Do_the_Right_Thing_Response

Harrison Simms Do The Right Thing Journal Music In Film Larry Burke, Larry Wallach Do The Right Thing is a film that can only be understood if we understand the dramatic social context it is surrounded by and makes a commentary upon. Director Spike Lee attacks the lingering question of racial inequality head on: he assembles a collection of colorful distinct characters whose thoughts and feelings represent those of the leaders of the Black civil rights movement, as well as those of the ‘little people‘. Its cultural significance (Fun Fact! Barack Obama took Michelle to see the movie on their first date) derives from the sense of immediacy that Lee is able to interpellate upon the viewer, despite the objective ‘smallness‘ of the movie. The interpellation of the emotions/messages onscreen is masterfully done: the camera techniques harken to Hitchcock (manipulation of perspective to control the response of the viewer) the intense soundtrack of the film acts as the powerful motor that energizes the message of the movie, we feel the importance of equal rights resonate within us just as the pounding bass resonates from the boombox. Through the events that unfold on just one block over the course of just one day, Lee shows us that the civil rights crisis remains tragically unresolved, and (sometimes literally) demands us to ’wake up’ and do something about it. Not just to do anything about it, of course - but do the right thing. Set on one block in the sweltering Bedford-Stuyvesant section of 1989 Brooklyn, Lee also plays the protagonist Mookie, who works as a pizza delivery boy for the family-owned, family-operated, family-dominated Sal’s Pizzeria, that appears to be the most popular eatery in the little community. The little community itself is comprised almost entirely of African Americans, with the minority being a small mash-up contingent of Asians, Hispanics, and even a few white people. The cultural heritage/stereotypical eccentricities of the community are exaggerated for effect, especially among the ‘minority‘. Hispanic traits, Asian traits, and especially ‘whiteness’ are underlined, highlighted, and bold-faced: I had to laugh when I saw one white resident wearing a Boston Celtics jersey bearing the namesake of Larry Bird, pinnacle of the ’whitest’ players to ever play on the NBA’s debatedly ’whitest’ team. The Asian storefront owner and his wife carry themselves with an Oriental work ethic, but don’t seem to stock “Mir-rer High R-ife.” The Hispanics speak English at the rushed pace an ignorant American hears their native Spanish (To quote my grandmother: “How do they get their tongue to move that fast'“)In fact, large parts of the dialogue amongst Hispanic characters are practically indecipherable. The movie thusly is able to invert the ‘traditional’ African American position of power; instead of the black characters being ’those people who talk too strangely to understand,’ we are sutured to them by making the non-black minority’s actions seem out of place, and just as foreign. The specific characters are what makes the film’s allegory to a larger message shine through: Da Mayor, the drunken prophet of the streets who dreams of one day professing his love to the conspicuously-named Mother Sister, who watches the goings-on safely perched in her brownstone window. Radio Raheem, who forces his brutal soundtrack upon you whenever he damn well pleases. Tina, the loudmouth Latina girlfriend who just wants Mookie to ‘take some responsibility.’ Buggin’ Out, the wacky-haired acquaintance of Mookie’s who is fed up with the lack of ‘brothers’ on Sal’s wall of fame, and is hell bent to do something about it. The Italian family, composed of Sal and his sons Pino and Vito. Smiley, whom nobody can get to shut up about his little photographs. The prototypical disdainful police officers, the quintessential ’those fellas’ who sit on the corner in the shade of their umbrella, and of course, Senor Love Daddy, DJ of the local radio station. We are dropped into a typical hot summer day in ‘89 Brooklyn, which breeds such a colorful atmosphere that it is all to easy to absorb oneself in the direct plot of the film. Analytically, we must take a step back from the individual and their day-to-day; we must look at them not as characters but as an integration of personalities that make a larger statement. In comparison to an allegory that spans race, racial inequality, change, responsibility, peace, violence, and so on, even the burning of Sal’s doesn’t seem like a big deal. Let us examine how these small pieces fit together into the puzzle of race relations. Racial differences aside, Sal’s is popular eatery for all the inhabitants of the block, but the management of the restaurant represents one of the last bastions of Italian-American/General White influence in the little community. Sal himself is a surly, insensitive old Italian man, who seems to be quite content berating both his sons and Mookie. The interactions amongst the four employees can help explain the symbolism of Sal’s as a whole: Pino harasses Vito for his relationship with a black woman, which prompts Mookie to step in and advise/befriend Vito. Mookie is already in hot water with Sal for general slackery, and digs himself in an even bigger hole when he publicly confronts Sal about this issue as well as calling him out on developing a (let’s just call it) unprofessional relationship with Mookie’s sister, Jade. The way I