Title Sequence Analysis Of Do The Right Thing By Spike Lee

Title Sequence Analysis: Do The Right Thing

Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing starts off right out of the gate with a soft and soothing saxophone playing in the background on a black screen. This delicate instrument only plays for merely half a minute then as the screen begins to open from the blackness viewers are pumped up by Public Enemy’s top hit, “Fight The Power.” This energetic song blares through the neighborhood of a Brooklyn, NY street with various silhouette poses from Rosie Perez flashing simultaneously. We watch as Rosie passionately dances her way along the opening credits. She transitions from dancing to boxing but both show her emotion. Passion, aggression, and heart are all displayed in each motion she makes. The opening title

Rosie starts out in a red dress, then changes to a silver boxing outfit with red boxing gloves, and lastly in a blue jumpsuit. Viewers were able to tell that all the outfits looked like they just came straight out of the 80’s. The red dress Rosie wore matched a color/lighting theme Lee used. “Color tends to be a subconscious element in film. In general, cool colors (blue, green, violet) tend to suggest tranquility, aloof- ness, and serenity. Warm colors (red, yellow, orange) suggest aggressiveness, violence, and stimulation.” (Giannetti 23) The color red was actively used throughout the duration of the opening sequence. Based on conclusions from the opening title sequence, aggression and violence are emotions I believe are rampart throughout the duration of the film. We were able to see the feeling and emotions felt by Rosie Perez feelings as seen during the close-up shots. She appears heated with emotion while dancing and she dances with such passion and heart that it hits at how strong a character she is. Lee’s choice of music for this scene fit extremely well with the dance moves. Rosie’s dancing is provocative at times. The cinematographer captures her aggressive and seductive moves from pelvic thrusts to shadowboxing that turns into her iconic punch body popping moves. The boxing outfit of course correlates perfectly with the song “Fight The Power.”