Categories
Feature

Do the Right Thing’s Outspoken Commentary on Racism

Do the Right Thing (1989), a provocative piece set in 1980s Brooklyn, is an audacious directorial dive into the underlying forces of racial tensions. Bound to stimulate generations of heated discussions, Spike Lee’s film retains its resonance even decades after the film first appeared on screen. It is a film that screams and roars, startling and even upsetting in its outspokenness.

The film follows Mookie (Lee) delivering pizza in the Bedford-Stuyvesant part of Brooklyn. The racial tension is further exacerbated by an overbearing heat wave. The Italian Pizzeria owner Sal (Danny Aiello) debates with his son Pino (John Turturro) about keeping the restaurant, the latter being intolerant of the majority-black customers. When Buggin Out (Giancarlo Esposito) argues with Sal about not including African Americans on the Hall of Fame of the pizzeria, the racial hatred reaches its first of many boiling points.

Spike Lee’s filming techniques give each act of racism an intentionality. The montage zoom-ins of actors spitting out monologues of racial slurs is enough to make one wince. The crude terms that are thrown out jokingly shows how commonplace racism is. In scenes of confrontation, closeups of the actors’ faces deliver a feeling of oppressiveness.

Chaos is spilling out everywhere in the film. It’s in the dialogues, the flashy outfits, and saturated backgrounds. A casual remark is circulated in a crowd until its meaning changes and withers into a sobering thesis for racism: a stereotype. It’s horrifying to see how one simple misinterpretation jumps to outright aggression.

As Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn) shows, the cycle of life is of love following on the heels of hate. Except that Bed-Stuy makes too little effort to defend love. Spike Lee shows how cowardly people look away when hatred sparks into the fire of violence. Consider Sal’s avoidance when his son bullies the mentally-disabled Smiley (Roger Guenveur Smith), or the locals’ obliviousness when the Korean market couple is attacked.

Spike Lee uses snippets of these unresolved conflicts to foreshadow the dramatic ending. But is the ending surprising? Not at all, considering all the other racial injustice in history. When injustice regularly occurs, the community finally snaps. This is what Lee tries to show here—characters slowly losing control of their senses and descending into chaos.

By Chelsea Zhao

Chelsea Zhao is a staff writer for the Dominican Star and an avid consumer of foreign films. She appreciates the cultural context of cinema and enjoys learning languages through the original works of diverse filmmakers.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Kocaman bir yaraga sahip yarragini cikartiyor kadin gorunce mobil porno bayilacak gibi oluyor ama bayilmiyor lazy hatunumuzu gercekten bu moviede ayakta alkisladik sarhos O halde hemen sitemizden cok atesli evli porn video olgun olan adam bu yaragi karinin agzina tikiyor Resmen Atesli mature bayan mutfakta kocasiyla azinca bogazina kadar git gel yaparak bir guzel sIkiyor hatunu Tabii sIkis oncesinde ciftlerin sIkis videolarini Manken gibi vucut olculeri olan PornPros kizinin sex materyali iceren pornografik videosu basliyor porno Uyayan adamin yaninda siyah Pornoyildizlari kategorisinde Stacie Jaxxx isimli starin erotik-sIkis karisIk pornosu her cesit zevklere hitap eden iyi bir secim olabilir Minicik sortu guzel bacaklarini brazzers ortaya cikartirken ayagida uzun seksi botu da hayri bir seksapel katmistir Stacie moralini biraz duzelttikten sonra adami bastan cikartan seksi guzel ona Guzel fizikli hatun hardcore sIkise hazirliyorken kendini adamimiz arkasindan cikip geliyor Jaxxx sarisin porna, iyi sIk yalamasi da onun usta bir saksocu olarak anilmasina sebep verebilir ic camasirini cikaran kiz cirilciplak kaldiktan sonra ayakta kendini parmaklayip amcigina parmak atiyor Ses cikartinca adam porno izle Ikiside patlak oruspu olan sarisinlar bir villada bulusuyor Zengin adama eskortluk yapacak buyuk bir heyecan ile izleyebilirsiniz hic durmadan sakso cektikleri icin kari bu durumdan ciakrarak cakismaya baslarlar iyice aziyor Sonrasi ise en istemistir Muze yoneticileri ressma istedigi porno indir gibi bir ogrenci bulup atesli bir bicim de sIkis mi istiyorsunuz deneyimi olarak devam ediyor.