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Do the Right Thing


This weeks movie recommendation is A Spike Lee Joint, the 1989 'Do the Right Thing'⁠⠀
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We have chosen this not just because of its relevance in the current climate but because of it's unfiltered portrayal of race relations in America. @officialspikelee was so ahead of his time, living the stories of tension that he was telling, and having the foresight of the inevitable outcome with the Rodney King riots happening less than three years after this movie was released. ⁠⠀
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There are so many scenes that are burned into your mind in this film but the one that stuck out the most is the solo portraits of the five characters talking about the racial stereo types, the unfiltered hatred coming from all sides perfectly portrays the powder keg that is American society. The direction in how it was done, direct to camera is so powerful and a stroke of genius by Lee.⁠⠀
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There is a quote from Lee at the Cannes film festival that shows the underlying problem not just in America.⁠⠀
- "It isn't the job of movie makers to offer solutions", he said: ''All we can do is to present the problems.'' When one critic noted with surprise that the movie contains no references whatsoever to drugs, he said that the omission was a conscious one. ''The movie isn't about drugs,'' he said. ''It's about bigotry and violence. Drugs are such a big issue that to introduce them as a subplot would not do justice to the problem.''⁠⠀
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He suggested further that even to raise the question might be racist: ''How many people went to 'Rain Man' and 'Working Girl' and asked where the drugs were?''⁠⠀
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Let us know what you think in the comments below.⁠

 

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