In "Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing," Marilyn Fabe argues that Spike Lee adopts film theorist and director Sergei Eisenstein's dialectical montage - the juxtaposition of contrasting shots in order to bring the viewer to a new level of consciousness. Referring to Fabe's essay, describe two ways Lee creates dialectical conflict on the level of form, and two examples on the level of content. According to Fabe, what does Lee seek to achieve through his use of dialectical montage?
Marilyn Fabe writes an interesting article dissecting Spike Lee's "Do the Right Thing", using the dialectic film structure of Sergei Eisenstein. Conflict and tension between various different elements in the film make it thought provoking and may challenge the viewer's assumptions.
ReplyDeleteIn form, two examples that Fabe describes are conflicting images and proportional deviation. She writes about Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X being shown together on screen several times throughout the movie. The movie ends with a quote from each, Martin Luther King Jr. with a pacifist view, and Malcolm X supporting violence in self-defense. This caught my attention and sparks a philosophical discussion. It's like a "but... but then... and then..." conversation. This kind of conflict is what Einstein and Lee seem to be aiming for. The end result being a shift in viewpoint, a possibility never before considered.
The second example of conflict in form that I liked was using camera angles to create disproportionate images, either large or small, skewed or expanding time. This creates a conflict from normal perception. It also emphasizes the emotional or psychological feel of the scene or character. It maybe an extension of the character or of a stereotype that the viewer is led to perceive. Lee uses this technique to make Radio Raheem appear bigger and more menacing than an ordinary short would be. The skewered Dutch angle, evokes feelings of chaos or randomness. I also liked the image of showing a scene twice from two conflicting viewpoints; expanding the viewer's sense of time and challenging a held view point.
In content, two examples Fabe writes about are conflicts between characters and conflicts within a single character.
The characters of Buggin Out and Sal are in clear conflict. What's interesting is that the viewer is able to understand the viewpoint of both, as Fable describes. Both characters cannot give in to the other's viewpoint without giving up a part of themselves-or certainly an emotional piece of themselves. So the conflict stands, symbolized by which the photos, of famous Italian Americans, hung up on the pizzeria wall.
The character Mookie is dealing with a huge inner conflict that grows as the story progresses. He's trying to straddle and keep the peace in two different realities, Sal's and the African American community. I think in the end he had to make a choice. The chasm was growing too big to bridge, adding on more strain. It was Radio Raheem's death pushed Mookie over the edge, causing him to throw the garbage can through the window.
Defining what is "right" can be difficult. I'm not sure any broad principle applies. Lee is challenging the viewpoint in which his audience is comfortable with and asking them to look at other viewpoints.
In Spike Lee's "Do The Right Thing," Lee uses the methods inspired by Sergei Eisenstein called Dialectics. In this, he presents contrasting viewpoints by his use of opposites.
ReplyDeleteAs Fabe stated, "the goal was to liberate his audience from fixed stereotypical images of the conflict between black and white Americans and to open their minds to a more subtle awareness of racism in American society and the danger that racism poses to us all."
Lee wants us, his audience, to move past the basic idea of racism as purely white vs. black. He uses various contrasting images and viewpoints to show both sides of the race conflicts in the movie "Do The Right Thing."
His use of dialectics, in regards to the Form of the film, is immediately presented at the start of the film. What appears to be an act from a musical, a young woman is performing a dance to the film's adopted theme "Fight The Power." In the film, the woman is the girlfriend of a central character, but in this opening act, she is not a part of the narrative but a "symbol of the creative and destructive energy of black youth."
What more is contrasting, is the song to which she dances: angry black men shouting to "Fight The Power," while a petite woman dances lightly.
Conflicts arise again with Lee's use of color. Red appears to change the black and white background into one associated with violence or blood. This contrasts with blue in the next shot. These colors are sometimes mixed, creating a conflict of hot vs. cold.
In regards to content, Lee's use of dialectics presents several instances of clashing characters, as well as conflicts within individual characters. These instances lend themselves to the understanding of "the racial tensions that explode into violence."
