is actually half Italian.  Regardless, his black pride gathers Radio Rasheem, who carries his anthem playing boombox to make noise for those whose voices cannot be heard.  The two approach Sal at his shop, and after a long day of heat, all hell breaks loose with a fight, riot, murder, fire, and so on all in quick succession of how easily it is to create a ruckus that could’ve been prevented, but happened and caused an uprising.  The fire represents the passionate hatred spawned from misunderstandings and the differing stigmas of a colorful and “free” society according to different ethnic American groups.  After Sal’s Italian pizza shop is burned, the community turns on the Korean convenience shop, in which Sonny tries to tell them that they are the same—he managed to save his shop from the same destructive fate.  After the symbolic fire of Sal’s pizza shop, Love Daddy wakes up the city the following morning in order to send messages of loving one another, to “chill” out, and vote at the end of the film to give it a hopeful and thoughtful turn.

The angles used in this film are very often (if not always) at extremes.  Spike Lee purposefully uses Dutch angles to tip off the audience when situations or conversations are askew.  A great example of this usage is right when Buggin Out and Radio Rasheem enter Sal’s pizza shop, because their argument made everything that the film had built up to completely off.  Much of the movie does this in order to make prevalent the statement about the segregation of ethnic communities at the time the film was created (and presently still today).  There are plays on dominance in conversations too, swapping between high and low angles.  In the start of the film, when Smiley is trying to explain about the pictures he hands out of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcom X has an extremely low angle to signify the importance of his talk.  Overall, Do The Right Thing leaves its audience with a questioning of, “What is the “right” thing?” through its artistic cinematography and statements through them.

Wingfield Do the Right Thing

Emily Wingfield

Film Analysis

Dr. Permenter

30 June 2012

Blog 3 – Do The Right Thing

Washington Post

Heat plays a major role in this film; not only is the weather scorching hot, the racial tension is even hotter. The heat (weather wise) represents the racial heat on this street. Although, the majority of the heat is on the street with the Italians and Asians supposedly taking over the African Americans street – the heat is also in the kitchen of the pizza shop. The heat in the pizza shop is espically at the end of the film when Buggin Out and Radio Rasheem come into the pizza shop and Sal ‘kill’ his radio. The shop is then destroyed and the heat is taken to the limit with starting a fire to burn it down. Also, the use of bright reds, oranges and yellows symbolize the heat in the film. This can be seen throughout the whole film but mainly at the end when all the chaos happens with the pizza shop. The people living on that street had taken enough heat and were burning up to do something about it – whether is was right or wrong.

Emerson

Emerson’s main point about the film was do the characters in the film ‘do the right thing?’ And there is no clear-cut answer, because if each character would have taken a step back or listened to what the other character was saying, none of the rage and chaos might have happened.  The words wake up, love and hate are used throughout as guides for what audiences should take away from the film. If we would wake up and love instead of hate, things like burning down a pizza shop because he doesn’t have any black photos might not have happened. The radio DJ who is telling everyone this through the speakers, is the only character that stays cool throughout the film, both figuratively and literally.

Rogerebert

What people should take away from this film is not that it is filled with hate or love, but that it is a symbol of racism in America still exists today. Although today, I believe that the racial tension has been turned on to the Middle Eastern people because of September 11, but it still poses as a great example. Love and hate in the film can be seen when the three men sitting on the sidewalk are discussing how one day a black man will open a shop on this street. One of those three black men laughs in his face and basically says that it will never happen; he then proceeds to stand up and walk over to the fruit stand that is run by an Asian family to buy something. This is almost refreshing to see in the film because one of the black men that occupy the street is somewhat okay with other races moving in. 

Some shots that I would like to mention that were used throughout the film are the ones that stuck out the most to me. First, the oblique angle shots: this truly was disconcerting and make me feel exactly how Lee wanted me to feel – uncomfortable and knew something wrong was going on. If we consider these oblique angle shots and try to picture them as just being a mid shot of the character, it would not have the same effect but because these shots were so disconcerting, it gives off a more evident sense that the tension is really high.

