Do the Right Thing by Spike Lee - Movie Review Example

Film review of, Spike Lees “Do the Right Thing” (1989). Introduction Films provide real record about a past life about people, events and ideologies. Use of motion pictures express gestures, human interactions and viewpoints under many circumstances that are documented. Films play a vital role in reflecting various societal aspects as well as shaping characters within the fabric of daily life. They can be informative and used to pass different messages. They present evidence on real issues in the social, cultural and economic society such as Hiroshima bombing, mass starvation in the Asian continent or Armenian massacre. They also can be a source of controversy about the subject they imply in their contexts and how individuals within different settings interpret them. In Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing,” the director, Lee confronts the ills of the social and racial settings. Lee’s powerful views regarding racial tensions earn him praise and criticism in equal measures. Spikes’ criticisms In the film, “Do the Right Thing,” Lee exhibits the life on the street within Brooklyn locality during one of the days in the summer heat. It depicts interactions of the locals with local pizzeria owners and the police officers. The heat rises as well as racial tensions resulting to a riot that eventually results in the death of Radio Raheem, an African-American young man. The Sal’s Famous café is also destroyed in the riot. Lee portrays the intra-racial divide between the old and young, how they attempt to alter their stereotypic norms and react to the death of Raheem. Lee addresses issues of the culture clashes and tensions in commercial environments in the aftermath of the civil war, utilization of boycotts and riots, ethnic stereotypes, hip-hop culture and gaining equality among the American culture. It shows the interaction of Italian-Americans, Puerto Ricans, African-Americans and Koreans within the urban neighborhood. Disputes accelerate into violent actions that different groups perpetrate, which reveals the stereotypic conformance to ethic stereotypes and ignorance that each individual exhibits (Do the Right Thing: Boycotts, Stereotypes and Hip hop in Bedford-Stuyvesant) Reel racism looks at the role of cinema in the Afro-American culture and issues of racism. Vincent Rocchio who is an assistant professor in film studies argues that the film provides philosophical insight on analytical implications of films on broad racial issues regarding naturalization, difference in legalization and violence. It studies different meanings portrayed by Hollywood movies and extent to which they can oppose variety of ideological suppression and embrace a wider and accommodative approach in this social system. The film has received applause from the theater audience but the implications are far-stretched in complex and vulnerable racial issues (Rocchio, 5). Racism has been part of the American society for a very long time. This has been in existence since the era of African slavery and the genocide of Americans. These were not only multiethnic actions but also multiracial injustices. Racism has been a moral and political problem as well as a dialectical operation. For racism to be effectively addressed, it should be envisioned as a multidimensional, multipart and social phenomenon that cuts across all the cultures. Mass media is handy in understanding history and culture. In reel racism, (Rocchio, 5) studies mass media as an active component in the cultural aspects. This study of media is as well complex and it is vital to establish messages that the mass media disseminates in the contemporary society. It explores the gap filling object given that the mainstream society has limited literature and knowledge about issues of racism. These uncertainties have led to over generalizations and finger pointing but less remedy in action. Rocchio is therefore interested in how ‘reel racism’ is related to ‘real racism’. Lee’s film captures originality of the characters. It employs sharp humor and language and authenticity. Some critics argue that the themes contradict “politics of alliance that brings together progressive Blacks, Whites and other people around an agenda, fostering genuine social change and justice that could be a powerful force for real social progress.” Lee ambiguously promotes the fact that black enterprises are an essence. Those emphatic with Sal hold that blacks within the community ought to open and operate their own enterprises, the idea which is uncertain to Malcom X’s view on black power that blacks charged usurious rates of interest. W.J.T Mitchell in: Seeing Do the Right Thing” Critical Inquiry 17,3 (2003) offers a convincing assessment of fetishism role as a misapprehension type of access to the public that is compromised and inefficient. The film in Michael’s viewpoint therefore propagates for corporate capitalism and promotes the racial essentialism (Marcus, 228). In the late 20th century, Hollywood united with the Ronald Reagan’s administration in disregarding the issue of the African-Americans. Blacks were also stereotypically illustrated in comedies. Lee’s film therefore takes a unique intervention in Hollywood system through portraying racial and gender aspects from absolutely black viewpoint and addressing inequalities in the white cinema, Black Nationalism. The film explains the blacks’ distinction from the mainstream US society, appeals to the media community, and underlying dangers of racism in the repressive urban setting. When Clifton is asked by members of Blacks for the reason he is moving into their area, he answers, “I’m under the assumption that this is a free country and one can live where he pleases” (Lee and Jones, 167-168). This implies that, as a white, he had the privilege not available to the black counterparts. Lee also argues that violence tends to be inclined to the black members of the community concurring with majority of New York’s film’s critics. In the controversial essay of “Counter-Hegemonic Art: Do the right thing”, Lee’s radical intentions face grievous criticisms that the film actually emphasizes the “scary, conservative idea….that everybody is safest in their own neighborhood ..” to some, this is untrue in a way that Lee makes an important step contrary to the Hollywood’s beliefs on race and that Lee’s statement that the major problem in US society is ruined by opaqueness of his vision. According to “Postmodern Blackness” in Bell Hooks, racism portrays blackness as opposing and as having no link with critical thinking. Black power ideologies have recognized these stereotypic perceptions and the black’s marginalization. This has triggered a positive move towards black liberalization. New channels, like Lee’s, Do the Right Thing, has therefore become handy and a practical model in propagating the black power movement. It aims to propagate the message of racisms against the blacks who are exploited, marginalized, displaced and oppressed. Lee therefore capitalizes on techniques of modernism and fabricates a film to articulate the needs of the black community. The films also address black grievances in relation to crime, victimization and drug use. Lee’s film is essentially centered on the black movement. Through his film, Do the right Thing, Lee depicts a variety of aspects within the black community that contrast with the white culture. He explains their walking, speaking, dressing, drawing, music and the slang language among other conventions (Marcus, 228) Conclusion Rocchio puts up a spirited criticism in Lee’s film, Do the Right Thing. He argues that it contracts the Hollywood’s approach as it goes head in with the issues of racism. He is of the opinion that the film provides philosophical insight on analytical implications of films on broad societal racial issues and extent to which they can oppose a variety of ideological suppression and embrace a wider and accommodative approach in this social system. Contrary to Rocchio’s viewpoint, the Bell Hooks support Lee’s idea on the addressing of the issues faced by the black community. They embrace the fact that Lee uses a new, unique and justifiable approach that seeks to recognize agonies facing the blacks through racial segregation. I believe, Bell Hooks arguments are far more acceptable and the black movement can employ different channels to articulate their grievances for instance through films. Work Cited Hooks, Bell. Yearning: Race, gender, and cultural politics. Boston: South End Press, 1990. Marcus, Alan S. Celluloid black board: teaching history with. Charlotte: IAP, 2007. Rocchio, Vincent F. Reel racism: Confronting Hollywoods construction of Afro-American culture. Westview Press, 2000. Read More