The most visible conflict between characters is that of Mookie and Sal. Throughout the film, Mookie acts a keeper of the peace within Sal's Pizzeria. He attempts to lighten the tension between the Italian-American store owner and the African-Americans in the neighborhood (and patrons of the Pizzeria), until he becomes so enraged that he is the one to spark the violence by initiating the destruction of the Pizzeria. Rather than one of the young black customers that constantly complains about Sal's lack of displaying African-American celebrities on the walls of his store, it is an unexpected employee who begins the race riot.
As far as conflicting viewpoints go, Lee represents two very opposite ones by his use of the image of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. King stands for non-violent protest, while Malcolm supports violence as a means of fighting back. In Mookie's mind, smoothing the tension between Sal and his customers is a prominent issue for him. Until he ultimately chooses to "do the right thing" by acting on his aggression.
Spike Lee's approach to giving his audience a new perspective was undoubtedly effective. He presents them with new ways to think about race issues, as well as providing them with some insight on the thoughts of those involved.
Brittany Curran
ReplyDelete40305 (Lab 806)
Marilyn Fabe argues that Spike Lee uses juxtaposition in his movie Do the Right Thing to bring higher consciousness to the viewer—akin to Sergei Eisenstein’s dialectical montage. According to Fabe, “the goal was to liberate his audience from fixed stereotypical images of the conflict between black and white Americans and to open their minds to a more subtle awareness of racism in American society…” (Fabe 194). Lee did not want to conform to the stereotypical images of the races. Through dialectical form and dialectical content, Lee encourages the viewer to subtly create a higher level of consciousness concerning the dangers of racism while watching Do the Right Thing.
According to Fabe, one way Lee creates dialectical conflict on the level of form occurs at the very beginning of the film. Rosie Perez dances to Public Enemy’s “Fight the Power” during the opening of the film. The audio clashes with the visual in this instance—the song is a cacophony of angry male voices, while the image seen is a small female dancing. As Rosie Perez dances, the editing smoothly matches her movements from shot to shot, while the background and her costume change abruptly—another example of juxtaposition in this opening scene.
This film was shot on location in a black ghetto, however the film’s art design is very stylized—a second example of dialectical conflict on the level of form. Fabe argues that Lee creates a mise-en-scene that clashes with preconceived stereotypical notions.
On the level of content, Fabe argues that Lee creates dialectical conflict through the clash between the characters of Sal and Mookie. This clash ultimately leads to the Mookie’s instigation of the demise of Sal’s pizzeria. Fabe also explains that Sal’s character is contradictory. Sal is seemingly sympathetic toward Mookie, however he is also portrayed as being very racist.
Sergei Einstein theorized that to make a viewer more consciously aware of the images and sounds being perceived, the shots must be contrasting, obvious, and have some sort of variation. Einstein believed a film had "A Dialectic Approach to its Form" when it used an antithetical style of editing to create temporal ellipses in the viewers mind. He believed that this particular form in the use of shots makes the viewer transcend from their passive audience-stance, and realize truths when emotions are evoked through dialectical editing. He said "to determine the nature of montage is to solve the specific problem of cinema.”
ReplyDeleteInfluenced by Sergei Einstein, Spike Lee uses this form of smooth yet contrasting editing in his film Do The Right Thing to get across the contrasting viewpoints about racism because he wants his viewers to realize that racism comes in many shapes and sizes, not just white-black opposition. By using contrasting images and perceptions he effectively shows all sides in the issues of race.
