Do The Right Thing
"Do the Right Thing" Jason Smith Film Studies, April 2002 Right off the bat Spike Lee's ideology is apparent in his film "Do the Right Thing". In the opening credit sequence Rosie Perez is dancing to the Public Enemy song "Fight the Power" from the album Fear of a Black Planet. The main theme of the song and dance is frustration and anger at the status quo. "Most of my heroes don't appear on no stamps…Nothing but rednecks for 400 years if you check…" is one example of how the songwriter (Chuck D) and Lee are frustrated by the treatment of 'his heroes'. Another example of ideology just from the opening song is the lyrics, "To revolutionize make a change, nothing's strange…People, people we are the same…" This verse suggests the equality of people, a popular left-wing ideology.
The rest of the film is also full of ideological ideas. One of the most prevalent themes of the movie is the pictures that were on the wall of the Pizza place. One of the men in the neighborhood tried to form a boycott of the pizza place because there were no Black people on the wall. He mentioned Malcolm X and Nelson Mandella as examples of black leaders, but the owner said that since it was his shop, only Italian-Americans would be put on the wall. This is another example of how Spike Lee was attempting to attack the status quo. Not until the very end of the movie when the handicapped guy puts a picture of Malcolm X on the burnt, damaged wall does the film resolve the black leaders problem.
Another great example of the ideology of this film is the neighborhood view of the Korean owned grocery store. At one point in the film the three black men are sitting across the street from the store talking. One of them refers to the store as a shame. He expresses his annoyance that the Koreans were able to run a successful business so quickly after arriving in the city. He says that if there were ever a black-owned store he would be the first in line to spend his dollar. In response one of the
The rest of the film is also full of ideological ideas. One of the most prevalent themes of the movie is the pictures that were on the wall of the Pizza place. One of the men in the neighborhood tried to form a boycott of the pizza place because there were no Black people on the wall. He mentioned Malcolm X and Nelson Mandella as examples of black leaders, but the owner said that since it was his shop, only Italian-Americans would be put on the wall. This is another example of how Spike Lee was attempting to attack the status quo. Not until the very end of the movie when the handicapped guy puts a picture of Malcolm X on the burnt, damaged wall does the film resolve the black leaders problem.
Another great example of the ideology of this film is the neighborhood view of the Korean owned grocery store. At one point in the film the three black men are sitting across the street from the store talking. One of them refers to the store as a shame. He expresses his annoyance that the Koreans were able to run a successful business so quickly after arriving in the city. He says that if there were ever a black-owned store he would be the first in line to spend his dollar. In response one of the