Do the Right Thing
This week's film is Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing. In addition to the film, I'll inlcude one reading on electronic reserve, but I'd also like you to take a look at this poem by Ai, "Riot Act, April 29, 1992," which speaks to some of the issues in Lee's film.
12 Comments:
Maybe this is a little harsh, but I hated this week's movie. I liked the quotes at the end, but the film dragged, and everything from the characterization of people to the way the shots were sometimes at a diagonal drove me crazy. I hated how the retarded character was portrayed almost comically, I couldn't identify much with any of the characters, and that makes it very difficult to effectively communicate the message. Maybe I just didn't watch in the frame of mind that Lee intended and am being too harsh, but if I hadn't watched this for class, I would have turned it off.
~Karen
I enjoyed Do the Right Thing because of the strong conflicting binaries Lee creates. These are all over the place, but a few that stood out:
Music: Sam L. Jackson's radio station and Radio Raheem. I think the radio station was called 108 The Love or something. Radio Raheem was always blasting Public Enemy: agressive music, perhaps verging on hate filled. This plays into Radio's Love / Hate brass knuckles - presenting that binary very strongly.
Jobs: The only characters to have jobs were the non-blacks and Mookie. The three guys sitting around (Sweet Dick) are confused by this fact. They wonder why the Korean Family can be so successful and yet they aren't. Is it because they are lazy and merely sit around all day, or is it because they are black? I think Sweet Dick says its because they are lazy. At the end, the Korean guy convinces the men that "We're the same," and they spare his business. This is a complicated issue - one that Lee never answers, but must be interpreted by the viewer.
Doing the Right thing: Da Mayor's advice is interpreted by many characters differently. When he saves the boy from being run over, the boy's mother is angry at him, even though it would appear he did the right thing. In the moment, Mookie probably believed throwing the garbage can through Sal's window captured the injustice and hatred he felt from Radio's death. But was it the right thing?
MLK / Malcom X Quotes: These quotes summed up the movie perfectly - the advice of two great black leaders. However the words of wisdom are difficult to understand, and almost seem to contradict. Even more potent was seeing their picture tacked to the wall of the burned out pizzeria. In that captured image, they've put aside their differing ideologies and are smiling together. This contrasts powerfully with the surroundings - the outcome of riotous hate.
These contrasting binaries are what makes DTRT such a great work. Racism and its effects are never black and white, yet the stark outcome of violence blinds people. Lee understands this, and this is why he is an influential filmmaker.
-Tim D
I don't know how anyone can take this movie seriously. Its basically like watching that movie Friday with Ice Cube - it pretty much just follows the life of a bunch of African Americans in an inner city. I found that there really wasn't much plot and character development. Rather than feeling like we were part of the movie like most movies accomplish, this movie made the audience feel like they were very much on the outside looking in as spectators. I also found the movie to drag on in many parts. There was, however, some interesting camera work as mentioned earlier with the diagonal camera angles. This cinematography really added to the uneasiness of the scene.
-John R.
In response to Karen, I respect anyone who is capable of admitting that they may have had the wrong impression about something or someone. I feel the portrayal of the retarted character, Smiley, was not meant to be taken in a comical sense, but to highlight the diversity of people and their interactions in daily life. I myself have witnessed interactions between people who are mentally disabled and those who are not that were similar to what took place in the film. And while it could appear comical, that is reality for some people; and what's discouraging is that many people with mental disabilies don't get the support and guidance they need to live satisfying and productive lives. However, one important thing to note is that even Smiley, who's cognitive and social abilities may not have been at the same levels as those of the majority of the characters in the film, was able to perceive the significance of leaders such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcom X and take pride in them.
As far as having difficulty identifying with the film "in the frame of mind that Lee intended," I feel as though the only frame of mind that Lee may have intended for viewers to have is probably the same one that would be necessary for all films-an open frame of mind. Because I am African American and have witnessed events similar to those that were seen in the film, whether those events involved myself, friends and family, or others, I may have been predisposed to having a greater understanding of the film and the issues presented in it. Yet, the majority of the films that we have seen this semester were films that I probably would not have chosen to see on my own had it not been required for class. As a result, I've tried to view every film openly and objectively before coming to any conclusions about the material presented and to obtain some background information on the films and their issues so that in the end, my opinions (being subjective in nature) of the films would reflect both my pre-existing internal convictions as well as any insight that I may have gained from seeing things from different perspectives. This may explain why I was one of the only people in class who raised their hand and acknowledged that they enjoyed 'Citizen Kane' as opposed to most viewers in the class who responded about the film and were potentially better able to identify with the film, perhaps based on ethnic or personal backgrounds, than I was.