Some other shots that made me feel uncomfortable were reaction shots, or shots that I felt like the character was talking directly to me. This was in the middle of the film when the camera zoomed into to the character while they were speaking slurs about other races. This made me feel uncomfortable because I felt like each character was talking directly to me and almost like they were saying those things to me. 

Do The Right Thing, Megan Highland

Hello Everyone!

Today I am going to be discussing Do the Right Thing, starred and directed by Spike Lee, this was a powerful and emotional at sometimes comical movie of times in a black neighborhood in Brooklyn NY. The cast is well rounded with many characters that add a little to every scene from Bugging Out(Giancarlo Esposito) to Mother Sister (Ruby Dae) many of these wonderful actors fill the screen and bring to life these 

characters and the story as if unfolds. 

          

When it first debuted the movie received many well received reviews marking Lee as a serious filmmaker in just a few short years. Lee brings such a strong message and allows the audience to take away their own interpretation as well as displaying his own throughout the movie.  According to a review by Jim Emerson, the message is very clear, WAKE UP!!! Spike Lee is challenging people to do something, to not just let things go, but to do the right thing and to think about what is really going on in the world around us. Following the steps and making it known as of those before him, such as Dr. King, Malcolm X and others, with the quotes at the end of the movie, trying to inspire some to just to look a little closer and wake up, pulling to the social issues and fight for the rights people deserve. 

         

At its time of opening June 30^th 1989 it was very controversial and many had things to say about the young Lee and many were confused and maybe that was the point to make people confused and to create controversy. Because then people are talking about it and it is out in the open, Ebert writes that it suppose to be confusing, but seem to capture the central feel of America today (talking of 1989), people are hateful, good people do bad things and do conflicting things, and maybe that is the point, that this is a true picture of how America was and in some ways still is today. Lee took a concept and it was relevant of the time and made a movie that would entertain and make people think, not just sit ideally by watching the screen change from one scene to the next.  

The scene that was my favorite was the end, when Mookie and Sal are standing in front of the burned down pizza shop and Mookie asks for his pay. The scene is nicely framed with both characters standing across from each other, eye to eye and the behind them is the ruin of their relationship, the employee/ employer and that things will never be the same from here on out. As the scene ends it pans out allowing the viewers to see the street and hear the radio DJ as if everything is normal and the burned down pizza shop in the background. That shot seemed to sum up the entire movie that things happen in the heat of the moment and in one second things can change and everything can be lost, including life. 

      

Coleman DeFilippo

Dr. R. Permenter

English 214

6/30/2012

Blog 3

                    Do the Right Thing was a somewhat typical Spike Lee movie. Often, Spike Lee likes to represent a strong sense of racial “back and forths.” I was familiar with this film prior to it being assigned throughout our class, however I didn’t focus on the plot’s detail and thematic undertones that the film possessed. This film didn’t stray for from what it is that Spike Lee likes to make the center of his films.

                      Don’t get me wrong, I respect Spike Lee and appreciate the work that he does as a writer, director, and producer. For example his film Four Little Girls was an eye-opening movie that I believe every young person in this country should watch, but that’s neither here nor there. Something that stood out to me specifically in the beginning of the film was how Lee decided to introduce the opening credits. It reminded me of an eighties music video, which I’m sure was the intent. With that said, I thought it was an interesting style choice for such a film. Additionally, the more I thought about it the more it fit. Although this was a racially driven film, in some aspects, Lee tries to add some sort of comic relief to nearly all of the characters

                        Some areas of the technical aspects of the films was the set. In particular, the one city block that the film takes place in. this is another technique that Lee is known for. He loves being able to shoot a movie in one area, or have the duration of a film be elongated through the length of a day, such was the case in Do the Right Thing. His usage of camera angles was good, but nothing too stand-out-ish.

                    Spike Lee’s usage of such robust and raw subject matter is the reason why I believe the movies and films that he produces get such high praise. Additionally, the editing that was used in this film was something that particularly stood out in some ways. Also the use of quotes at the end of the film, particularly the one by Martin Luther King Jr., was a nice touch to illustrate to the audience that no matter how bad things get, if racial feuds and battles dominate human existence, we as a people will never meet our full capacity as living entities.  

