Racial Tensions and Supremacy During the 20th century, racism was a prevalent issue throughout the country. It often caused social tensions between people of different races living in the same community, resulting in violence and disruptions. In the film Do the Right Thing, the director, Spike Lee, portrayed racism accurately by addressing the discrimination against black people. Throughout the film, characters were transformed, stereotypes were broken, and the audience knew more information than the characters in the movie. Lee’s theme was to show people that blacks should “fight the power,” or superiority, caused by racial supremacy of white people by establishing a balance of power, fighting the stereotypes, and uniting together against the white people. Racial supremacy can be shown by not acknowledging what is said by people of other races, and by provoking violence. The film portrayed white supremacy over blacks when Buggin’ Out commented to Sal that there were no pictures of black heroes on the wall of fame in …show more content…
In the fire hydrant scene, the black people got the rich man’s antique car wet. When driving by, the police stopped to cease the water flow. When the rich man complained about his car, the police told him that he better g333et back to his car before the black people stripped it clean. The police referred to all blacks as criminals, which implied that whites were better than blacks, supporting the idea of white superiority over black people. Here, the stereotypes about black people are applied to the whole race, and the black people need to fight the false stereotypes given to them by the white people. The remarks of the police reinforce the stereotypes that all black people are criminals. The white bystanders who hear the police will continue to believe these stereotypes because they heard people with authority reinforcing
The first word that comes to mind when thinking about Do the Right Thing is HOT. Everything about this movie was hot, from the weather down to the themes and issues it brought up. It’s interesting too watch this movie while living with a heat wave in NYC. There’s plenty of room for debate as to whether or not anyone did the right thing in this script, in my opinion most of the characters did the wrong thing. What’s interesting to me is to think about what Spike Lee considered the right and wrong thing to do in this screenplay. It’s not just his words as an actor playing a role, he also wrote, directed, and produced the vehicle for those words and actions to come to life. So it’s hard to separate Spike from Mookie, and I don’t think Spike would even want us to. I also wonder about some changes from the screenplay and the film, and the effect the have on the overall message of the film.
To further illustrate the effects of conventionalization Gay writes, “When they appear behind us or in line of sight, our heart rate accelerates, our breathing quickens, our muscles contract. We become acutely aware not only of what we are doing but also of what the cop might think we were doing” (1). His attitude towards the police displays the breakdowns of the body and emotional state in black men, and how this creates distress. In most cases of black men being harassed via the police, the men are often innocent, yet people stereotype black men and automatically assume they are associated with crime because they are black. Through these assertions, Adichie and Gay make it evident that stereotypes harm people and they do not make people
Wideman points out how the racism in America is an unbroken chain as he states, “The circle of racism, its preserve logic remain unbroken. Boys like Emmett Till are born violating the rules, aren’t they? Therefore they forfeit any rights law-abiding citizens are bound to respect. The bad places—ghettos, prisons, morgue slabs—where most of them wind up confirm the badness pf the boys” (Wideman 32). Wideman’s form and content in this quote is sarcastically profound to reveal the unfairness of the typical stereotypes that African Americans have to deal with, in their daily lives. Most certainly, black color skin when seen out in the public, and its connection among the ghetto, black skin is correlated with poverty status. Such arrogances effect the unfortunate African Americans living in
Do The Right Thing has impacted greatly my views on racial tension and rivalry. I have always believed the words of Martin Luther King Jr. when he speaks of peaceful protest, and I had not considered Malcolm X’s approach. This film has made me realize that although violence is not the answer, sometimes actions must be done to create respect that was never there to begin with. This film belongs in every curriculum and every home movie collection because it will spark debate and allow you to explore and understand others’ thought processes and ideas. There were always be conflict that needs to be brought to light and even if it is not between races, and Do The Right Thing shows the delicacy and intensity that any conflict may have. This is what makes it a timeless film.
Do the Right Thing lands at number ninety-six on the American Film Institute’s List of the one hundred best movies of all time. In 1997, the American Film Institute selected the one hundred best American movies of all time and updated the top one hundred list in 2007. The director of Do the Right Thing is Spike Lee, the main actors are Rosie Perez and Danny Aiello, and the cinematographer is Ernest Dickerson. The movie stars Danny Aiello as Sal, a tough guy who owns a Sal’s Famous Pizzeria. Also, Do the Right Thing portrays Spike Lee as a kid delivering pizza named Mookie who knows that there is no future in his job. The setting is in the Bedford-Stuyevesant neighborhood of Brooklyn. The main source of conflict is the race relationships
Spike Lee is brand name when it comes to the film industry. When you try to ask any group of people their opinion about this man, you will probably receive numerous positive responses from the film community as well as the African American community. Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989) is a film that illustrates how racial conflict can become a reality while showing the repercussions that come with racial segregation. Spike Lee uses a number of tools to write and produce the film in order to ensure the message reaches his intended audience in the best way possible. The use of location, soundtrack, and dialogue is abundant in this film. Therefore, this film analysis paper is for Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing (1989). It is a film in which racial segregation ignites riots in a neighborhood dominated by the black population. The heightened scene of this film analysis is where Spike Lee throws a trash can and it is from this that hell breaks loose and riots begin.
