Do The Right Thing|Spike Lee Flashcards
all key stuff about this film, context etc.
Who is the auteur of DTRT?
Spike Lee.
What is the first line of the film and what could it suggest?
‘Wake up, wake up!’
Could call for people to be aware and mindful of contextual situations at the time such as racism.
What year was ‘Do the Right Thing’ released?
1989.
True or False: ‘Do the Right Thing’ was directed by Spike Lee.
True.
Where is Do The Right Thing set in?
Bed-stuy Brooklyn.
Which character owns the pizzeria in ‘Do the Right Thing’?
Sal.
What is the main theme of ‘Do the Right Thing’?
Racial tension and social justice.
What was Sal’s first instinct when Buggin’ Out began to criticise his Wall of Fame that only included Italian-Americans?
Pick up a bat and beat him but Pino stops him.
What is the significance of the Italian-American Wall of Fame?
Initially the one sided story that White people are more superior that those of ethnic backgrounds.
What does Buggin’ Out imply when he says “All I’ve ever seen is black folks. So since we spend much money here, we do have some say.”
Clearly pointing out that in a neighbourhood like this, and an Italian-American pizzeria, there are only black people who come to eat, rarely any of their ‘own kind’.
What is ‘Breaking The Fourth Wall’?
Brechtian Stylistic Device- Bertolt Brecht.
Breaking character to speak to the camera [audience] and address other situations either within the film or outside the film.
As a sub contextual thing or relative.
What happens within the Fourth Wall Breakage?
Each character is introduced through the 4th wall and starts saying ‘racist’ things to the other race, immediately transferring it onto them.
What does Mookie say that is different to Pino in his part in the racial montage?
He says ‘pizza-slingin’, ‘garlic-breath’, ‘Perry Como’, ‘Vic Demone’.
Pino says more explicit ones such as, ‘gold-teeth, gold-chain wearing, biscuit eating monkey, basketball-dunkin’, ape, baboon big thigh.’