Do the Right Thing by Keshia Winder

Keshia Winder

Film Analysis 2012

Dr. Permenter

Do the Right Thing Blog 4

                Spike lee’s Do the Right Thing is a nostalgic reminder of living among a society of people who want more for themselves and have not connected the dots of how to retrieve a productive living. In the beginning of the film before the title appears the audience is giving a perception of an Africana Conscious flick but introducing the film with the National Negro Anthem; the second rhythm we hear is Fight the Power by Public Enemy. These sounds introduce a message before we see any major characters. Emerson’s critique is correct; Spike Lee indeed depiction of Caucasian business inside a predominately black neighborhood creates societal tension. 

                Two interesting scenes in the duration of the building up of conflict were in Sal’s restaurant while Sal was speaking with Mookie the camera highlighted Sal at low angle, making him appear larger and powerful; therefore leaving Mookie in a submissive possession.  In addition, the Mayor’s and Mother-Sister’s relationship was much the same. Mother-sister sits high and looks low upon the entire block while the Mayor (deemed most powerful drunk) walks the block back and forth depicted from a high angled camera. These simple adjustments suggest a shift occurring later in the film. Perhaps eye-level view or even a kind gesture among the two elders.  

                The second interesting depiction reoccurring throughout the film is the only owners, respected authority figures, or individuals with cars are Caucasians. The black natives of the community walk, sit around and complain offended. Buddy’s altercation with the Caucasian male, who bumped him and scuffed his sneakers revealed the importance of ownership in the black community. The white male owned the brownstone in the community; while the black people suggested they owned the property of the block and decide who moves in. Although this could have been an explosive moment, it was not until Radio Raheim was killed by the police that caused an uproar and separation among races. 

Mise en scene became very apparent towards the end. In the mist of chaos objects of daily use was readily available to use as weapons and symbolic objects. The radio’s death initiated Rahiems death, his identity is connected to the radio and the trash can that Mookie used to begin the raid represented a release of frustration inviting hate to flood. Mookie was tooled as the gate keeper under Sal’s leadership to keep his people in order therefore he used his role in opposition allowing them to destroy the establishment.

Do the Right Thing Kahrs

Merriah Kahrs 

Dr.Permenter

June 30, 2012

Blog Three 

When I first watched Do the Right Thing I was somewhat of a difficult film to watch. It was hard for me to understand what was fully going on but then about 30 minutes in I understood a little better. This movie was one that could offend someone with the racial differences throughout the film. But then again a movie is all how you interoperate it. The time period also played a role in how people would take the events throughout the film. In Emersons review he said “it’s a deliberately unsettling and provocative film”. This clearly makes my point it is can be unsettling for some viewers but his point is that it’s made to do just that. It was interesting to see how the African Americas didn’t own a shop but they were the reason the stores had business. They Italians and Koreans were the ones that owned the stores. The conflicts that occurred between the actors in the film was hard to watch but it’s something people need to see because racism is still here today.

            Another thing that I noticed in Emersons review is the work wake up. I feel that he was trying to get across to people that everyone is the same and there is no need to discriminate against one another. You might have different out looks on situations but that doesn’t give anyone the right to be disrespect another human being. All people needed to do is hear one another out and the conflicts would have been taken care of in the correct manor.  That is just like any other situation in today’s world if you think about it.

The colors and angles are something that was noticeable throughout the film. The colors and lighting I feel were used to show that they characters were uncomfortable in certain situations. The angles that were used were definitely low and high angles.  For example Radio Raheem was shown from a low angle to emphasize power and size. Any angle that was used in the film was there to give more meaning. One example of a high angle would be the scene with Mother Sister to show that she was looking down upon a character that was intoxicated.

What that being said I will have to say that that was probably my favorite scene is when Mother Sister is talking to Da Mayor. She is talking to him from her window, this gave me a wonderful understand of how there is distance between the characters when being filmed.  Then at the end of the film they are on the same level. That just shows how people can be on the same level even if one is a character like Mother Sister and another one is a drunk. I really enjoyed this movie and think that even film students should have to watch this film; it addresses many things that need to be brought to EVERYONES attention.  

