Do The Right Thing Film Analysis

Spike Lee, an American film director, producer, writer, and actor, spoke about his film, Do the Right Thing, and said, “As a writer I want everybody to get a chance to voice their opinions. If each character thinks that they’re telling the truth, then it’s valid. Then at the end of the film, I leave it up to the audience to decide who did the right thing” (Edwards, 2014). Spike Lee touches on the film’s theme of speaking out. The film surrounds a black character, Mookie, as he interacts with his sister, friends, neighbors, and boss during a hot summer. Mookie lives in a black neighborhood in the Bedford-Stuyvesant district of Brooklyn. Mookie works in a pizzeria owned by his Italian boss, 'Sal ' Fragione, alongside his co-workers and sons

After Mookie releases the trashcan, the camera shows the trashcan break through the window from the outside and the inside. As the camera shoots from the inside, it is shown from a low camera angle. The low camera angle exemplifies Mookie 's strength and ability to speak up for himself. Mookie has clearly has fought back hard in the trashcan breaking through the window is expression of himself. Mookie feels that Sal has disrespected his race, which is unforgivable. Mookie speaks out by expressing his rage. By shooting from a low camera angle, Mookie is now seen as superior in his rage and actions. By showing the same event of the trashcan breaking through the window twice, it puts emphasis on the destruction of the pizzeria as well as Mookie 's anger. Thus, the cinematography and movement techniques illustrate Mookie 's anger as he expresses himself and speaks