Spike Lee Do the Right Thing Essay - 1011 Words

James Callahan COM 2010 4-22-11 Midterm Analysis Revise Cinematography helps Spike Lee to Do the Right Thing In Spike Lee’s film Do the Right Thing, we dive head first into a world of racial and social ills. The movie is set in the African American and Puerto Rican neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn, on the hottest day of the year. We follow a young man named Mookie, who lives with his sister Jade, and works as a pizza delivery guy for a local pizzeria owed by Sal. Sal’s â€Å"Wall of Fame† is soon questioned by a man named Buggin’ Out, who believes that Sal should place some pictures of African American celebrities on his wall to represent the African American society he serves. Sal refuses and Buggn’ Out attempts to†¦show more content†¦We notice that the headlines are about the heat. Lee adds more of a yellow shade to the paper stand and the newspapers themselves, which helps us to better grasp that it is a hot summer day. There are many colors incorporated - yellow, red and orange are used vividly throughout the scene. The colors allow us to associate with the weather and certain emotions that are being felt by some of the characters. During the introduction of the scene, Lee uses different camera angles and sound to place a stronger focus on the water and refreshments in this scene to show emphasis on the temperature. We are shown a close up camera angle of a girl submerging her face in water to cool herself off and a side view of another person avoiding the heat by standing directly under a showerhead as the water slowly pours out. By slowing down both clips, Lee makes us remember the feeling of the cold water on a hot summer day. We are also taken to a street where all the neighbor kids are playing and the excitement that they feel when all the water starts spraying out of the fire hydrant is vividly displayed. The camera rises and shows us how much everyone enjoying the water and having fun. These angles help the audience share the feeling with the chara cters and remember hot days in the summer that they have experienced. Sound is another important aspect of the scene. The music selection in the backgroundShow MoreRelatedDo The Right Thing By Spike Lee1189 Words   |  5 Pages Do the Right Thing, Spike Lee’s 1989 blockbuster film, depicts the growing racial tensions and political conflicts set in Bedford-Stuyvesant, a low income neighborhood in Brooklyn, New York. Set in the middle of a record breaking heat wave, high temperatures test the temperaments of local residents and business owners, creating an explosive racially charged atmosphere in this small neighborhood. There is an on going struggle for power in the multicultural but mostly Black community. Mookie, theRead MoreDo The Right Thing By Spike Lee1434 Words   |  6 PagesThe Reluctant Fundamentalist, by Mohsin Hamid, and Do the Right Thing by Spike Lee. 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