For those who have not seen the movie, I have decided to include a brief synopsis and link the trailer to the movie below:
Salvatore "Sal" Fragione (Danny Aiello) is the Italian owner of a pizzeria in Brooklyn. A neighborhood local, Buggin' Out (Giancarlo Esposito), becomes upset when he sees that the pizzeria's Wall of Fame exhibits only Italian actors. Buggin' Out believes a pizzeria in a black neighborhood should showcase black actors, but Sal disagrees. The wall becomes a symbol of racism and hate to Buggin' Out and to other people in the neighborhood, and tensions rise.
Throughout the movie, there are multiple references to racial misinterpretations and stereotypes. There are five main racial groups in the plot of the film: African-Americans, Hispanic/Latinos, Whites, Italian- Americans, and Asians. While watching the film, I started to make a list of the racist remarks made, but rather than trying to keep track, I have the found the clip that best sums them up. It is important to note that these "rants" are not said to the targeted group, but are supposed to represent the inner thoughts of each racial category. The cut to the final character, Mister Senor Love Daddy, is important because he is telling the radio listeners to "cool out" and "chill" in the context of the scolding hot temperature that day, but also to calm down with the racial tensions.
The character's in the movie coincide with the racial stereotypes discussed in Race & Racisms by Tanya Maria Golash-Boza. Since the setting of the film is in a disproportionately African-American neighborhood, the majority of the slang is directed toward this group. The term "brothers" is used a lot and violence is a key aspect in the film, two very stereotypical characteristics of African-American men. One scene in particular shows Buggin' Out getting his brand new Air Jordan's scuffed by a white man, Clifton, and then preceding to scream at him about being in his neighborhood. Clifton says that "as I understand it is a free country, a man can live wherever he wants," a complete misrepresentation because of structural and institutional racism. The racial inequality in housing results in large groups being confined to one area, hence why they react so angrily to the man being in their "territory." Another racial stereotype is exemplified in Tina's character. She is a young Hispanic woman with a child. In the film she is the only character that is sexualized, fulfilling the role as mentioned by Golash-Boza (102). The shop vegetable shop owners are also portrayed as "corrupt business owners" in the film, another common representation (102).
Overall, I found the film to be very good and intriguing. I do not want to spoil too much about the plot line, but I will leave you with one final quote from the film, "those that'll tell don't know, and those that know won't tell."
Golash-Boza, T. M. (2016). Race & Racisms: A Critical Approach. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Lee, S. (Director). (1989). Do the Right Thing [Motion picture on DVD]. United States: Universal Pictures.
What is your opinion on the title of the movie in relation to how the characters acted among themselves? Do you believe the title of the movie was another way of telling those who were watching the movie to avoid acting as the character's did and to instead, "do the right thing"?
ReplyDeleteI feel that the title was blunt, telling the audience to "Do the Right Thing." Rather than skirting around the issues of racism, I think that it is important to acknowledge them and take action.
DeleteMaybe it links to the line about those that know (should) tell. That is the right thing. I think this blog, actually, is a great example of those that are developing knowledge are doing the right think by "telling."
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