How Does Spike Lee Create Tension In Do The Right Thing

The opening scene of Do The Right Thing, gives the audience a brief glimpse of several eccentric characters actions on the morning of a hot summer day in New York City. Although each shot appears unrelated, each of the characters exhibited will play a significant role in uniting or dividing the neighborhood they all inhabit during a riot which emmerges in the climax of the film. At its core, Do The Right Thing, directed by Spike Lee, is a film which explores race relations, following the lives and actions of several characters as a growing conflict emerges between the Italian-American and African-American residents of the community. Lee effectively builds tension throughout the film by following conventional narrative elements in some cases,

In narrative films, motifs are used to emphasize themes, and in Do The Right Thing, Lee uses the heatwave symbolize the growing community tensions. In the introduction montage, the mise-en-scene is staged to emphasize the affect of the heatwave. Both Da Major’s and Mookie rooms are shot using low-key lighting with a warm color scheme featuring reds, yellows, and browns. During their brief on-screen appearances, the affects of the heatwave are amplified by each character sweating, and the fan found in the backdrop. Later on in the film however, the disparity in how the heat affects the black and white members of the community becomes. In the following scene, which occurs at Sal’s Pizzeria, the color scheme feature cooler colors such as white, green and blue. Additionally, Pino, Sal’s son, is heard complaining about the broken air-conditioning at the shop., Using the motif of heat, Lee demonstrates that tensions within the community can also stem from indirect circumstances, such as the privilege afforded to Sal and his sons. Symbolism like this, both subliminally and explicitly draws attention to the socio-economic disparities between the central characters, showing how the use of a traditional narrative element can also build tension in the

In order to place the emphasis on the groups characters belong to and not the characters themselves, Lee’s characters in the film all fit into common character roles for narrative films. In the introductory montage, diagetic sound and mise-en-scene is used to clearly attach roles to each of the characters. For example, in the shot showing Da Major, beer bottles can be found littered all over his bedside dresser, which establishes him as the neighborhood drunk. Likewise, in an ensuing shot, Mookie is observed talking about and counting money, leading the audience to assume he is a hustler, or a character which fits the Midas persona. While in this respect, Do The Right Thing’s characters are typical of narrative films, what differentiates them from those in mainstream narrative cinema is lack of depth given to each character. Notably, the opening montage, which introduces four characters, provides very minimal information about who they. In typical narrative films, character introduction scenes are used to introduce characters, provide information on their goals, and establish a films protagonists or antagonists. In Do The Right Thing however, Lee eschews from this trend to place emphasis on the social commentary of the film. When Sal makes derogatory