Do The Right Thing
Directed by Spike Lee
Overall Score: ?
I don't know a lick of sense about film theory. But I do have my guesses. I guess it has something to do with the way a film interacts with its audiences, author/artist intentions be damned. The "Al's" and their implications are staggering.
Personally, I won't go into film theory, given that the vocabulary for proper dissertation on film theory is beyond my reckoning (nice article in the After Hours Thread by the way), elitist, pretentious, and I plain don't like it. I still like to use "it sucks" or "it doesn't suck" in my film criticism thank you very much.
So what in the hell does film theory (what little I do know) have to do with
Do The Right Thing? It's probably the idea of how I interact with it I guess.
If you'll notice, I don't even have a score for
Do The Right Thing. That's because I don't even have the slightest clue what to think of it. My perceptions are colored by what others have said (a big thanks to Lew and his thread. Digging in the dirt was fun
). I'm not even sure of my own opinion of the film. Being me, I should know the answer to that. But I don't.
I guess I need to get a few things out of the way before I can get into a serious look at the film. First, the opening brought back fond memories of In Living Color. It's humourous at best, but the possibility exists in giving the film a dated look, although its questions and answers are definitely timeless.
I'd like to think of the film as a look at irrational behavior. For Spike Lee (this is now looking at auteur theory
), this is a personal film, so he looks at it in the context of race. Maybe not race in and of itself, but the issues that revolve around it.
One of the controversial aspects of this film is what exactly does "do the right thing" mean. Evidently, everybody has their own look at it, even Spike Lee himself. Most of this revolves around what Mookie does, when he busts the window of Sal's with the garbage can. Some people say it is, some people say it isn't. Personally, I don't even have a fucking clue. So many things that happened before and after blur the message. Mookie's the same way. On one hand, he clearly gets along with Vito. In an indirect way, he raises the issue of what constitute black and nigger (the Magic Johnson conversation for those who don't remember). But on the other hand, he tells his sister to not be around Sal. And in the end, he picks up the money.
It's interesting to note the duality of using Malcom X and Martin Luther King as a motif during the film.
One can appreciate the can of worms (or barrel of apples) Spike Lee opened with this film. It's clear that irrationality is at the heart of it how. As a matter of fact, I was a little disheartened to see Mother/Sister revel in the joy of Sal's restaurant burning. But then you see when she cries out, shortly after her moment of realization at what happens.
This is the canvas Spike Lee has painted, and it obviously divides people if they are willing to accept this world or not. I don't know what it is, but I couldn't bear, tolerate, or understand the characters of Buggin' Out or Radio Raheem. They struck me as assholes more than anything else.
Radio Raheem's death should not have happened, but it was hard to feel sorry for him considering the cirucmstances that led to his death. He was pracitcally rude and confrontational the entire film. I don't even think the Love/Hate monologue redeemed him. I couldn't stand Buggin' Out for his confrontational behavior and his, well, lack of understanding.
The feels the world is full of characters that do things that simply don't make sense. The most hopeful moment in the film is when Sal and Mookie's sister talk (probably the only truly civil conversation in the film). And then it gets turned into where Mookie doesn't want his sister talking to him.
Sal was an interesting case, and I know many people who are like him. It's fairly obvious his two sons represent who he is. I don't think he's rascist in the traditional sense of the KKK or Nazi's. He even has a sit down with Pino and discusses the nature of his business and how his customers have built the foundation of his pizzeria. He fondly talks of watching people grow. And the good moment in the film is when Pino is angry at Smiley? and tells him to go away. Sal offers reconciliation by trying to buy a photo. But like any other character in the film, anger gets the best of him, and he calls Radio Raheem a nigger during the confrontation. Does that make him rascist? No, but it gives you an idea of insight into his character (which oddly enough, Chris Rock sums up the very nature of black/nigger very well).
I guess this is the world Spike Lee paints. You could easily replace Spike Lee with somebody else and use another issue other than race. But at its core, you still have irrationality borne out of anger, hate, etc. It's a big can of worms to open, but I wonder if anybody will have the cahonies to jump to the root of why such things happen in the first place.
Sorry for the rambling. My thoughts have been jumping back and forth concerning this film, and I'd like to even get it on Criterion, just for the sake of wanting to learn more about it. Oh well, what do I know? I still don't have a clue about film theory and auteur theory at this point.