I’m not entirely sure what the movie is about.

Given what I’ve seen in the movie so far, it’s clear that there is a racial division in this community.  The only people who seems above it are Vito and Mookie, who are friends even though there is a racial difference.  Pino’s idols are all Black, but he isn’t willing to admit they are Black.  He says they are just different.  I think this shows that he believes people are all equal, regardless of race, but he feels this isn’t possible.  I wonder if that is the feeling this movie wants to address.

I didn’t understand the beginning of the movie when there was the woman dancing.

I noticed that there was a point in the movie when “Doctor” said, “Do the right thing.”  I wonder how that relates to the movie.

When I heard of this movie, I was curious on why it was called “Do the Right Thing”. Most movies are a fight between good and evil and doing the right thing and wrong thing so why would a movie be stating the obvious. Since I haven’t finished watching the movie, I still do not have the answer to this questions. As the movie started, I was struck by the passion of the woman dancing. Women are usually presented as proper and poise people; however, she was very fierce and passionate. Her face and body language made me assume that she grew up or was living in an area where women had to be fierce and stand up for themselves.

I also wondered why the movie kept emphasizing that it was a hot hot day. They repeated this idea and made sure that the audience was aware of this. The reason why they might have repeated that it was a hot day is because hot is symbolic to anger. From what we saw in the movie, there is already much racism between white men and black men. This is very apparent inside the pizzeria.  The man in the pizzeria saw that the pictures on the wall were all of white men and he openly said that they should put pictures of black men on it. Racism was openly acknowledged instead of quietly put into action and when black men felt that they were being put down, they tried to do something about it.

Linda Manchery

Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, so far, is a brilliant film.  Especially the scene when Mookie confronts Pino about his racism.  Pino’s favorite anything is a black man yet he is so strongly bothered by Mookie and his friendship with Vino.  Pino’s excuse, however, is something incredibly stupid: “well they’re not really black.”

Even though this film takes place in 1989, its issues are still highly relevant today.  Time and time again I hear many say that blacks just aren’t black enough anymore, as if that makes sense.  This is why this movie is so funny to me because it shows the stupidity of the truth.  Black people are black but not everyone is the same.  Same with Italians, Puerto Ricans, Asian, Jews…  Everyone creates certain stereotypes in order to group people together.  However, this just becomes harder to identify them, to hate or to love them.

– Shivani Sharma

I also watched Do the Right Thing in Intro to Film, so the first time watching it, I was more focused on the filmic aspects, like the use of color and specific camera angles.  It was nice to view it a second time and focus more on the plot and character development.

I think Spike Lee does an excellent job of making us sympathize with the entertaining characters of the neighborhood.  While they are often pinned against each other, the only people we really feel distaste for are the man with the expensive car and the police officers.  I find it fascinating how effortlessly Lee makes the viewer fall in love with these rather rough characters, while dislike those one might typically idealize.  There is such a diverse representation of perspectives, yet to me they don’t feel overwhelming but rather a unique opportunity to delve into issues and situations.

I also found myself thinking about the context of the time period.  It is essentially modern, but yet before this current era of internet and technology dominating our lives.  I think the film’s period fostered more dialogue and sense of community that is often lacking in our slightly more current society.  Relating this to the Community Arts project, it is as though the internet has replaced these important face-to-face interactions.

However, I think what I love most about the film is that it is unapologetically bold.  Perhaps this is over-analyzing its cinematography, but I find the intense close ups, bright reds and low camera angles very engaging.  I also think the music choices are perfect.  I’m sure I wasn’t the only one that walked out of the room with “Fight the Power” stuck in my head.

I am really glad that we watched Do The Right Thing in class. This is probably one of those movies I would not watch on my free time. Even though the jokes were old the movie was still very funny. One thing I noticed during the movie is that the day when the temperature hit 100 degrees, the hottest day of that summer, everyone in the neighborhood became fired up. The tension and hatred between each race became visible. Bugging Out complains at the pizzeria about how there are no “brothers” on the wall of fame. Sal retaliates by threatening to break his head with a baseball bat. Then a white bicyclist steps on Bugging Out’s sneakers and they almost get into a fight. The three old men on the sidewalk complain how the Koreans are opening grocery stores and making money from the Black people. The guy with the big stereo blasts music in Sal’s pizzeria and causes problems there. On that day it just seems like everyone was releasing their anger at each other. But like any heat wave, it comes and goes. I predict that once the heat wave ends in the Brooklyn community of the movie the hatred between each group will decrease. I think that everyone in the community will learn to live together and put their problems aside. Overall I enjoyed the movie and I look forward to finishing it.

One thing that sparked my interest in the film Do The Right Thing is the colorful characters. Everyone has their own unique personality and the interactions of the characters make it a very entertaining, informative, and funny movie. The first character I want to bring up is the white guy that messed up Buggin’ Out’s Air Jordan. That guy was wearing a Larry Bird jersey and is the only affluent man in the neighborhood. It’s ironic in two ways. First, is why would this guy live in such a neighborhood if he can easily be bullied. Second is that Larry Bird is the finest white basketball player in his era and had an intense rivalry with the famed Magic Johnson, who is African American. The guy who was wearing the Larry Bird jersey is kind of asking for it, because he lives in a predominantly African-American neighborhood, and should probably be exercising in a Magic Johnson jersey or a Michael Jordan jersey, the one that Mookie was wearing in the beginning. Buggin’ Out claimed that about why there was not any of his “brothers” in pictures in Sal’s Famous. So, riding a bike while wearing a “non-brother” jersey in an African American neighborhood can be dangerous.

Likewise, Señor Love Daddy, the DJ at the radio station, was one of my favorite characters. I cannot remember what he exactly said, but he was yelling “Wake up!” for a long, long time, but also had a nice tone and smoothness to his voice. His hilarious sentences were repeated in its converse and he seemed so passionate about his job. The sentences were natural and I would not mind listening to that radio station. I was captivated by his flair and the suave of his voice. It is also cool how he is right down the block from many people, and you can easily walk by his station and wave hi. He might even call your name out and give you a chance to say something on air. He also kind of defies theory on how as you age, you can’t speak like a kid. But he says whatever he wants, and has a classic, but a contemporary feel to his voice.

There are many other colorful characters, but these two were the ones that stood out to me, and makes the film even better. It is a interesting and worthwhile film and I hope for more characters, more laughs, and a defining moment. I can’t wait to watch the ending, and I know it will only get better.

I first saw Do The Right Thing in my Introduction to Film class just a few weeks ago. After discussing it in detail then, it feels good to re-watch it now and be able to analyze it more thoroughly.

Besides really looking for minor details this screening, I also listened to the class’ reactions. I love when something funny or sad happens on screen (like the Italian man getting soaked in his antique car) and I see friends next to me laughing or making some sound of discomfort. These audience reactions let us know that Spike Lee is doing everything right, and that’s something I’m learning how to do right now via my film production major.

One of my favorite scenes from what we saw today is the first one in the movie. It’s the one where Señor Love Daddy, the DJ at the radio station, screams “wake up” at people. This doesn’t give anything away, but those words are mirrored in the end of the film. It’s a really cool technique that Lee implemented; repeating a phrase at the beginning and end of a movie. It really makes a lasting impact and statement about how everyone needs to “wake up” and realize that these cultural, racial and religious clashes help no one.

I think that’s what this film is all about: trying to get people to understand that all this hate is pointless. I won’t give away the final sequence of events, but it instantly became my favorite Spike Lee when I witnessed the events that took place at Sal’s Italian Pizzeria.