In Marilyn Fabe's analysis of Do the Right Thing, Fabe reasons that Lee uses juxtaposition to bring the viewer to a higher consciousness in likeness to the theory of montage that Einstein pioneered. Fabe says that Lee creates dialectical conflict in the film's form during the opening scenes of the film when its' smooth editing contrasts with the incongruent images shown. A very light-hearted subject; a young woman dances to men chanting "Fight The Power”; her sweeter ambiance contrasting with the angry voices of black men fighting for their rights. Although she is the girlfriend of the main character, she acts as more of a symbol than a dynamic personality in the film, yet another (subtle) contrast. Dialectically, hues act as another editing trick. A black and white background turns into a red one, a color that conjures up feelings of pain, intensity, blood, and violence. The next shot however has blue background, and might draw more attention to feelings associated with the contrast of these two colors. The intensity and tension of the first scene and the oppositely cool explanation of a viewpoint in the next one show this associated contrast. Another aspect of contrast is the inordinate camera angles used that expand, compress, extend, or play with the span of time elapsing and the various conflicts in the eyes of different individuals within the film. By having these weird angles, character's varying viewpoints are implied, and yet the viewer is slightly confused by the notion of whose perception is “normal” and whose is extreme.
Lee represents two very opposite viewpoints by his use of the image of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X. King stands for non-violent protest, while Malcolm supports violence as a means of fighting back. In Mookie's mind, smoothing the tension between Sal and his customers is a prominent issue for him. Until he ultimately chooses to "do the right thing" by acting on his aggression.
The film has evident dialectical form with the use of things like subjective camera angles, suave dialogue and straight-on character shots, but also holds pretty unbiased content by providing both sides of the debate on racism. Fabe reasons that Spike Lee created dialectical form with the combatting opinions between Sal and Mookie, leading to Mookie’s destruction of Sal’s pizzeria. Fabe also says that Sal himself is a contradiction- seeming to feel a bit sorry for Mookie, yet saying and doing things characteristic of racism.
It gets us involved and almost traumatizes us when a solid decision (unlike the editing style) must be made in the end as viewers are caught off guard when the viewpoint is totally shifted and Mookie acts on his hostility, despite the implied theme of the immorality of racism. By doing this Lee forces the viewer to ponder the issue of the racism rooted in everyday life and something about it.
Sam Erzberger
ReplyDeleteSection 806
In the Marilyn Fabe article, she pointed out that Spike Lee, in "Doing the Right Thing," used the a consistent juxtaposition, or the clash of opposites to make a stronger point to the viewer.
One way Lee makes this feeling of juxtaposition, is in content. The main clash in content occours between Sal and Mookie. This starts wehn mookie instigates the destruction of the pizzeria. This central clash is a juxtaposition, because before the realization of Mookie's guilt, it was thought that he was one of the main protectors and keepers of the pizzeria not one who would destroy it. One other case is wehre Pino's racial comments and cruelty contrasts Vinto's subtlty. Scenes and situations like these casue for more of a tension within a film. The viewer doesnt know what to think or believe about charactors because they themselves are in conflict which in turn causes a conflict within the viewer's mind.
Not only can there ba a juxtaposition in content, but also in form. Fabe points out that for Lee, the main idea was to free the viewers from images of racial prejudice and steriotypes. and to open their eyes to the danger that racism poses to us all. This is accomplished, not by showing how nice and wonderful a racism-free society would be, but rather by showing how bad racism is by showing it at its worst. In the film also, is Tina, who acts as both the creative and destructive nature of the black youth. These two contrasting ideas are coming from the same person. This again causes a sense of uncertainty within the audience.
I think Spike Lee used these constantly contrasting things to show that even in film two "opposites" can work together as a whole and create a masterpiece. Just as, for example, creativity and destruction work together in the same charactor, so can white people and black people work together in the same society. The entire film is a metaphor showing how "opposites" can work together, and prosper from it.
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ReplyDeleteFrank Wachter
ReplyDeleteSection 806
In Spike Lee’s film “do the right thing” he uses dialectical methods from Sergei Eisenstein. Spike Lees goal was to “confront the viewer with a constant stream of conflicting images and viewpoints”. He was successful in “creating clashes and contradictions” though content, form and cinematography.
The movie “do the right thing” have several good examples of Dialectical form. There’s one instance where a girl is dancing in front of an urban-brownstone residence in a dress but then the camera switches to a scene of her dancing by a deteriorating graffiti building wearing a blue spandex workout suit. This abrupt Juxtaposition creates a shock effect to the audience. Spike lee was also able to create dialectical form though the use of different color filters. He mixed red and blue filters in a shot to create conflict colors of hot and cold.
