The hour we have so far watched of Do the Right Thing seems to be the exposition to the story. We are introduced to the groups of characters and their initial racial tensions on a relatively normal day. However, this day is not normal. It’s the “hottest day of the year.” A higher temperature only means more crankiness, elevating the tensions that already exist. The discomfort from the heat exaggerates people’s emotions and puts them out of control. I predict that more conflicts will arise later into the movie because of the unusually uncomfortable weather.

The temperature has led to many conflicts already, like the incident with the water from fire hydrant destroying the white man’s antique car. So far, the movie has been a collection of such squabbles, resulting in the characters becoming angry at, not just each other, but entire races. In the part of the movie where each person takes a turn at insulting someone else, each character makes a point to mention the others’ race. It’s interesting to see how minor disputes and misunderstandings result in the great issue of racism.