interpret this, Sal’s acts as a small-scale version of the most basic civil rights development: the conservative white man trying to prevent progressive policies from integrating him and African Americans. Sal, Vito, and Pino see themselves the ‘last of their kind,’ and feel threatened by this specter, feeling as though they are losing their heritage. When one of ‘their kind’ (Vito) fraternizes with ‘the others’ (blacks), it’s seen on the lines of treason by the ’proud’ (Pino/Sal). However, when we look deeper, one of the social commentaries that Lee is making here is that there is something of a double standard that the ‘proud whites’ hold themselves to: they can ‘integrate’ when it is to their own best advantage, especially so at the exploitation of others - Sal’s lust for Jade is a great vehicle for the white ‘lust of power and control’ over blacks, a lust that puts a glass ceiling over the African Americans collective head (and Mookie‘s). How can Mookie possibly feel like a valued member of this literal and metaphorical family when he’s simultaneously alienated and used' How could he possibly advance or create personal success in this environment' Lee also shows how this unbalanced dynamic actually forces the African American’s (Mookie‘s) continued participation in this double standard: the reality is that Mookie has little else but this dead-end job in his life. If Mookie were to become flustered by the way things are, as he often does and as most people reasonably would, he would be punished or fired. And then, where else is he going to work' As Willis talks about in Theater of Interruptions, Mookie doesn’t have the agency to be successful purely on his own accord, and as much as he hates it, the pizzeria is the best opportunity that he has to subsist. As much as he would like to, Mookie cannot leave the confines of the store, a step in any direction would be harmful to Mookie. Lee comments here that with the current state of affairs, the black community’s best interests are to stay put, putting themselves in unbreakable deadlock. Lee uses Sal’s as a way of showing just how self-perpetuating these social ills are, and how they contribute to ingrained image of Black subsistence, as opposed to Black success. On the street, the community is still straining itself, and Lee makes some interesting social commentaries along the way: the old idealists get so caught up in their pleasure (Da Mayor), that they are no longer productive to the civil rights movement - they have become drunk with all their philandering and vaguely philosophical commentary, and while being good at heart, at some point these old idealists become too content (and inebriated) from hearing themselves talk. It is all well and good to say the right things, but progress is the product of action, not idealism. Da Mayor is fixated on Mother Sister, who is bitter with him after all these years of inactivity. The fact she is named Mother Sister points to her symbolism of the family/the community at large, and we can see the disconnect between her and the old, lazy idealist. However, there is hope: we see that Da Mayor recognizes the need for initiative on some level, as he actually does the right thing by shoving a young boy out of the way of an oncoming car. Even when the larger Black community (passersby on the street) misconstrue the situation and blame the idealists for what happened (“Watch your shit, old man“), even when the rash, young individual (10 year old) blames the old idealist (Da Mayor) for what happened, the old idealist (Da Mayor) doesn’t put the rash, young individual (10 year old) at any fault. The old idealist (Da Mayor) sees this individual as nothing but the product of the ignorance and violence (the less-than-charismatic mother who slaps him) that has plagued their community’s history (that couldn‘t be the worst punishment he ever received). The statement that Lee is making with Da Mayor is that, while on the whole the old idealist is ’good’ for the community, he won’t be the harbinger of any tangible changes. The change comes when the rash young individual can listen to the old ideals and then apply them to his own life. In a society of powerful males, it is easy to overlook the role of the female in social development, and this movie is no exception. As the readings discuss, while we are fixated in the daily lives of mostly male society, the women seem to speak with just one ineffective voice, and play just one ineffective role: the voice of reaction, the role of the spectator. When do we really see Tina outside of her small apartment' Almost never. What kind of statement is this making about feminine mobility' That there is little to none. When the confrontation between Sal and Raheem breaks out, we are shown a few quick shots that focus on a female doing nothing but squealing for an end to violence. History shows that peace isn’t brought about by squealing. This obviously does nothing of value, and harkens back to the titular message of not just action over words, or even vice-versa, but actual value behind action. Radio Raheem is a good example of the character that exists in contradiction with the old idealist. Although he resembles the young, rash individual, he falls best into the role of young militant: his whim drives what he wants, his whim drives what he does, regardless of what others want, and he is at the pinnacle of his sheer physical ability to get what he wants. Lee’s intention with the Raheem