Spike lee was able to make conflict though the use of content. An example of this is Mookie and Sal relationship. At first it seems like Sal and Mookie get along well and Mookie seems like he is the protector of Sal’s pizza restaurant but then in the ending of the movie Mookie turns on Sal and throws a garbage can though the window of Sal’s restaurant creating a riot. Another example of content is the opposing viewpoints between Buggin’ Out and Sal’s about hanging a picture of a black person on the wall of Sal’s restaurant. Both of the men have good reasons why they are right and there’s not a right or wrong position.
Spike lees goal in using Dialectical montage was to change his audience opinions about stereotypes of black and white Americans. The “clashes of opposites and different viewpoints” made the viewers minds open for debating the movie of whether who was right or wrong.
Sam Szymborski
ReplyDeleteThrough the use of a dialectic approach, inspired by filmmaker Sergei Eisenstein, Spike Lee’s film “Do the Right Thing” accomplished a different type of film watching experience with the use of juxtaposition and controversial subject matter. The idea behind a dialectic approach is that the filmmaker edits the film in such a way that what the audience member sees, opposed to what they are hearing, for example, would be almost completely opposite of each other. The opening scene of the film is a woman aggressively dancing on the streets of Brooklyn to Public Enemies “Fight the Power”. The song is filled with violent yelling, protesting authority, and yet the shot is of a beautiful woman dancing in the streets. Her dancing is smooth, and yet it also has the sense of defending herself or fighting something off. Her dancing with the music as well as the technical editing behind the shot contrast yet mix surprising well together. Lee uses short, jump cuts from long shots to close ups, all while focused on the woman dancing. He used continuous movements so that her dancing would flow along with the jump cuts, to create visual entertainment for the audience. The rapid movement and music played off of each other while her dancing and background colors connected as well. To begin the film, the instead of a black and white backdrop, Lee used orange, red and yellow lights to create the background and to makeup the woman’s dress as well. The colors themselves represent how brutally hot the summer was, and how sunny the days got. Along with the quick long shot to close up, the lights, as well as her wardrobe, changed as abruptly as the shots. While the camera changed shots, the colors switched to a cooler tone, with the use of blues and shadows. These hot and cold filters create the mood for night and day. Also, within the film “Do the Right Thing”, the subject matter addressing racism in America, is quite apparent and controversial. Lee, as a director has always been known for respectively having strong opinions and the courage to express them. Throughout the whole movie, there is obvious tension between black people and white people, yet it was all tolerated until the end of the movie. The tension built up inside the characters and the climax of the film is the breaking point for multiple characters. Lee, as a filmmaker, didn’t want his audience members to watch the movie and assume that he would favor violence. Instead he wanted to portray racism and the true troubles it causes in the world and how people deal with it. He wanted his audience to see racism for exactly what it was. The film also contains controversy about having Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. A character within the film argues that within the pizzeria, their pictures should be hung next to the “white heroes” on the wall. It’s also interesting in that the two men clearly had similar ideas and feelings, yet had different ways in going about achieving those dreams. Overall Lee just wanted the audience members to understand the opposition of the two, as well as the opposition people have for each other in the world. And yet, overall as a movie and using the approaches directed from Eisenstein, Spike Lee created a captivating movie.
