A Closer Look at Do The Right Thing: Analytical Review

In the 1989 film Do the Right Thing, Spike Lee displays an excellent use of mise - en - scene. He uses several different settings to establish meaningful environments in this film. For example, Sal's pizzeria portrayed Sal, his two sons, and Mookie on normal working days. The food market, located directly across from Sal's Pizzeria, also portrayed two Korean grocers on normal working days. There was also a section of Bed - Stuy that really interested me. Three African American men would always gather together on a sidewalk and talk about everything that is wrong with the town. There were several color schemes in this environment that got my attention. The red wall in the background was the biggest thing. I also noticed that the clothes that the men were wearing had several color schemes. For example, two men were wearing blue hats with the other man wearing a tan hat. Two of the men were also wearing two tan shirts with the other man wearing a blue shirt. Finally, two of the men were wearing blue pants with the other man wearing tan pants.

Spike Lee also uses several props to relate to the story of the film. Two of the most meaningful props in this film is the boombox that Radio Raheem always carries around, and perhaps the most important prop in the entire film are the "Love/Hate" brass knuckles of Radio Raheem. Interestingly, the only song that plays from Radio Raheem's boombox is Public Enemy's "Fight the Power" (which was also the background music to the opening credits). I believe this song is symbolic and relates to the message of the film, which is to ultimately do the right thing. I felt that Radio Raheem carried a quiet and yet eerie presence throughout the film. I felt however, that "Fight the Power" was a song that was meant to encourage the viewer to embrace courage and bravery and to just stand up and do the right thing.

Finally, I thought that Spike Lee used several lighting techniques to evoke certain meanings in this film. For example, in the beginning of the film, Senor love daddy says over his radio broadcast that it will be the hottest day of the summer. As Mookie walks out of his apartment, I thought that Spike Lee uses the correct lightning to make it seem like it is hot, hazy, and humid. I thought that the lighting had a slight reddish color to it. I also thought that the "hottest day of the summer" was a perfect example of foreshadowing in this film. While I was watching the beginning of this film, as soon as I heard Senor love daddy announce that it would be the hottest day of the summer, i thought that had some sort of significance to it. I thought that something was going to happen later on in the film. At the end of the film, we see all hell break loose on Sal's pizzeria.

All throughout this film, i thought that Spike Lee used excellent examples of mise - en - scene. He used several different settings to establish meaningful environments, such as Sal's Pizzeria. Lee also uses several props to relate to the story of the film, such as Radio Raheem's boombox and "love/hate" brass knuckles. Finally, Lee uses several lighting techniques to evoke certain meanings in the film. A perfect example of this occurs when Mookie walks out of his apartment, Spike Lee uses the correct lightning to make it seem like it is hot, hazy, and humid.