‘Do the Right Thing’ Discussion: Racist or About Racism? (1 Viewer)

[ChuckDeLa]

I enjoyed DTRT but you wanna know what my biggest problem with it was? Spike Lee insisting on acting in it. He's awful, as he's been in every other part he's played. Why do directors insist on casting themselves in their movies? Same goes for Quentin Tarantino. Great writer/director, god awful actor.

Not to get too sidetracked, but same for M. Night Shmalayan. And Scorsese's cameo in Taxi Driver is one of the low points of an otherwise excellent movie. Seems to me like the only people who can really pull it off are Orson Welles and some comedy directors (Mel Brooks, Albert Brooks, Woody Allen, Christopher Guest).

 

[george kaplan]

Hitchcock also knew how to do a good cameo.

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

His acting doesn't bother me. I do think some of his more commercialist/goofy sidetracks (basketball jawing with Reggier Miller, et al, commercials) tend to overshadow and minimize his worth as a director, which I think is a shame.

 

[Dennis Pagoulatos]

I agree that Spike's not a good actor...Tarantino IS god awful though, no arguments there. And M. Night should not be in front of the camera...EVER.

-Dennis

 

[Robert Crawford]

I didn't notice Lee acting in his last couple of films.




Crawdaddy

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

Off the top of my head, I don't believe Spike acted in either Clockers or Bamboozled.

 

[Michael Allred]

We can only hope this trend continues.

 

[Lew Crippen]

Spike did not appear in:
1.25th Hour
2.Jim Brown All American
3.Bamboozled
4.The Original Kings of Comedy
5.He Got Game
6.4 Little Girls (except as an off screen voice)
7.Get on the Bus

But I agree that he tends to be a distraction as an actor in his films. Probably his best effort would be in Mo’ Better Blues.

 

[Lew Crippen]

My intention was simply that I try to vary my usage of he and she to refer to a person whose gender is not important. This is something that other people have been doing with increasing regularity (it was done once in this thread already, I believe), but it is still infrequent enough that it gets noticed when done, and that people suspect that there is a specific reason for it.

You are correct. I did that, changing your use of masculine personal pronouns to feminine when citing an Indonesian reference. Two reasons: I, like you do this from time to time for no particular reason and it was a joke on my part referring to the lack of gender in cases like this in Bahasa, which often results in males being called her and females being called him (in Indonesia).

As always, the humor is pretty much lost when explained (if it ever existed).

 

[Kevin M]

Well I'm ignoring most that went before as I will never agree with the explanation and will move forward to ask a question that I have been wondering about since it was mentioned by Richard Kim quite a few posts ago. Since Spike Lee himself states (apparently, as I have not heard the track) on the commentary track that Sal was correct in refusing to bend to pressure and that Buggin'out was wasting time in his boycott, doesn't this negate all the argument of whether Sal was right or wrong as far as the film story goes? I'm not talking about the what if's in the real world, I mean as far as Sal in the film was right or wrong it seems that the man who wrote the script himself considers Sal's action (or in this case inaction) to be justified.

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

I'll try to throw in the DVD tonight and listen to Spike's commentary on that scene so I can hear exactly what he says.

Edit: I had a few minutes so I threw the disc in. A few thoughts: 1) Spike says the title "Do The Right Thing" does not refer specifically to Mookie's actions. 2) At least in the final scenes with Radio Raheem, Buggin' Out, and Sal, Lee doesn't say that Sal was justified. In fact, he talks about Sal's decisions being a cause of the escalating tensions.

Edit #2: At the end of the first Buggin' Out - Sal confrontation, Lee explains Buggin' Out's complaint but does say that he agrees with Sal on this: "that once you own a business, you get to call your own shots, otherwise you're just begging." (a paraphrase but close I think).

 

[Reginald Trent]

Quote:

Edit #2: At the end of the first Buggin' Out - Sal confrontation, Lee explains Buggin' Out's complaint but does say that he agrees with Sal on this: "that once you own a business, you get to call your own shots, otherwise you're just begging." (a paraphrase but close I think).
-----------------------

Sure, Sal owned the pizzaria but the store belongs to the neigborhood that supports it, pure and simple. Without their support Sal would not have income to maintain a "Wall Of Italian American Heroes".

Let's say his customers let him know in no uncertain terms that they prefer beef on their pizza instead of pork. But Sal became and remained stubborn and would not accomodate his customers. Even though it's his shop and he has every right to use the ingredients he prefers, how long do you think his business would remain viable?

My point is in business as in life sometimes we have to compromise even if we don't want to. Irrespective, of Sal legally owning the restaurant he is still at the mercy of his customers for income needed to continue to exist.

 

[Richard Kim]

Sure, Sal owned the pizzaria but the store belongs to the neigborhood that supports it, pure and simple. Without their support Sal would not have income to maintain a "Wall Of Italian American Heroes". Irrespective, of Sal legally owning the restaurant he is still at the mercy of his customers for income needed to continue to exist.

Actually, Buggin' Out was the only one in the whole neighborhood in the beginning who was complaining about Sal's pizzeria. He tried to get some of his friends to join the boycott, but they refused, because they liked his pizza. They all ridiculed him, looking at him as a troublemaker. Mookie's sister refuses to join the boycott, telling him that he should focus on something more productive. The only reason Radio Raheem and Smiley joined Buggin Out in his boycott in the end is because they both had a beef with Sal and his sons which had nothing to do with Sal's pictures on his wall.

 

[Reginald Trent]

Sometimes the thoughts of what one customer says is felt by many who remain silent for a variety of reasons. A good business person knows this and would not dismiss it outright.

 

[Richard Kim]

Sometimes the thoughts of what one customer says is felt by many who remain silent for a variety of reasons. A good business person knows this and would not dismiss it outright.

But nothing in the film shows that anybody except Buggin Out was dissatisfied with the pictures on Sal's wall.

 

[Reginald Trent]

Quote:

But nothing in the film shows that anybody except Buggin Out was dissatisfied with the pictures on Sal's wall.
-----------------------

Nothing in the film would make you think Mookie would throw the trash can either.

 

[Todd Terwilliger]

Something that rewatching those scenes brought up:

Sal has zero patience with Buggin' Out, beginning with the argument about the cheese and ending with the confrontation about the wall. Sal brings out the baseball bat after very little provocation while also threatening violence.

In the commentary, Lee states that he had to talk to Aiello because Sal was being portrayed much nicer and loveable than Lee envisioned him to be.

 

[Jun-Dai Bates]

So Rex,

You've obviously done a lot of reading. Are you going to spend two hours to watch the whole movie someday soon? (And what do you think of Spike Lee's movies in general?)