David Chromy
ReplyDeleteI want you to imagine a beautiful river. It flows graceful and smooth. Now, you start to hear music to make your heart race. Music that evokes a feeling of fear. You can almost picture a waterfall ahead. But why? Why do you picture that waterfall? The answer lies within Eisenstein's theories about juxtaposition. The contrast the song provides alters our perception of the original image. We see this in Spike Lee's "Do The Right Thing" within the first few seconds of the film. A girl (Tina) dancing is our parallel to the flowing river. There is nothing angry about her dance, nothing threatening. But Public Enemy's "Fight The Power" alters our view of her dance, giving us a visualization of her fighting against something. Spike Lee even put in shots of here boxing to help us see this. This example of the dialectical conflict in the form of content. It's used in conjunction with dialectical conflict in the mis-en-scene (form). This conflict comes from the variations of shots, locations, and clothing. Throughout Tina's dance, Spike Lee changed abruptly from long-shots to extreme close-ups; from "brownstone residences" to a "deteriorating graffiti-marked building;" from an orange mini-dress to blue spandex. (CR 195) All of this creates a jarring effect that prepares the viewer to open their mind for the point Spike Lee hopes to convey in his work.
The main focus of the film is on the pizzeria, owned by a very, very conflicting character known as Sal. Sal is very odd about his ways in racism. He feels that, being Italian, he is above all of the African-Americans. Still, he employs our main character, Mookie, who is black. Sal becomes both a destroyer and a caregiver. A hater and a lover.
Eventually, Sal's hateful nature leads to the untimely death of Radio Raheem. This is what causes Mookie to throw a garbage can through the window of the parlor and incite the riot. When Mookie throws the garbage can, we see another dialectical conflict in the way Spike Lee presented the action. First, we see the garbage can being thrown through the window from outside. Next, we are inside and see the garbage can come flying in. Instead of having this be a match-on-action sequence, Spike Lee shows us the same action twice. This takes us from our normal viewpoint of "Ok, he threw a garbage can through a window" to a point where we can feel his reasons for doing so, his raw emotion.
Emotion can make us more aware, and is powerful enough to change the world if it can be harnessed. Spike Lee certainly achieves this by using dialectical conflict, whether it be from the content ('dancer and rap' and 'Sal') or the form in which the film was presented ('dancer changing' and 'garbage can'). The same film, without this dialectical conflict would fail to convey the same meanings. I congratulate Spike Lee in his successful attempt to change the status quo.
According to Marilyn Fabe, Spike Lee’s movie Do the Right Thing is a constant clash of opposites using the dialectical methods of Sergei Eisenstein. The constant juxtaposition occurs on two levels, both form and content. An example of the contrast in form occurs at the very beginning with the opening scene of a young lady dancing beautifully to the pounding beat of a rap song. The light movements of the woman and angry voices of the men singing have an intense contrast. Another example of opposites in form occurs in the shots used to show the lady dancing. Jump cuts between extreme close-ups and far off long shots contrast each other’s form. Also near the end of this scene a shot with the lady fighting on one side of the screen cuts to a shot of her fighting on the other side of the screen. This dialectical technique may at first confuse the viewer, but overall intends to open their mind to new ideas.
ReplyDeleteThe dialectical method is also applied to the content in the film. An example of this is the conflict between Buggin’ Out and Sal. Buggin’ Out would like to see pictures of African American heroes on the Wall of Fame, seeing as they are the ones spending money in the restaurant. Sal owns his restaurant and can decorate it as he pleases, he tells them to open their own pizzeria and do what they want with it. Both sides of the argument are reasonable, but contain different viewpoints. Another example of opposites clashing in the content is Mookie having a constant building tension. He is the peacekeeper in Sal’s Pizzeria and always has to deal with his bothersome African American friends who Sal does not respect. The juxtaposition in content occurs at the end when Mookie chooses to throw a garbage can through Sal’s Pizzeria window, evoking a full-fledged riot. This abrupt change in sides questions the viewers own standpoint and beliefs.
Marilyn Fabe believes that Spike Lee seeks to make “us contemplate two opposing views together, and thereby forcing our minds into new pathways of understanding.” Fabe also says on the topic of the dialectical method that “the goal being the creation of a new synthesis or higher consciousness in the mind of the viewer.”
