Spike Lee’s breakout film Do the Right Thing (1989) is tonally irreverent. There are scenes showing community and solidarity, and then following that tirades flooding stereotypical expletives and slurs. The viewer is put in an uncomfortable no-man’s land, polarized by Radio Raheem’s two rings, Love and Hate. Another binary opposition is at play throughout the film, between the ideologies of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X. The former preached righteous suffering whereas the latter advocated violence out of self-defense . These figures aren’t as black-and-white love and hate (their ideas were far more complex than that), but rather patience and aggression. Lee is quick to show these ideologies aren’t inherently against each other, though, as the movie ends with a quote from each, contrasting in their nature as they might be, and a picture of them smiling together. Love is the final image of the movie, despite its last act being wrought with hatred.
Outside of the narrative, the cinematography and editing jars the viewer as well. Dutch angles are employed several times throughout the film to communicate a sort of uneasiness. The cutting in these moments are quick, never allowing the audience to get comfortable. Sal’s confrontation with Radio Raheem and Buggin’ Out at the end of the film demonstrate this effect. Conversations aren’t always simple shot-reverse-shot, but instead, the camera moves from subject to subject, inducing a nauseating fact. This occurs when Mookie warns Sal to stay away from his sister Jade. The most jarring instance is when the characters look directly at the camera as they say a number of disgusting slurs, as if they are attacking the viewer. This isn’t to say there no smooth scenes to the film. There are several long takes where conversations transpire between characters, like when Sal and Pino have a heart-to-heart. The mere presence of such jarring content creates this clash.
The score also presents this duality between love and hate. One moment, there’s Love Daddy’s smooth jazz and the next, Public Enemy’s raucous hip-hop on Radio Raheem’s boom box. The volume of characters’ dialogue also shifts often, at times transitioning from soft whispers to rage-induced yelling. The audience is rarely content with what they hear, never knowing when there may be another jarring shift.
On narrative and audiovisual levels, Do the Right Thing displaces the viewer in the middle of the fight between love and hate. This makes the film’s titular question even harder to answer, leaving them wondering if the right thing is possible or a romantic dream. Lee leaves the audience conflicted and, more importantly, thinking. Do the Right Thing is far from a complacent movie. It prompts an audience reaction, whether it be positive or negative, and gets them to contemplate how far race relations really have revolved since before and after this film’s release.
Most importantly, the viewer is enlisted into the dual between love and hate.
The CineMan Twist 