The African-American inner city is a place where family can come in the form of gangs or collective areas, such as the pizzeria in the movie, Do the Right Thing, and yet these places and the people that find surrogate family in the inner city often only lead lives of violence. There is a common gathering place, in this case the pizza shop. Social networking happens in the streets and in the urban setting. There are many ethnic mixes, and in this case the Italian pizza shop is owned by Italian immigrants, and this is significant. Urban isolation, and the daily struggles and tension are a powerful part of, Do the Right Thing. The fights that erupt as the heat in the inner city rises, and so do tempers and frustrations. Spike Lee does a great job of revealing the realities of how harsh life in the inner city is for those who are in an urban jungle, and how that will shape their lives. The inner city can be a good thing or a bad thing, for African Americans it is often a bad thing as they get caught up in gangs thinking that this is the only way they will have family. This is true in some aspects, because depending on the family, children can be abandoned due to drugs or be subject to violence. In the movie, one of the children, who lives around the pizzeria, is a little girl is abused at home. This often happens in broken homes, like the ones depicted by Spike Lee. In other cases children come from good homes. For example, if one comes from a prominent African American family, they know that everyone takes care of everyone, they work together to take care of each other. In the film, there are several older black men that act like grandfathers to the people on the block. This is reminiscent in of one of the class readings, Family M... ... middle of paper ... ... the beginning of their Civil Rights careers. In the end both were assassinated, and Malcolm was shot by a black activist who did not like his move away from his original ideas on violence, which changed when he became a Muslim. In conclusion, this film gives one a sense of what it is like in the inner city for all races. Spike Lee shows how the “ghettos” can become a destructive place and bring an end to many innocent lives. Do the Right Thing, sends this message to viewers, despite the harsh conditions that surround those in the film. Works Cited Do the Right Thing. Dir. Spike Lee. Perf. Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee. 1989. Universal Pictures. Film Gates, H. Family Matters. 2009. Best American Essays. Class Readings 2014 Conley, D. Race the Power of an Illusion, 2003, Interview with Dalton Conley, Class Readings 2014
Do The Right Thing was Spike Lee’s first landmark film. Do The Right Thing is a movie that brings awareness to the racial tensions when people in a Brooklyn neighborhood of different racial and cultural backgrounds coexist, which ends in a tragedy. The film was a great success receiving many of awards and earned two Academy Award nominations for Best Original Screenplay and Best Supporti...
It’s here as a reminder for us to respect one another, no matter how difficult it may be. The film’s title”Do the Right Thing” can be studied unto itself. The idea of do what you think is right may differ from person to person, ethnic group to ethnic group. When Mookie throws the trash can into the window of Sal’s Pizzeria making the already now large riot become even more thunderous, is he doing the right thing? We followed this man throughout the film and to see him make a decision like that, we are left to wonder. By the end of the film. This the question is the one that we think the most about. We as a community need to learn to love more and grow together than hate each
The 1989 film Do the Right Thing explored the conflict of racial tension and unique camera elements. Directed and produced by Spike Lee, Do the Right Thing combined a series of low and high-angle shots while also incorporating close ups and slow motion. Through the use of panning, the audience was able to get a break from the action and reflect on the events of the film. Spike Lee’s collaboration of film components added humor and realistic emotions to the story. While the controversy of whether Mookie “did the right thing” will always be in favor of the viewer. Depending on how an audience member connects with the film will spark a variety of different emotions for that person. Do the Right Thing is a film that reflects both controversial ideals and unique film elements.
During the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960’s in the United States, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X had different methods and philosophies for trying to accomplish the very similar goal of civil rights for African Americans. Although Martin Luther King, Jr. had a philosophy of non-violence and racial integration and Malcolm X believed violence might be necessary and believed in racial separation, the two leaders had a lot in common: “Martin and Malcolm have become the two most recognizable African American icons of the twentieth century”(Carson 22). Both men had similar backgrounds. Their fathers were Baptist ministers and both became religious leaders. Martin Luther King, Jr. was a Southern Baptist minister inspired by the Hindu leader Mohandas K. Ghandi, and Malcolm X was a minister in the Nation of Islam, inspired by the teachings of Elijah Muhammad. However, according to at 1965 article in Ebony magazine, “they followed different paths that brought them both into the international limelight, espousing radically different philosophies and yet, strangely, working toward the same end—the winning of the dignity of manhood for the black man in America” (Violence Versus Non-Violence). Both men received multiple threats to their lives during their work and both ended up being assassinated Malcolm X on February 21, 1965 and Martin Luther King, Jr. on April 4, 1968. According to Ebony, both men were highly educated and they spread their messages through the “white press,” which “maligned Malcolm and extolled King-seemingly without realizing how close were the goals of the two men” (Violence Versus Non-Violence). Though they had differing philosophies and methods, Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X had the same goal: civil ...
