Do the Right Thing (1989)

It is a performances centric movie

It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

a film so unique, intoxicating and bizarre that it not only demands another viewing, but is also forgivable as a satirical comedy where the jokes eventually take the back seat.

Through painfully honest and emotional moments, the movie becomes irresistibly relatable

"Do the Right Thing" (1989) is a comedic drama about racial tensions in Brooklyn, New York. There are several notable characters in this film, but Mookie, played by Spike Lee, has the spotlight. When I originally watched this film almost 20 years ago, I felt a sense of pride that the black community stood up. When watching it today, I feel anger in my compassion because I sincerely believe that had everyone spoke with a little more respect to one another, the tension would have been slighted resulting in an alternate ending. Overall, my emotions don't affect my opinion of this being an outstanding film.Spike Lee is an amazing writer and director that puts the hard truth on the big screen for the world to take notice. This film is the epitome of not only what was happening then, but what is still happening today. The acting was mostly spot on for the era and location, but the exception is Spike Lee himself. He appeared very stiff and out of place through most of the film, but it didn't detract from the message. His multiple uses of unconventionally canted shots added a complex level to the scenarios that adds tremendously to the story. Even though watching this film now hurts my heart, it is a classic that should be viewed by everyone, particularly those who need an inside look into lower class minority communities.

This week I watched Do the Right Thing (1989) by Spike Lee. The story is about a young man named Mooki and the daily struggles of hate and bigotry in his New York City neighborhood. The film was very engaging and thought provoking. Many issues of racism that we currently see today are prevalent within the film. It challenges a person's belief system and thought processes. The screenwriter and the director were both Spike Lee. I find that it is a huge advantage in storytelling to be able to write and direct the same film. I feel like this gave Spike Lee a lot of control and direction. The film was edited by Barry Alexander Brown. A particular part of editing that stood out to me was the scene when Radio Raheem was ordering pizza at Sal's and Sal was asking him to turn the radio down. The shots between the tallness of Radio compared to Sal danced back and forth with the dialogue and was very cinematically artistic. The cinematographer was Ernest R. Dickerson and his lighting was really creative. Parts of the story were lit to appear like normal daylight while others were lit with harsh color to convey purpose or heat. The one thing I would have liked to see in this film was more of Mooki's backstory. It was hard to understand why he only saw his girlfriend once a week or why he would avoid her and his son, Hector. All in all, I really enjoyed this film and would recommend others to watch it.

Do the Right Thing by Spike Lee is a movie set in the neighborhood of Bed-stuy. This is about a conflict between a set of customers and the pizza shop where the main character Mookie works at. At Sal's famous Pizza there is a wall of fame where there are a bunch of famous white and Italian people the customer ,buggin out, sees this and doesn't think it's right and demands there be some black people on the wall. This is the main conflict but there are other small conflicts throughout the movie. This movie has a lot to learn from in diverse spaces and cooperation between different types of individuals.

I saw this movie when it first came out, and remember thinking how good it was. I saw it again today, and realized that while the themes it tackles are important, it really isn't as great a film as I remembered. Filled with stereotypes (despite places in the film that seem to be mocking how people stereotype one another), the dialogue is stiff, unnatural, and again, like someone's impression of stereotypes of Brooklyn street slang. Most of the performances consist of various people screaming bad lines at one another. I really wish this was the movie I thought I saw in 1989.