Tuesday, November 11, 2014

In the film Do the Right Thing by Spike Lee, how can we see stereotypes that are still relevant to contemporary society?

Do the Right Thing is considered by many to be Lee's masterpiece within a body of work that has spanned thirty-three years. The film centers on a pizza delivery man named Mookie, played by Lee, who works for Sal's Pizza—a local institution in the neighborhood of Bedford-Stuyvesant Brooklyn. Sal and his sons, one of whom (John Tuturro) is virulently racist against black people, own the restaurant and employ Mookie, who is pulled between his loyalty toward a black community that feels exploited by non-black business owners and his need for a job. This internal conflict is exacerbated by complaints from his on-and-off-again girlfriend (Rosie Perez) that he fails to provide properly for their son.
Lee made the film during a period of heightened racial and class tensions in the city. Well-known news stories of the period often focused on instances of police brutality and vigilantism enforced against black citizens. In a key scene toward the end of the film, black and Latino residents of the Bed-Stuy neighborhood recite the names of black people who were recently killed, including the elderly Eleanor Bumpers, due to racist instances of fatal bias.
In another key scene, which more directly addresses your question, Lee has various characters in his film speak to the camera, each giving a racist rant against a group of people whom they hold in contempt. For example, Turturro's character rants about everything he perceives to be wrong with black people, and a local Korean grocer spews contempt for Jewish people, particularly Mayor Ed Koch. Unfortunately, many of the stereotypes that are expressed in the film persist to date. This is one of the reasons why Lee's film remains relevant—the tensions that are expressed between the characters, each of whom represents a different community, are still palpable.

No comments:

Post a Comment

What is the theme of the chapter Lead?

Primo Levi's complex probing of the Holocaust, including his survival of Auschwitz and pre- and post-war life, is organized around indiv...