Alex Maring
ReplyDeleteFilm 114
Marlyn Fabe recognizes the characteristics of Sergei Einstein's dialectical montage in "Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing." Fabe explains the similar characteristics when she explains how Lee uses: "long shots with close-ups, movement matches smoothly connecting discontinuous spaces, jump cuts, and color contrasts that create optical joints" For example, Lee uses: "extreme high and low skewed angles for humorous effect when he photographs Da Mayor (Ossie Davis) from the point of view of Mother Sister (Ruby Dee)." The high camera angle makes it look like Mother Sister is looking down at Da Mayor making Mother Sister seem much bigger and more intelligent than Da Mayor. Fabe explains the contrasting ideas of Einstein are used when in "Do the Right Thing" when Rosie Perez is dancing in the Bedford Stuyvesant. Crummy run dowm bulidings and well kept bulidings are present in the scene to show that the ghetto is not entirely decrepit. Lee is taking out the sterotype of the black ghetto by using the contrasting shots.
Fabe explains the dialetical conflict Lee uses between Mookie and Sal. They have a very conflicted relationship. Sal is a white Italian
American that owns a Pizzaria in the black ghetto. Mookie is a black man that works at Sal's Pizzaria. On one hand Sal tolerates and respects Mookie but is also inconsiderate of his customers. His main customers are black and he doesnt listen to the request of Buggin Out' to put up pictures of black people in the Pizzaria. Mookie tolerates Sal's racial issues and keeps peace between Sal and the black customers. There is a lingering tension between these two characters that causes a dialectical conflict. Sal is intolerant of most blacks and Mookie wants to be acknowledged for keeping peace.
Fabe explains another dialectical conflict between Sal and Buggin Out.' Buggin Out' wants Sal to put pictures of black people on the wall of the Pizzaria. Sal argues that since he owns the Pizzaria, pictures of Italian Americans will only be on the wall. Buggin Out' argues that the customers are predominantly black nad not Italian American at the Pizzaria so he and his fellow black customers should have a say. Lee poses a very conflicting question to the viewer. Should Sal reconsider putting pictures of black people in his Pizzaria? Does owning the Pizzaria have authority over the customers opinion?
Lee is trying to achieve a two sided viewpoint between races. He displays the two sides by going back to the example of the dialectic conflict between Mookie/Sal and Buggin Out'/Sal. He then points out that races must fight back in order to make a difference. Fabe concludes: "A motif that runs through the film is that unless people, no matter what their race, fight back against harmful power, they will be annhiliated." She is concluding that fighting for racial equality ended in a result of death in "Do the Right Thing." Radio Raheem fought back against the whites and was killed for it. Mookie did the right thing to fight back against this incident when he threw a trash can through the Pizzaria window. Although he caused a riot and a debt of death was paid in the film.
In her article, Fabe presents the idea that Lee's method was to break the typical stereotypes of black and white Americans to create a new, more subtle awareness to racism. With that, the general idea is that Spike Lee's approach runs parallel with Sergei Eisenstein's dialectical method. Eisentstein's method of dialectical form was to expose viewers to conflicting viewpoints and images.
ReplyDeleteLee uses this method of dialectical form and creates conflict with the opening sequence of the film. He uses a petite woman performing a choreographed dance against the strong message of a Public Enemy song, and within this image is another form of conflict with the woman jumping from one end of the screen to the other as though she is fighting herself. At first glance, the woman is just dancing to a hip-hop song. However, as Fabe points out, when looking more closely, the woman's suggestive dance, a mixture of fighting and aerobic moves, alludes to frustration and eroticism. This is magnified even more by the message portrayed through Public Enemy's song.
As for the subject of content, Fabe brings about the idea of Lee's use of the clashing of characters along with conflict within individual characters. A prominent example of clashing between characters is that of Sal and Mookie. Mookie is the mediator, in a sense, trying to keep peace between Sal and his customers and the local African-Americans, but eventually Mookie ignites the violence. This adds to Spike Lee's use of shock in that the start of the violence is not by that of an enraged young African-American, but by that of an employee of Sal's pizzaria.