character was to allude to the ‘gangsta’ stereotype, a dangerously glorified black male image of power and self-indulgence. Raheem’s strength is an allegory to the strength in numbers that this mentality is gaining. What does the gangsta do' He acts rather than thinks, and thusly often gets in much ‘trouble’, as the film would call it. When he needs something (new batteries), he can’t find any other means of procuring it other than conflict (being an asshole to the Asian storeowners). Although Raheem is a friend of many (the gangsta image is popular in the African American community), his largest contribution is inciting unrest (being provocative). Lee claims that this hotheadedness will be the death of him. It might not be directly his fault when that death comes, but just as Mother Sister tells Da Mayor that he was the one to put him in this pain, Lee tells the militant youth that he is the one that’s put him in this danger. Look what happens to actual gangster rappers, what happens to ‘actual‘ militant youth: Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur were infamous enemies who often rapped about their counterpart’s demise, and their posses ended up getting them both killed. Da Mayor and Radio Raheem serve as the quintessential balancing forces that Lee envisions for the civil rights movement. Once again, I will refer to the title of the movie: it’s neither just doing something, nor thinking about the ‘right thing’ that will lead to the ‘right thing’ actually getting done, and these problems getting solved. It is the combination/compromise thereof, the brute force and the philosophical inquiry, and only that, that will yield results. This combination/compromise is symbolized in several ways throughout the film, most prominently and importantly in the juxtaposition of Malcolm X with Martin Luther King. If Smiley’s picture of X and King shaking hands didn’t get the idea across clearly enough, the movie transitions to credits only after scrolling through long quotes from each man. The quotes establish MLK’s pacifism and X’s willingness to accept violence to achieve an end goal, two seemingly contradictory beliefs that in Lee’s eyes are best brought to life through their symbiotic relationship. Radio Raheem and Da Mayor never shook hands, but Lee would attest that would be the first big step towards the right thing. While Lee has obviously created a film with a very intricate message, what also separates Do The Right Thing from other films is its ability to make its message compelling. As previously stated, there is a palpable urgency that emanates from this film, and a certain something that makes it accessible to all audiences. One of the ways Lee is able to keep demanding that we pay attention to the movie is its ability to feel right here, right now. This effect was probably even greater in 1989: there are plenty of time-sensitive details that the modern viewer is sure to miss at least some of the meaning behind. The graffiti on the walls reference the pressing issues and debates within the community: “Tawanda Told The Truth” derives from the incident where a young black female claimed to have been gang raped by a group of white police officers, claims that were disputed and later dropped. The music of the film is right out of the time period, which adds to this effect of insistance. It features popular Rap songs as well as jazz, soul, and R&B. It is key to note that the soundtrack itself was a very popular seller, so much that it reached #11 on the R&B charts. It is easy to imagine this as a movie that tackles the same big issues, but feels much less accessible: the movie would take place in the 60’s or in slave times, a string section would guide the score, and the like. While that movie would be significant, it wouldn’t be remembered as Do The Right Thing was, for the sake of it not feeling ’real’ or current. As the popularity of pop-music based soundtracks rose, this movie was released and managed to capture everyone’s attention, by selecting music that defined this little street as well as the real world. I would postulate that the music is the largest component of the film’s accessibility: by recreating sounds not uncommon to hear outside of the theatre, the viewer is that much more sutured and invested in the characters. It’s also quite blunt: “Fight the Power” is the name of Radio Raheem’s signature track, performed by (who better) than the name Public Enemy. When the movie wants the viewer to cool down from all the heat, the score allows for it: the smooth sounds of jazz and rhythm tracks bring the pace of the movie back down to one very big, very long day, and maintain the audience’s alignment towards characters by integrating other music relevant to the time, the place, and the people. The camera shots further personalize it all: several key breakings of the fourth wall suddenly bring the viewer right into the arena, the best example being the montage of insults from several people. Lastly, the framing of the entire movie inside the radio show of Senor Love Daddy allows the movie to establish an even stronger connection with its sound, as it all seems diagetic and emanating from the characters themselves. Surely, though the specific message of racial equality Spike Lee is trying to send doesn’t always resonate fully with a viewer, some of the message is clear, and the pure emotive power of the events are enough to captivate them and keep them invested in the storyline.