Do The Right Thing - S. Bihary

     

        As the Roger Ebert review states, Do the Right Thing is a very controversial film. Many people could quickly be turned away from the movie by just assuming it is about race and violence. This is a movie that could cause a lot of problems if people take some of it too far. Some people could just simply be offended that the people buying food are the African Americans and the ones selling it are everyone but African Americans. Another example of this is the way that the different cultures interact with each other. An example of this is how the white man scuffs the black man's shoes and does not really apologize or anything. He just says it is his right to be there.

            Like the Washington Post review states, a lot the movie is left for the viewer to interpret it. For example, a lot of the different actions could be seen in different ways. Going back to the scene where the man's show got scuffed, you can interpret that in two different ways. The first way being it was an accident the man truly did not mean to mark up the other man's shoe. The next way being he did it on purpose. But then, why did he do it on purpose? I think this scene could be seen different depending on the viewer's race.

            The last review states that there is not a clear cut villain. I agree with this. There is not one single person that is the bad guy. I think there is a point in the movie that everyone did something bad that they should not have. This raised the tension immensely.

One film technique that made the movie seem very "real" would be the oblique camera angles. It really made the viewer feel uncomfortable which they most likely would have been if they were viewing it in person as well. Also, low angle shots were used effectively in the film. I interpreted it as everyone feeling like they had the power in the neighborhood. 

            Going back to the shoe scene, it is a great use of mise en scene. When the two men are arguing afterwards, mise en scene really kept the emotions up. This really helps the audience feel the tension that would have been going on in real life. 

Works Cited

Ebert, Roger. "Do the Right Thing." All Content. N.p., 30 June 1989. Web. 09 July 2013.

Emerson, Jim. "Do the Right Thing." Do the Right Thing. Cinepad, n.d. Web. 09 July 2013.

Howe, Desson. "Do the Right Thing." Washington Post. Washington Post, 30 June 1989. Web. 9 July        2013.