In the area of viewpoints, Lee puts forth the two famous opposing viewpoints of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcom X. As King stands on the side of non-violence as an opposition to racism, Malcom X promotes the use of violence in self-defense. By Mookie's choice of "doing the right thing", or choosing to act out with aggression, Spike Lee poses new approaches to how the audience might look at racial issues. Lee chose to propose aggression and frustration as an avenue to countering racism, which is a method the audience would normally avoid exploring.
The movie ”Do the Right Thing" by Spike Lee is a very eye opening film. There is so much involved with the movie its amazing. The movie itself and all the technical things were done brilliantly, not even to mention all the behind the scenes or things that were purposely planed for the audience to see/hear. There is so much to talk about this film, here are a few things that I noticed.
ReplyDeleteSpike Lee creates dialectical conflict on the level of form through spatial distortions. He would do this by having many different extreme angels. At times in the movie the whole picture would actually be slanted or at a angle (called a Dutch angle). There were many shots when the angle would be from a very high and low angle looking up or looking down at the characters. This gives the audience a sense of un-easiness or against the norm. Another way that Lee expressed conflict is by the way he would have shots with Radio Raheem. He would have low angle shots so the audience would see him as bigger than he actually was. This is an analogy for the audience to have, as he is more powerful than other characters.
Another type of form is of the soundtrack. He would have music that purposely clashes with the image that the audience sees. There is a scene where there is dancing and the music and sounds flow with the images, but don’t blend together like a normal movie (which we would expect). By Lee choosing music and sound that doesn’t give the audience what they expect to hear, it catches the audience off guard and makes them think even more of the reason and listen even closer to the music itself.
Both of these ways make the audience think of the movie a different way and bring them to a different type of consciousness.
Lee uses relationships between characters also for many reasons. Throughout this entire film the issue of racism is very dominant. Lee chose to adapt relationship’s that are some stereotypical but some that aren’t. The whole setting of the neighborhood and movie is only one thing that is stereotypical of a ‘ghetto’. But also the relationship of Mookie and the audience is special. We (as the audience) know that he is only a pizza delivery driver and that it is a dead end job that he doesn’t take seriously. He never wants to start a fight or any sort of violence thought-out the film. So anything outside of that expected personality or attitude is a shock to the audience.
Another example of content is the option that Spike Lee had to kill Radio Raheem. Because Radio died, his death starts a series of riots. If it would have been someone else that was more for peace and not anger; riots probably wouldn’t have started. But because Spike Lee choose to kill Radio, he knew that it would only be customary for there to be a riot after his death because of his personality and attitude while he was alive.
Lee tries to achieve the perception of the audience would be something on a higher consciousness with his movie. Because of the actions that Mookie took towards the death of Radio. Some debate that they were right or wrong. But the way that he made the audience think in this movie is what he was going for.
Two ways in which Lee creates dialectical conflict on the level of form in the sense of his analysis on racism. His use of editing to subject whites away from the black culture is a strong point. From the opening of the film from a woman dancing to the introduction credits expresses the freedom and creativity of not only a race but a culture. It is an important figure that begins the film and sparks the idea of race and culture. Another dialectical conflict appears with the riot in the end of the film. The fact it sparks from the tension at a pizza parlor and explodes to an all out riot is a symbol of the tension between races and the mix up at the pizza place was only an excuse of a racial outbreak that was dying to be exposed. Through Lee’s use of montage Lee expresses a hectic and racial day in his life. The film’s use of montage sets out to shock the viewer of racism and that these riots are teeming on all parts of our nation. This is emphasized when Mooky throws a garbage can through the window of the pizza place.
ReplyDeleteThe two examples of content are Mooky and his girlfriend and the DJ played by Samuel L Jackson. Mooky and his girlfriend are symbols of race as they hint at racial inequality after they sleep together and suddenly these characters become more human in this film that is surrounded by race. The DJ is a representation of black America and it’s outspoken resentment towards racial inequality. He is a voice of all the characters of the film that they wish to speak out on.