Wirth

Do the Right Thing Blog

                In the end of the review in the Washington Post, the writer, Desson Howe, discusses very briefly how Spike Lee “has made a quantum leap into the ranks of America’s most serious-minded moviemakers.  I would have to completely agree with this statement by Howe.  Lee touched a subject that no one in America was paying much attention to until the Rodney King beatings that took place in LA in 1992.  Lee added a bit of racism from all sides of the film.  The Italian family secretly was racist to the African-Americans until about halfway through when the one son wanted to close the pizzeria and move back to their neighborhood and when Sal snapped at the ending of the movie and started calling Radio Raheem and others in the pizza shop niggers.  During the movie, the African-Americans  were pretty mellow to Sal and his family except for the one person, Buggin-out.

                In the second review that we read, I had to agree with the point about how Lee used his music throughout the film.  Every time we saw Radio Raheem, he was playing the same song by Public Enemy called “Fight the Power”.  The choice of the same song over and over added to the film’s way of proving a point that America needed to look at the racial bigotry that was occurring and not act like they don’t see what was going on.  It also is a look into the future of the movie.  As Radio Raheem was playing the song the whole movie, I was thinking to myself that maybe he would be arrested by the police or something would occur with the police.

                In the third and final by Roger Ebert, I would like to discuss his point towards the beginning about how people viewed this film.  I do not live in New York City and I was not alive back in 1989 when the film was released but I could totally see how everyone had a different opinion about the film and how they discussed it everywhere they went.  One thing in the film that really bothered me was the fact that all the cops were white.  My father is a retired police officer from a small, low crime town.  I thought it was ridiculous how Lee did this.  I understand that people persuade what they are showing to prove their point but not all white cops are racist also.  I think Lee was trying to just show the view that the community in Brooklyn had/has of the police.

                Throughout the film, the camera angles added so much to the meaning.  When Radio Raheem was shown, he was usually shown from a low camera angle showing power.  I think that that was meant to add to his size and make him look stronger and meaner.  I also think that adds to the surprise of the ending where you see him being lifted off the ground by the police officer.  Also they showed other individuals such as Da Mayor at a low camera angle at times and others, such as when Da Mayor was talking to Mother Sister, at a high angle to show that Mother Sister was looking down on Da Mayor because he was a drunk.

                I think one of the best parts of the movies throughout was when Lee showed the three African-Americans sitting at their corner discussing different aspects.  I like the fact that he didn’t have any writing or graffiti or anything else on the wall behind the men at all.  I thought that added to their attitude about how they didn’t do anything all day and just sat around chilling and talking.  I also liked how the camera angle was a head on shot and not at an angle.  At some points, I wish there were some over the shoulder shots just to feel as if you were involved in the conversation a little more but I can understand why Lee had shot the sequences the way he did.

Do the Right Thing Neva Lilla

     

  Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing is one of my favorite movies because it really speaks of the time it was made, and yet is always relevant and relatable.  Yes I know that some will argue that is might not be relevant to our time, 13 years later, or relatable to every viewer.  However it is very relatable for me, and I feel that if the viewer truly opens their mind, really tries to see life through other people’s eyes they will be able to relate to this movie.  This movie is very important time capsule of the time and feel of 1989, Spike Lee was not only trying to show the complications between races, class levels, and officials.  He was also making a statement of real situations that had happened in the 1980s.  For example the use of the choke hold with the baton that killed Radio Raheem was actually used by police officers during that time period and ended in a death of a black man.  Also the names of Michael Stewart, and Eleanor Bumpers said from the voices of the mob after Radio Raheem was killed were actual well known deaths from police officers.   I read the inspiration for this movie was a racial attack in 1986 in a pizzeria in Howard Beach Queens where a black youth was killed as he fled a group of white men.  Knowing all of this really places this movie into perspective for me.  Spike Lee shows what a day is like in a neighborhood.  No, most days do not end in riots but the energy he captured really shows how everything is in play to produce an explosive ending to a hot day with an atmosphere that that time brings.  The heat also really plays into the outcome in a way because with high temperatures and no way to really cool off, it is going to be very easy for a person to crack, or to start a situation that they never intended.

