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Review Of Do The Right Thing By Spike Lee

900 Words4 Pages

Do the Right Thing is a social commentary on the slow boil of racial tensions in a neighborhood of New York. These racial tensions come to a head when characters Sal, Radio Rahim and Buggin’ out barge into Sal’s pizzeria blaring music. Sal demands they turn off their music and in turn they demand black people have equal representation on his wall of fame. This argument quickly escalates into a full out chaotic screaming match. This scene is ultimately the antithesis before the climax in which Radio Rahim is needlessly killed. As such this scene must build up the kind of anger and chaos wherein something like that can happen. Lee’s editing choices create a mess of hate and anger, yet he manages to make this mess coherent and understandable through his editing choices. …show more content…

Film’s “rhythms can make us tense and fearful, calm and contemplative, or energized and euphoric” (159). The rhythm of this scene serves to make the audience tense, and fearful of what is to come. Spike Lee creates this feeling by utilizing fast cuts. Fast cuts imply energy and chaos and as the camera cuts from angry individual to individual the tension of the scene mounts and the audience feels like the scene is spinning out of control. It is like the moment before a collision is about the happen and cars are careening towards one and other---it is inevitable that there will be a crash. By cutting quickly Lee makes the audience feel tense, and this fast cutting arose once Sal and Radio Rahim began yelling at each other and as such we view the chaos and tension as a result of their

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