I wanted to comment on the quotes as part of the mis-en-scene at the end of Do the Right Thing. Before the credits begin rolling, there are two quotes by two incredibly influential figures. However, they are in apparent confliction with one another in their messages. The first one, by Martin Luther King Jr. addresses violence as being wrong and not the answer. To quote, “Violence as a way of achieving racial justice is both impractical and immoral.” The second quote, from Malcolm X, states that “I don't even call it violence when it's self-defense, I call it intelligence.” These two quotes provide the viewer with a final piece to go on as they interpret the movie in their own way. I think this movie really could be interpreted by the viewer in many ways, which is probably what Spike Lee is trying to enhance here; their interpretation. By including the words of these two influential figures, he is enhancing the viewer’s sense of the severity of the film’s subject.
Avery said:
I agree with Dashaun 100%. I could relate to many of the events that happened in the movie maybe because I am African American. I feel that some people don't view this movie with a open mind. I enjoyed thid movie just the same as I enjoyed the other movies in this class. I feel that Spike Lee made this movie to bring many issues that blacks were facing in the their community. He addressed a issue that people don't like talking about Racism and the stereotypes that people have for different cultures.
I think it's easy to forget, given the high-tension ending of the film, just how funny it was. The first 60 minutes did a great job of introducing the characters and was actually a lot of fun. I especially liked the relief provided by the three old men on the streetcorner.
I also noticed in Lee's production notes on the DVD that he viewed the burning of Sal's as the neighborhood's "statement". I can't decide if I'd expect Sal to come back to the neighborhood or not, since it's obvious that there's no respect or loyalty on the neighborhood's part. Sure, he'd been there for 25 years, but that only serves to further remove the neighborhood's actions from what The Right Thing is.
Lee also states that for Mookie, doing the right thing involves delivering pizza and providing for his kid and Tina. Lee makes no mention at all to morality, which bugged me. The neighborhood completely lacks a social conscience and Lee makes it clear that there's no desire for one. Anyone can say that Mookie seems shallow, but Lee created Mookie and is the only authority that can speak to his real motivation.
Sal has no reason to think his restaurant and livelyhood won't be destroyed again, next week, by a band of people who just don't care.
I did not think the movie was very effective in its purpose of advocating non-violence and anti-oppression. It was too lighthearted and resembled more of a music video to communicate its message very effectively. It seems that racial slurs and violence come off as something to be taken lightly and to be taken as part of everyday life, from what I observed of Sal's character, and Buggin' Out's character. It's true that there are images and themes directed towards racial equality and the Civil Rights Movement, but I believe the movie should not have been so light hearted as to lose its message in all the comedy.
Get over the character development, no plot crap. Its about what this movie represents. It shows a diversity of people getting along for the most part and cohabitating until someone who just wants to cause trouble gets his way and all hell breaks loose. Heat has been shown to contribute to aggression so its no wonder why the racial tension heats up. This movie brings up a lot of situations in everyday life that we have to deal with.
Apart from the main message that this movie is supposed to deliver, I also enjoyed it for its characters and humor. I thought that the three men who always hung out in front of the red wall, although important to the development of the plot, were hilarious. I agree with the comments about how this movie places the audience as an outsider observing the day to day activities of an African American community which almost makes it like a documentary in some ways. Overall I think the movie, although slow at times, was quite entertaining.
I enjoyed this movie simply for the realization of how life is in black neighborhoods. It was interesting how the setting of the movie took place all in one day like the movie "Friday" with Ice Cube. I thought Lee was exaggerating when Buggin Out made a big deal about there being no blacks hanging on the wall of fame. Other than that it painted a pretty good picture.
-Christopher Dunlap
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