 In the Washington Post Review by Desson Howe says “late in the movie some of his conclusions could upset the most open-minded of viewers” I would have to disagree with this statement.  Overall Howe give a very good review of this film having great things to say about Spike Lee and the movie but if you were open minded I feel that the viewer would be more sympathetic then upset, yes it is upsetting that the pizzeria burnt down, and that Radio Raheem died.  However the conclusions from the movie make you think deeper into our society, make you sympathetic to Mookie because he was doing what he though was right, the tensions were so high and the mob was so angry Mookie knew something had to happen, and instead going after a person, going after the cops, or any other instance.  He felt he was doing the right thing.  Was he doing the right thing?  That is was he wants the viewer to question, the outcome may not have been the right thing, and actually the one who did do the right thing was Da Mayor who everyone brushed off as a drunk who knew nothing, however he was the one to tell Mookie from the beginning to “do the right thing” and he was telling people not to go into the building, and brought Sal and his sons to safety, outside the mob. 

I really liked what Emerson said in his review, “are we going to learn to live together?”  He places this movie into a good perspective of the ending.  Can people learn to live together, can people really come together, and can people really look past superficial differences between each other.  In 2012 we are still asking the same question. 

The editing and mise en scenes in this film are excellent.  From the opening sequence with Rosie Perez’s amazing dancing to Fight the Power by Public Enemy I was hooked, I knew this film was going to be great.  I love how Spike Lee uses a lot of oblique angles on Da Mayor and Mother Sister, Buggin Out in the pizzeria and Radio Raheem in the pizzeria.  He also likes to use sever low and high angles giving a very particular feeling for the viewer.  I noticed a lot of mise en scenes throughout this film, the first clip you see of Mookie is a mise en scene with the camera coming into the room with him counting money.  Another example is when he is walking down the street then stops to talk to Mother Sister.  The most notable mise en scene for me though is at the end with Mother Sister and Da Mayor in her apartment talking, you see a close up of their conversation then they start to walk towards the window, the camera scales back, backs away through the window and then pans down the street all without a cut.

I love the dynamics of this movie, and who he had to play the characters, for example the relationship and tension Spike Lee put in the characters of Mother Sister (Ruby Dee) and Da Mayor (Ossie Davis).  In reality Ruby Dee and Ossie Davis have been married for a very long time. And you can see this wonderful connection between them.  I also love how he has Buggin Out make a huge fuss about the fact that there are no black people on the wall of fame in Sal’s pizzeria but in fact Giancarlo Esposito (Buggin Out) is Italian and black, and considers himself Italian American because he was born in Italy. 

This movie is a great movie with a very important message of asking people to “WAKE UP” asking people to LOVE and to try to get along.    

   

Nicole White Do the Right Thing Blog

 

As I was reading the Washington Post review again, one line really stuck out to me; “But director Lee, with pluralistic panache, keeps things open to wide interpretation.” This leaves us with the final question of Did Mookie do the right thing? I personally don’t think he did. Sal gave him a job and also told him he would always have a job at that work place. I thought Mookie was lazy; he would always take forever to deliver a pizza. The way Sal approached the scene with the music was a little outrageous, but then again, it’s his shop. He wanted them to turn the music down and they wouldn’t cooperate. I don’t think Sal did anything wrong in this situation. He is the owner of the Pizzeria, he can choose whether brothers go on the wall or not, or how he wants music turned down. Sal didn’t kill Radio, the police officers did. Mookie shouldn’t have taken his anger out on Sal.

As I was reading the Emerson review, he makes a point of saying, “You start thinking: If only Sal, who is always yelling at everybody, hadn't had such a quick temper. If only the customer had just turned down the volume on his radio. If only...” I actually thought this exact thing while watching this movie. Radio had it coming to him; they all barged into Sal’s place causing a scene. You hate to see someone die over things like this, but he wouldn’t cooperate when Sal asked him to turn down the music. Things had gotten out of hand very quickly in this scene.

