The Eternal Question Brought Up in Do the Right Thing by Spike Lee - Movie Review Example

Sub: Essay, English Topic: Interpret Lees film "Do the Right Thing" using one of the discussion questions as prompt-argument essay Introduction Film viewing is generally for pleasure; sometimes it becomes experience and rarely does it deliver the profound message. On rarest of the rare occasions the movie pierces the heart of the viewer, churns the mind and leaves a permanent imprint in the brain. Such movies have the intrinsic strength to change the thinking and action process of an individual for all time to come as they penetrate the soul. “Do the Right Thing” (1989) is one such movie. It warns the American administrators to do the right thing at the right time and do something tangible about the issue of racism before it is too late. Its message is clear and straightforward. Desperate situations need not half-hearted measures but desperate measures capable of delivering the desired results. The movie pinpoints the racial flashpoints and demands purposeful action. Eradication of racism is not about passing the legislation after legislation and making more and more laws. Challenging racism is not about giving equal constitutional rights to blacks and whites. Eradication of racism is about creating noble individuals, black or white, to implement the existing laws in a fair and equitable manner. Provisions of the laws are adequate but the capacity of the men to understand and implement them is sadly inadequate and if the situation goes out of hand, both blacks and whites will suffer at the cost of nation. The title of the movie “Do the Right Thing” is a simple moral statement about the current practicalities of the problem of racism, in the light of the past experiences of African Americans in understanding the issue. A movie relating to such a sensitive subject is bound to invite varied reactions, favorable, unfavorable and bitter. But Spike Lee, the Director of the movie, has the perfect grasp of the issue and deals it with a balanced mental attitude. The responsibility of a good and imaginative Director is not to give moral sermons and to tell the audience what is good or bad. His assignment is to explain the realities. It is not his responsibility to give solutions and the audience should not expect it from a movie director, when the think-tanks, administrators and politicians have failed to hammer out a perfect solution to the problem of racism so far. As such, when one sees liberal virtues or militancy, understanding and detestable characters, good and the bad ones, one should not be judgmental about it. That is the state of affairs prevailing in America today which baffles solution. As such do not expect clear cut answers but try to think about the solution. The message of the movie is just the revision of syllabus relating to the issues that perhaps must be transpiring in the mind of most of the Americans, most of the time! It provides the wakeup call that explodes the popular American mainstream myths about racial camaraderie and closeness in the post-civil rights era. Brooklyn neighborhood is the playing ground for the characters in the movie. This neighborhood remains most of the time attention-demanding by the US administrators as violence and all sorts of negativities that afflict the society, especially the combustible younger generation of the African Americans, can be found there. US mainstream media and the European press carries stories from this area often. The themes of the movie are obvious: Racial intolerance, violence, street fights and police brutality and frenzied arguments. What is noticeable is how the Director of the movie deals with them, how those who are oppressed and marginalized confront those issues! Not with passionate dialogues but through cinematography and music, the director conveys the message. What the movie says is no doubt important; but how it says, what it says is more important and the Director excels in this area. Light and color increases the visual power of the audience and the effect is stunning. The movie ends with two quotations: The first, from Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who argues that violence is never justified under any circumstances. The second, from Malcolm X, argues that violence is not violence, but "intelligence" when it is used in self-defense. (http://www.maniadownload.com) If the movie-goer makes an effort to understand the import in the beginning, it becomes easy to grasp as to what is going on in the mind of the Director and the direction towards which he wants to take his audience. Tackling the racial problem is like walking on the razor’s edge. The Director, through his characters is not afraid to tell the cynicism that prevails in the section of the African Americans that is left behind and how it has turned directionless and destination-less. The movie is not interested in articulating the concept of brotherly love which is not there in the society, but it does not stand for hatred either. It articulates ‘when perfect discipline is not available in the society, carry on with the available discipline!’ Many of the hopes of 1960s “American Dream” have vanished and instead of the waves of love once articulated by the leaders, the deepening class divisions have made the middle classes of all races(including the African Americans) shift from the inner city, and the administrators see no way out to improve the conditions there. Everybody seems to have thrown up the towel, leaving the area to take care of itself! The movie raises the original, eternal question. What is the appropriate way to address racism in US? Is it possible to solve it through dialogue and understanding? The pages of American racial history are daubed in bloodshed and acts of atrocities against the African Americans. The combustible younger generation is entitled to think that violence is the suitable answer. But that will only generate more violence. Positive direction of energy is the next option. The margin between violence and violence for self-defense is very thin, almost indistinguishable. If the solution is not found and the issue is suppressed it may set off explosive reactions at the most unsuspected time. This is the latent message of the movie. The movie, when it was released, generated heated arguments and counter-arguments as for the message it wanted to convey. The movie “Do the Right Thing” cannot solve the problem within 120 minutes, the issue of racism cultivated for several centuries in America. Any story has to tell its purpose through the interplay between its characters and the Director has adopted the same approach. When the issue is bad and complicated, the characters cannot deal in noble aspects. They need to honestly do their part of the story and they indulge in negative act because negativity is ingrained in those characters. Spike Lee’s playing field is through his characters and their motives. One of the criticisms against the movie is that the characters articulate the one-sided picture of the societal conditions in America and they are inclined to show partiality towards African Americans and Lee gives racial arguments. Such critics may be right, but Lee is not wrong! These characters are created with the deliberate purpose of indicating how American society deals with racism in America. Racism is the national problem and at the grassroots level it is the individual problem. Only when the thought processes of the individuals change, the society will change and consequently the nation will change. The politicians and administrators cannot inject anti-racism feelings into the veins of the people. Taking the historical evidences into considerations, the people will have to change. Unless the people are bold enough to see the writing on the wall, blacks and whites will continue to have misunderstandings that have potency to explode into major social conflagrations! The volatile mixture of racial nicknames shouted out by the films characters, become all the more potent and real for the archetypal symbols they represent. They are the true representatives of the social dialogues and interactions that take place in black communities like Brooklyn. They may be small day to day problems in addition to their permanent major problem related to racism. Spike Lee does not own the responsibility to find the correct answers. He leaves the job to the viewers. Most of the viewers of this movie have the critical perspective of racism and they are the product of racial history of America, and they must be having in the back of their mind, pictures of many racial incidents including the recent events like Rodney King riots and other acts of police brutality. The Director convincingly articulates that what the Black Americans first want is respect for their manhood. Both blacks and whites need to know their duties and responsibilities and the reformations and change has to emerge from the grassroots level and not from the ivory towers of administrators and politicians. This is not to say that the top leadership has failed to discharge its duties to the cause of eradicating racism. Let us assume that they have done their best and now let the people do their best and what is appropriate. Conclusion People should stop thinking in terms of the color of the skin. In the post-racial world, the minds of African Americans need to live without fear and they should walk with heads held high in any segment of the society. Their progress should not be linked to the color of their skin and the politics of race has to end to give place to equality in the real sense of the term. No one should use race to one’s advantage. This is the message of the film. Those African Americans, who have prospered, owe the duty to their brethren and they must remember that self-hatred is the greatest disservice they can render to their community. Work Cited http://www.maniadownload.com/download-movie-do-right-thing-1989-mediafire-free-dvdrip- hd: Web: Read More