Spike Lee, Do the Right Thing 1989

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Spike Lee, Do the Right Thing 1989

• Exceed Lees earlier efforts thematically and
  artistically
• energy and craftsmanship
• realistic portrayal of African American
  neighborhood in Brooklyn
• Mise en Scene, music, and dialogue rich with
  allusions to African American culture
• Open ending, two divergent points of view

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Spike Lee

• controversial
• portrayed poorly in the press
• Do the Right Thing was rumored as a threat in
  movie theaters even before it was released.
• pioneer filmmaker (Charles Burnett and Gordon
  Parks are the only African American Filmmakers
  that precede him--many followed)

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History

• Communications Major
• Studied Film at New York University (Tish School
  of the Arts) Scorsese, Seidelman, Jarmusch
• Shes Gotta Have It, 1986
• Most Commercially Successful film Inside Man was
  released last year (Critical Success as well)

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Do the Right Thing

• First Union Film
• Diverse cast and crew

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• Do the Right Thing never won an Oscar.?
• Remember what Kim Basinger did? Onstage she
  said, The best film of the year is not even
  nominated, and its Do the Right Thing. I didnt
  even know her. But when Driving Miss
  Motherfucking Daisy won Best Picture, that hurt.
  No ones talking about Driving Miss Daisy now.

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• How did the script come together??
• I had the title of it before I had anything else.
  Then it was bits and pieces--it was going to take
  place on the hottest day of the summer on one
  block in Bed-Stuy. Then I added the whole
  Italian-American/African-American conflict, which
  Ive touched on in three films