Do the Right Thing (1989) by Spike Lee is about daily life in a Brooklyn neighborhood and the racial tensions confined from within. Demonstrates the differences in the various characters of a modern neighborhood. Confidence and brutality embody the ongoing problems of racism in America. The language and gestures give the film a higher representation and allow viewers to have a more realistic conversation about race/racism, which was not present in that time period. The film begins with the characters waking up on a hot summer day and then commotion occurs in the neighborhood after the police unduly crack down on and kill a young black man named Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn) for arguing with Sal ( Danny Aiello), an elderly Italian. American in his pizzeria. The film, despite being released in 1989, with its social analysis of the impact race has on police brutality is just as relevant today as it was when it was released twenty-six years ago. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay Do the Right Thing (1989) has as its main theme peace versus war and "...always doing the right thing." While the tone of the film comes from the intense background music and ironically the makeup and clothes of the characters speak to the narrative of the film. Spike Lee describes the characters in a stereotypical way through their language and gestures. In the film, tertiary characters such as Puerto Ricans appear tuning into salsa music while drinking beer and speaking Spanish under their apartment buildings. Lee also shows Italian Americans (Sal and his sons) wearing crosses and black/white tank tops as an aesthetic or stereotype of them. Another example is the depiction of Radio Raheem wearing an African necklace while holding and playing loud rap music through a boom box. Performance aspects in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing were those in which "various characters spoke directly to the viewer". While Lee used the compositional aspects of design and clothing to enhance the film, he also used the mediums of music and sound, both diegetic and non-diegetic, in his film. Whether it was Raheem's rap music from his loudspeaker, Puerto Rican salsa music, or the screams of the people in the neighborhood. The film plays the song "Fight the Power" by Public Enemy and a saxophone rendition of "Lift Every Voice and Sing" to set the tone for a theme of equality and rights. In Radio Raheem's death scene, the sounds of the neighborhood portray how disbelief turns to fury, as people in the neighborhood begin shouting the names of other black victims of police brutality. In the next scene, the camera pans across Mookie's shocked face, showing that he has realized the mistake of standing next to Sal and his children. In this scene the positioning of the characters is very important, because Sal is between his two children, while Mookie is a little apart from them; distant and disturbed, producing a major part of the film's resolution as Mookie looks towards them in a different light. Director Spike Lee used much of the dialogue, setting, sound, clothing, etc. all to create an important environment for the film and the viewers. He wanted to reveal to viewers a more realistic film about issues that existed long before. Lee embraced the generalizations of race enough to condemn them and address social issues in the film. Do the Right Thing highlights how these issues are not controlled and it is actually who can control/change them. The film portrayed the realities of society in a skillfully cinematic manner., 15(2), 30-53.
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