Film Sequence Analysis of "do the Right Thing"

Spike Lee's 1989 film Do the Right Thing is able to effectively explore the problem of racial conflict in America by skilfully manipulating cinematic devices such as staging, narrative, cinematography, editing and sound. The concentration and emphasis on characters' certain physical attributes with the use of photography and camera framing, the fast pace editing style and manipulation of sound all contribute to film's overall meaning. In analysing the short sequence beginning with a small girl drawing a chalk painting on the road and ending with Sal, the local pizzeria owner, making Radio Raheem, "a hulking misunderstood home-boy" , two slices of pizza, these devices are seen to illustrate the hostility between Black and Italian working class Americans.

The narrative style in this double scene sequence encapsulates the major oppositions at work in the film, that is racial acceptance and alienation. This can be seen in the juxtaposition of two scenes that show Radio Raheem's acceptance of his Black friend Mookie and his rejection and disdain of the White Italian pizzeria owners. The story is told within the course of one day and scenes follow each other sequentially. This particular sequence begins with Mookie treading over the young girl's drawing of a harmonious scene with the sun shining and people smiling, implying to the viewer that such harmony does not exist. The scene then goes on to present Radio Raheem's new ring pieces, entitled "Love" and "Hate". Radio Raheem explains to Mookie how life is a constant battle between these conflicting emotions and that these emotions are determined and unchanging. This scene sees Radio Raheem, in the Black part of town, express his love for Mookie, saying, "I love you, man." This is contrasted with the following scene as Radio Raheem is in Sal's pizzeria, where he expresses only hostility and hate for the Italians. Here, Radio Raheem seems to summarise the major theme of the film, namely acceptance for one's own kind and suspicion and hate for outsiders.

Speech, image and music are all used and interact with one another as narrative devices to enhance the meaning of this sequence. The image of Radio Raheem's hands showing the "Love" and "Hate" rings dominate the first scene. Not only do they visually dominate the scene but they also direct the dialogue as the conversation between the two men centres around the theme of racial acceptance. In Sal's pizzeria, the faces of Sal and Radio Raheem dominate the visuals. The focus on the two men's faces in individual shots accentuates the colour of their skin and the difference between them and hence their distrust of the different and unfamiliar.

Different forms of speech are also used to convey meaning. In Radio Raheem's explanation of the struggle between love and hate, he increases his volume and uses a more forceful and aggressive tone in his voice indicating the importance and seriousness of this issue for him. When he is talking directly to Mookie he is verbose and employs a softer and friendlier voice tone. This is contrasted with the cold and generally uncommunicative tone that is used in his conversation with Sal. Radio Raheem makes one-word aggressive demands in this interaction, emphasising the hostility between them. Music also adds to the friction between these two groups in this sequence. As Radio Raheem approaches Mookie he turns down the music on his radio that is already playing, out of respect for Mookie and so that they are able to talk. As Radio Raheem enters Sal's diner, however, he turns up the volume of the music to annoy Sal. The result is that with such loud and powerful music in the background, the two men are unable to hear each other without raising their voices.

Staging, as a cinematic device, is also of great importance in the film's presentation of its major themes. As stated above, Lee relies heavily on the impact that the visuals of the "Love" and "Hate" rings have. The rings are placed in front of the camera to draw the viewer's attention to the themes of love and hate and how they apply to a modern, urban context. What is also significant about the visual staging of this sequence is how the characters are shown in relation to each other. During Mookie and Radio Raheem's discourse in the street, a single frame presents both characters together, implying a state of unity. However, the exchange between Radio Raheem and Sal highlights the division between the characters as they are presented in individual, separate shots with a counter as a barrier between them.

In his manipulation of light and use of contrasting location settings, Lee creates an immediate and more realistic visual effect for the viewer. The interesting use of an orange - red tint to the film, adds to the frequent allusion to the fact that the film is shot on the hottest day of the year. This bright orange tint contrasts effectively with the dim surrounds inside Sal's diner. The difference between the open-air location of the first scene and the confined and poorly lit location of scene two is significant. The environments in this scene are indicative of the relationship of the characters. The first meeting portrays a friendly meeting between friends, while the seconds portrays a tense, highly uncomfortable collision of attitudes. The lighting used in Sal's diner predominately comes from natural light from the window and additional lighting from dim light bulbs in the diner. The effect is that due the fact that Radio Raheem has his side facing the window, one side of his face is lit by the sun and the dim lighting in the diner and the other side is in the shadow. His menacing presence is clear as his face and eyes in particular are almost completely darkened and large sweat beads drip from his face. Hard side front lighting is used on Sal and Pino, resulting in the illumination of their faces. This, along with the production of strong shadows, provides a noticeable contrast between the two groups and adds to divide them further.

Costuming and physical expressions also add to this division. The first scene of this sequence depicts a friendly meeting where both characters have relaxed, happy and smiling expressions. The following scene depicts a tense meeting where Radio Raheem keeps an unflinching, stern, expressionless face. When Sal asks Radio Raheem to turn off his music for the last time, the Black youth unwillingly does so and increases the size of his eyeballs, emphasising his strength and power. Sal expresses anger and agitation and Pino gives Raheem long, piercing and unwelcoming stares. There is also no physical closeness or contact between these characters in this scene. The space is divided by the counter