People living in this neighborhood had affectionate love for Sal, but later on they became voiceless the moment their power to run their own businesses was taken away. It is because of communication breakdown that makes tension build up in the movie and ultimately ending up with Sal’s store burnt down and Radio Raheem killed by racist police officers. Spike Lee did an excellent job in the production of this movie. Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing (1989) has won numerous awards in the cinematographic category. It has won awards in best music, best pictures, and best original screenplay. Indeed, this is a masterpiece that deserves to scoop such awards. This is a movie which lovers of the hip-hop culture would enjoy most. Any fan of the hip-hop culture should be familiar with Spike’s groundbreaking movie released in
While Vito and Pino couldn’t be more different, it doesn’t change the fact that in the end, the blacks in the neighborhood still end up destroying the men’s pizza place. There are many other powerful and important characters that help shape the theme of “Do the Right Thing”, but all in all, this is a movie about racial tension and a very, very hot summer day.
The film invites the fantasy, black men exist in childlike relations to economic matters and would cede their material gains to be in a certain set of social relations
Shelton “Spike” Lee is an auteur known for his narrative style and his strong presence within the black community. His movies often portray an issue all too common for black and brown communities. His hit Do The Right Thing (1989) brought to light the casual racism within a community and the still controversial issue of police brutality. This was what audiences assumed they would receive with Chi-raq (2015). Chi-raq also focused on the importance of a strong sense of community and the lack of love within one but it did so by turning a mirror in the face of the black and brown men in gangs. Do The Right Thing focused on the interconnection of a community; Chi-raq focused on what we allow to divide us. Along with this theme of community, the movies held stark differences in narrative style, tone, and editing.
Although Boyz n the Hood helps to resist the stereotypes of young black men, and shed light on the real, lived experiences and institutional oppression of black people and young black men in particular, the film also reinscribes a stereotypical narrative that all black people are impoverished and become incriminated in gang activity. Not all black people experience poverty and gang activity. One could see this film as perpetuating the single black experience as if all black people are exactly alike and have exactly the same
As conventions evolve, the cultural regard of race remains a contentious issue. Do the Right Thing, (1989), directed by Spike Lee, depicts the increasing racial tension in a lower class Brooklyn neighborhood. Controversy begins as members of the community find a “wall of fame” outside of Sal’s pizzeria degrading to the urban black culture of the community as it displays exclusively Italian actors. The outcry of complaints evolves into a protest, led by Radio Raheem, a young black man. As tensions build, the situation rapidly disintegrates into violence. The police flood the scene, a white officer, refuses to release his chokehold on Raheem, killing him. His friend Mookie, outraged, throws trash through the window of Sal's pizzeria. Before the
movie, “Do the Right Thing” is one of the all-time pieces of art with great depiction of how race and class have dominated the society. The setting takes place in New York City, a location that is mostly populated by African Americans. The setting is full of paintings, which reveal the obsession of the blacks against the racial segregation that they face. The African Americans are stereotyped as hoodlums and whenever a crime occurs, the police go on a shooting mission and end up killing them for alleged lawbreaking (Lee & Lisa 12). The population gets infuriated and the theme of violence heightens. “Do the Right Thing” aims to teach about the application of violence in solving social issues, and the need for people to consider better ways to bring upon peace.
Harlem Nights is a block of violence and poverty. One of those nights I lost my best friend, Tyson. We used go out and “hustle” so we could come up with a meal, which is what we were doing that night. We had nothing to live for during that time in our lives, but we were in it together. But, one night, everything went downhill.
Conley, D. Race the Power of an Illusion, 2003, Interview with Dalton Conley, Class Readings
The plot follows the life story of Caine (played by Tyrin Turner). Caine’s father, stereotypically, is a drunken murderous gangster and his mother a crack addict. Caine reflects on all his misadventures as a young, black, troubled teen including racist police officers, ex-con friends, and gang related activity. This movie plays on many stereotypes of African American men in a comical fashion. Contributing to the strengthening of these stereotypes. While the audience may not be consciously noting these stereotypes being embedded into their minds, it subconsciously and significantly alters the lens they view race and/or culture
Do the Right Thing. Dir. Spike Lee. Perf. Danny Aiello, John Turturro, Giancarlo Esposito, Martin Lawrence, Bill Nunn, Richard Edson, Roger Guenveur Smith and Spike Lee. Forty Acres and a Mule Filmworks.1989. Streaming (Netflix)