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.