Marija's Film Analysis - Do the Right Thing

Director and actor Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing is a film depicting racial conflict in the city of New York during 1980's. It centres around a group of African Americans, Italians and a Korean couple sharing a block in Brooklyn and the anger and frustration they feel towards each other which is only amplified by the intense heat throughout the film. The director makes it clear that the main theme in the film is racism by the conflicts that arise between the characters based on race. An example of this is when Radio Raheem is trying to buy batteries for his radio at the Korean store. He treats the owners, Sunny and Kim, with disrespect because of their race. Also with well thought out cinematography we are able to witness how these characters truly feel about one another and sharing their neighbourhood. Another theme in the film includes rage which is ultimately the cause of the consequences at the end of the film with no one willing to compromise but instead trying to solve their problems with anger and violence. The director shows this with the use of colours and medium shots of the characters. Conflict is also a theme that appears throughout the film with most of the characters getting into arguments over little things. This is portrayed in an interesting way through the use of colour and music.

The film allows the audience to experience a day in Brooklyn, New York on the hottest day of summer where the sun isn’t the only thing bringin the heat. The main character in the film is Mookie, played by Spike Lee, who is a young African American obsessed with money. He works in a pizzeria owned by Sal with his two sons Pino and Vito. Conflicts arise when Buggin Out demands that Sal put some pictures of African Americans on his wall of fame. Sal refuses which causes Buggin Out to seek help and boycott Sals pizzeria which results in severe consequences at the end of the film. You also get to see conflict between other characters throughout the film such as mother sister and Da Mayor.

Do the right thing deals with the issue of racism with the use of a diverse range of characters each representing different views on racial tension. One character that really stands out in the film is Radio Raheem. He represents the voice of African Americans or rather his stereo does with the song Fight the Power by Public Enemy. Spike Lee wanted this song to be the theme of young black America. Another character worth mentioning is Buggin Out. He is responsible for most of the racial tension in the film as he is the perfect example of discrimination based on race. This is shown in many scenes in the film especially the one where another character bumps into him and gets dirt on his new shoes. Buggin Out becomes furious and tells the man to get out of his neighbourhood even though the man says he was born there. This is because he is of different race.

As well as the characters cinematography is also used to describe how the characters of different race feel about each other. An example of this is the scene where the two white cops drive past the three black men who are always sitting at the corner. The shot is seen in slow motion so the audience have a lot of time to study the expressions of each character as they all stare at each other. There is a look of disgust on their faces which tells us that they have a strong feeling of hate towards each other. When the shot returns back to normal speed we hear the cops and the three men call each other a waste.

By using colour to set the mood spike lee has shown that rage is a strong theme in the film. A lot of the characters wear warm colours such as red and yellow. Buggin Out is wearing a yellow shirt and Radio Raheem wears a mix of red, yellow and orange. This not only represents the heat but is symbolic of the rage that the characters have inside because we know that these two characters show a lot of anger and violence throughout the film. Another example of this is the bright red wall that is seen behind the three men sitting at the corner. The colour of the wall represents the anger and frustration the men are feeling as they sit around and complain. The colour blue is also used in the film as the opposite to red. Da mayor is wearing a blue suit and this shows that he is not full of rage like most of the others but instead he is a calm character.

Spike Lee also uses cinematography to show rage throughout the film. In the scene where Sal smashes Radio Raheems stereo with a baseball bat all the shots are medium so we can see the characters express their rage not only through their facial expressions but through their actions and body language as well. The camera switches from character to character, mostly between Radio Raheem, Buggin Out and Sal, making the argument and the characters anger seem more intense by the second. As the argument progresses we see more and more of Sals body in the shots as his rage turns his words into actions and he starts to smash Radio Raheems stereo with the baseball bat.

There is a lot of conflict seen throughout the film that the director portrays in a symbolic way. In one scene conflict is shown between two characters with the use of music. the scene im referring to is when Radio Raheem is walking down the street and a group of men tell him to turn of his music. When he doesn’t turn it off one of the men steps forward as if he’s challenging him and turns his own music up. Radio Raheem responds to this by turning his music up even higher. This is symbolic in the way that their stereos represent their voices shouting at each other. Another way this theme is represented is through the use of colour. An example of this is the colour of clothing that the brothers Pino and Vito wear. Pino is shown wearing white and Vito is wearing black which shows that they have entirely different personalities and views on race which explains why they are constantly fighting. Sals personality is also reflected through the colour of his clothing which is green. This shows that Sal is a neutral character and this is also the way he feels about black and white people. Another scene I think portrays this theme is when Radio Raheem explains the relationship between love and hate to Mookie. "Let me tell you the story of right hand - left hand, the tale of good and evil". I think this is a good example of the battle between the right thing to do and the wrong thing which is clearly something SpikeLee wants his audience to think about. When Radio Raheem explains this his dialogue and movements are aggressive showing us the conflict between the two sides: good and evil, love and hate. This also symbolises the conflict between the different races in the film.

Spike Lee uses these three themes in his film to send out a message showing the audience the racial conflicts at that time that still exist today and that there are always decisions to be made and whether you choose the right one or the wrong one there will always be consequences. By ending the film with quotes from both Martin Luther King Jr and Malcom X, one against violence and one for it, it leaves the audience to think about what really is the right thing.