In "Political Cinema: Spike Lee's 'Do the Right Thing,'" Marilyn Fabe discusses how Spike Lee endorses Sergei Eisenstein's idea of juxtaposing opposites to create a higher consciousness for the viewer. Two ways in which Lee does this is he confronts the viewer with conflicting images and uses expressionistic cinematographic effects. These effects bring intensity to the slowly building plots.
ReplyDeleteAn example of dialectical content in "Do the Right Thing" is the conflict between Mookie and Sal. This occurs when Mookie brings upon the destruction of Sal's Pizzeria. The way Lee portrayed this is so complex that it seems as if both Mookie was justified and Sal was betrayed. In "Do the Right Thing" in 'Roger Ebert's Book of Film, Spike Lee specifically states that he wants the climax to be a riot. This is to be the film's pivotal point.
A second example of dialectical content is seen through the character of Sal. Sal is affectionate toward Mookie even though Mookie does not take his job seriously. At the same time, he is exploitative and racist. Sal not only pays Mookie low wages. He never acknowledges that Mookie helps attract the customers to gain business. Sal shows sentiment toward his black clientele while he also calls them with racial slurs. In their analysis of "Do the Right Thing," David Bordwell and Kristin Thompson discuss how Sal lacks integration into the community and ends by bringing forth elements of his attack.
Dialectical methods are a very effective means of attracting the audience’s attention. First used by 1920’s director Sergei Eisenstein, it is a film technique where two complete opposite concepts are contrasted in order to better communicate an idea. Spike Lee borrows this technique in his film Do the Right Thing. The film opens up with a petite woman dancing to a pounding rap song with violent lyrics. This is a clear contradiction; the dancing contrasts with the song’s lyrics. Since the movie was marketed as a common racial drama driven by violence, this starkly contrasted to what the viewers prior assumptions likely were. Another key contradiction in the film is in its elements of mise-en-scene. The movie was shot on location in Bedford Key. Bedford Key is commonly known for its dirtiness. For the movie, they cleaned up the streets and used carbon-arc lighting to create an effect similar to an MGM Hollywood musical. The reasoning for Lee’s decisions regarding Dialectical form is to dismiss people’s prior notions regarding racism. He acknowledges that people will be expecting one thing, and he gives them another in order to make them question their original thoughts.
ReplyDeleteLee also uses dialectical content to create clashes. For instance, there is a distinct clash between the Italian, Sal, and the African American, Mookie. Mookie, who is constantly a mediator of peace, eventually rises up against Sal. The contrast between his original personality and his later actions creates a much stronger effect than if Mookie was a constantly violent character. In general, it is also a contradiction that Sal is so racist against blacks, considering most of the business at his pizzeria is African-American.
Spike Lee's adaptation of the dialectical methods of Sergei Eisenstein created an equally unique impact on film of his respective time period. His integration of Eisenstein's cinematic methodology (consisting of the coupling of a thesis and antithesis, within a single montage, in order to create a new conclusion/interpretation all together) is flawless within the film 'Do The Right Thing'. The first example chronologically, can be found withing the first few seconds of the film; the woman Perez's aerobic dancing coupled with a non-diagetic political rap song, which represents perfectly clashing influences used simultaneously in film. Her sexy, choreographed movements contrast with the in-your-face political nature of the soundtrack in the sequence. The second example of dialectical methods on the level of form in the film, is the director's usage of color filters. The sequential use of contrasting filters creates rich clashes within even the character of the image itself, expanding the use of dialectical with the expansion of technology (since Eisenstein).
ReplyDeleteThe complexity of one relationship in the film produces my first example of dialectic content. The ever morphing love/hate affiliation between Mookie and Sal, wreaks havoc with the audiences interpretation of their interactions, creating a long lasting contrast that climaxes with the storyline itself. The very trigger of the climax contains dialectical aspects. Sal leniently lets a group of young African American customers in, displaying to the audience his lack of prejudice, while in the same scene, he pulls a baseball bat out on Buggin' Out for requesting that he put African American pictures on his pizzeria wall. The result is an introspective pondering of societal prejudices, as well as the duality of such a topic. And this, is what I believe was Spike Lee's intention.