As I was watching Dr. Permenter’s commentary on the movie, she was making a point about how the black viewers saw this movie differently than the white viewers back when this movie came out. She made the comment that the white people viewed it as the “owner of the pizza shop doing nothing wrong.” That is exactly how I felt watching this movie. This last scene escalated the way it did because they came into his shop causing a scene. Yes we know Sal is always yelling at people, but that’s just Sal. They all know that’s how he is, but yet they still go eat at his place. Like I stated above, it’s his shop, he can run it however he wants to run it.

While watching this movie, I noticed the use of many different camera techniques. We see the use of an extreme long shot when we see the shot of the street, allowing you to see down the street for a little ways. We see the use of an extreme close up when Love Daddy is telling the people to wake up. We only see the alarm clock, the top of the microphone, and Love Daddy’s lips. The camera then slowly zooms out to a high angle shot. We see the use of an oblique angle when the Mayor was talking to Mother Sister. This is showing us that something isn’t right there.  Reverse shots were also used in the scene when the Mayor was talking to Sal. We see the camera switch points of view for each character. I noticed many low and high angles were used quite a bit in this film. Lastly, we see a pan used when they are showing the neighborhood trying to convince Mookie that Sal was bad.

  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wCL3OtOzYuQ

In this scene, we start out with an extreme close up of the alarm clock, the microphone, and Love Daddy’s lips. The camera slowly begins to zoom out to a close up shot where we see Love Daddy’s face. It eventually zooms to a medium shot allowing us to see part of Love Daddy’s body. After it zooms to medium shot, we being to see the camera start moving toward a high angle long shot. This is allowing us to see the inside of his place, as well as part of the outside. Eventually the camera stops zooming out and begins to pan. This allows for us to see the extreme long shot of the street.

Do the Right Thing: Jordan Mojzer-Brown

I did not know what to expect from Do the Right Thing (1989) so for the first twenty minutes I was trying to grasp what the story line was about. As the movie progressed, I started to understand it. As Jim Emerson said in his review of the film, “…it’s a deliberately unsettling and provocative film,” and it certainly is.  I can understand why some people might not like this film, especially those viewing it back in 1989. There was a pizzeria owned by Italians and a small market owned by Koreans, yet the African Americans did not have a store but they were the patrons of the businesses.   I believe that African Americans don’t want to see other African Americans not doing something to better themselves, so I understand how that can upset some viewers.

 I noticed the continuous use of the oblique angle as the movie went on. At the beginning it is used to inform the audience that things are not okay in this neighborhood. When the three men come into the pizzeria it is used again but this time as a foreshadowing that something bad is going to happen. In this scene the low angle is used to show the men’s dominance they portray in the pizzeria.

The one scene that stands out in my mind is when Mookie and Jane are sitting on the curb towards the ending of the riot.  The Koreans and their shop, which has not been disturbed, frame them. There is nothing on that side of the street that says there has been a riot. In a slower motion, as the camera movies in on Mookie while two young African American men are getting carried away in handcuffs. As this happens the camera is focusing in on Mookie and his expression and the look of disbelief in his eyes. At this point everything else in the background is out of focus and we start to hear the screaming of Mother Sister and soft jazz playing in the background.

At the end of the film I had to decide what I thought about the riot situation because Spike Lee didn’t tell me what to think. As said in the Washington Post Review, “…it keeps things open to wide interpretation”.  I had to ask myself , did I think that Mookie did the right thing by throwing the trashcan into the window? He seemed to have started the second round of the riot. He had to choose which side he wanted to be on; either his employer’s or his neighborhood’s, and at that moment he chose his neighborhood’s. Do I agree with it?  I’m not sure. He could have kept the peace but then again one of his friends was just killed by a police officer so he was emotional and he let his emotions take over.   

As I let the movie sink in, I realized in the heat of the moment things can happen and doing the right thing is not an option.  If someone I knew well was killed I would want to take some action like Mookie did. It’s a natural, human response to violence.