Specifically, some critics disapprove of Mookie’s decision to throw a garbage can into Sal’s window inciting the riot. However, to suggest the all Blacks would use the film as justification for supposed riots highlights the social and political priorities of white audience of the film. They rather discuss the destruction of Sal’s Pizzeria and thus Sal’s capitalist American dream that he is entitled to. The riot creates more controversy and outrage than the unnecessary death of an innocent man. Critics do not discuss the tragic murder of Radio Raheem and the pertinent issue of police brutality and abuse of authority in inner city neighborhoods. Further, this notion is just ludicrous. Criticism of Do the Right Thing focuses on the culpability of the Black residents of Bed-Stuy for having created their neighborhood’s destruction, without commentary on Sal’s reactionary and racist attitudes against the Black customers that he services. Further, Do the Right Thing became the first film to tackle urban race-relations in a manner that catered to understanding the Black perspective of racial norms, which was not a Blaxploitation film. To this end, the film provided a then contemporaneous depiction of the struggle for social justice in United States’ inner city neighborhoods, which ironically remerged as a
The way Staples structures this essay emphasizes his awareness of the problem he faces. The essay’s framework consists mostly of Staples informing the reader of a scenario in which he was discriminated against and then following it with a discussion or elaboration on the situation. This follow-up information is often an expression stating comprehension of his problem and than subtitle, logical criticisms toward it. For example, Staples describes women “fearing the worst of him” on the streets of Brooklyn. He then proceeds to declare that he understands that “women are particularly vulnerable to street violence, and young black males are drastically overrepresented among the perpetrators of that violence.” Staples supports this statement with information about how he had witnessed gang violence in Chester, Pennsylvania and saw countless black youths locked away, however, Staples pronounces that this is no excuse for holding every young black man accountable, because he was an example of a black man who “grew up one of the good boys” coming “to doubt the virtues of intimidation early on.” This narrative structure highlights that Staples is not a hypocrite because he is not show ignorance toward the problem he is addressing unlik...
In today’s world, prejudice and discrimination are words that are becoming more and more common to hear again. However, it is unlikely that the world will ever again know prejudice or discrimination like it did in the mid-1900s. Through the films, “Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner” (1967) and “Do the Right Thing” (1989), the audience observes prejudice and discrimination in action. Almost every character in the two films exhibits some sort of racism through their thoughts or actions, white and black characters alike.
One might define the relations between police and community relations in the Jane and Finch area of Toronto to be very discriminating. The start of the film already gives some insight on the issue which the film is trying to portray. A coloured man’s is being harassed because the police do not think that he has ownership for the van to which he claimed he owned. The police were violating his rights and treating him in an impolite manner simply because of the standard that has been set, claiming that all coloured individuals are violent and dangerous. This is also the case because the film has been recorded in the Jane and Finch area; where people are looked down upon and regarded as dangerous, violent and unemployed.
The effects of stereotype behaviors and beliefs against black people have both good and bad influence. However, the adverse impact has outweighed the positive results. For example, the stereotype belief that all black people are thieves or associated with all the social evils in the society has led to police brutality (Couillard, 2013). The police officers discriminate and falsely accuse black forks of a crime they might not have committed. It has led to African-American becoming bitter and resenting the police department officials.
Spike Lee is a filmmaker who has generated numerous controversial films that unapologetically bring delicate social issuest o the media forefront. He honestly portrays life's societal obstacles. He challenges the public to cogitate on the world's glitches and disunion. Spike Lee created a name for himself with films such as Do the Right Thing (1989) and Malcolm X (1992), and with documentaries such as 4 Little Girls (1997) and When the Levees Broke (2006). Lee’s goal was to portray African Americans in a more accurate light.
Before we get into the movie specifically, we should first talk about representation and how race is represented in the media in general. Representation is defined as the assigning of meaning through language and in culture. (CITE) Representation isn't reality, but rather a mere construction of reality and the meaning behind it. (CITE) Through representation we are able to shape how people are seen by others. Race is an aspect of people which is often represented in the media in different ways. Race itself is not a category of nature, but rather...
In Brent Staples article Black Men in Public Spaces, he recalled on times that he was perceived as a mugger, rapist, or burglar on the streets because of his appearance. He began by stating that his first “victim” was a white it wealthy woman in Chicago. After she avoided him, he realized that she was frightened by his presence-- large, black and intimidating. Other incidents, which include him being mistaken for a burglar, instilled anxiety to him. He quickly began to try and change his appearance and how others perceived him by whistling while walking down the streets. Staples used these experiences to show how racial stereotypes have reluctantly changed his behavior in order to be perceived by others in a different way.
Racism is everywhere; it is all around us and at most times it resides within us. Racism basically refers to the characterization of people (ethnicity based) with certain distinct traits. It is a tool with which people use to distinguish themselves between each other, where some use it to purposely inflict verbal, physical or mental attacks on others while some use it to simply distinguish or differentiate from one another. It all depends on the context in which it is used. The play Fences by August Wilson, takes place during the late 1950’s through to 1965, a period of time when the fights against segregation are barely blossoming results. The main protagonist, Troy Maxson is an African American who works in the sanitation department; he is also a responsible man whose thwarted dreams make him prone to believing in self-created illusions. Wilson's most apparent intention in the play ‘Fences’, is to show how racial segregation creates social and economic gaps between African Americans and whites. Racism play a very influential role in Troy’s but more importantly it has been the force behind his actions that has seen him make biased and judgmental decisions for himself and his family. Lessons from the play intend to shed light on how racism can affect the mental and physical lives of Troy Maxson and his family.