Blog #7

Do The Right Thing (1989)

Directed by Spike Lee

The film, Do The Right Thing, by Spike Lee portrays a small Brooklyn neighborhood struggling to come together due to racial divide. Throughout the film, the audience notices that the racial division goes beyond black and white but also asian, jewish and hispanic ethnicities as well. The influence of the American New Wave was very prominent throughout the course of the film. The cinematography aspects showed the power dynamic between characters and their groups. For example, when the black male with the radio walked into the pizza shop with Buggin’ Out, the scene shot them at a low angle. The effect of the low angle provides a power difference. The black male with the radio is seen as more dominant as he starts to argue with Sal. Sal, behind the counter, was positioned as the powerless figure. The use of shot reverse shot during their argument was impactful because it revealed how much tension was going on in the room at the time. There was also funky music being played by the radio. This displayed how the diegetic sound was important to the scene, as Sal breaks the radio out of anger.

This film focussed heavily on violence and police brutality. The racial divide between the groups was the sole reason for the outbreaks of violence. This film shows many stereotypes of each of these ethnic groups described in the film. This helps the audience understand the time period, how Americans still act toward each other and how ugly and inhumane these violent acts are. What I thought was extremely important in this film was the ending. More particularly, the credits of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X’s statements. King’s speech described how violence is not the answer, and that it only prolongs the divide rather than forging community. Malcolm X’s speech was the direct opposite, as he believed that responding with violence acts as a measure of “self-defense” when your people are suffering. These two perspectives were obviously monumental for the Civil Rights Movement at the time, and still are today. I agree with King’s perspective, although I understand the response of a violent attack when one of your friends gets killed for no reason. There is a lot of emotion built up within these communities from the prejudices they all face. This film brought up a lot of issues socially and politically. America still faces some of these problems even today.