In "Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing," Marilyn Fabe argues that Spike Lee adopts film theorist and director Sergei Eisenstein's dialectical montage - the juxtaposition of contrasting shots in order to bring the viewer to a new level of consciousness. Referring to Fabe's essay, describe two ways Lee creates dialectical conflict on the level of form, and two examples on the level of content. According to Fabe, what does Lee seek to achieve through his use of dialectical montage?
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According to Fabe, Lee harkened back to Eisenstein’s use of dialectical form in the opening sequence of Do the Right Thing. Rosie Perez opens the film with a dance choreographed to the Public Enemy song “Fight the Power.” First of all, the strong, angry, political tone of the song contrasts with the beautiful, young Perez performing her dance. Also, the dance itself creates a contrast, as Perez alternates between an erotic dance and fight choreography. Along with sensual dance moves, Perez, on more than one occasion, throws her fists directly at the camera. Lee also creates contrasts in his choice of settings. The film takes place in an urban black neighborhood, which Lee has been accused of “prettying up.” Lee claims this was deliberate, in an effort to contrast the neighborhood portrayed in the film with people’s preconceived notions of what such a neighborhood should look like. In terms of dialectical content, Lee creates a multi-layered, incredibly complex, relationship between the main character, Mookie, and his white employer, Sal. While Mookie at first seems protective of Sal’s pizza parlor, as well as Sal’s youngest son, it is Mookie who sets off the riot that destroys the pizza parlor. Lee also creates contrasts in the character Sal. While Sal seems kind and appreciative of Mookie, he is blatantly racist towards the black customers of his shop. Fabe contends that Lee’s use of dialectical montage is an effort to justify the film’s racial violence. By making Radio Raheem, the “bully” of the film, the victim of racial violence at the hands of white police officers, Lee makes the audience grapple with the higher-level implications of what constitutes “necessary force.”
Form
Fabe notes that, in the first scene, Rosie Perez’s choreography alternates between sensual dancing and aggressive boxing techniques; it is also accompanied by several clashes of two main oppositional colors—red and blue. The general theme of the scene is a symbolic contrast between two opposing ideologies.
Another seeming contradiction, which Lee uses to confront the audience’s stereotypical expectations, is the cleanliness of the particular ghetto in which the movie takes place: there is no garbage anywhere, no drug dealers, no pimps or hookers—only hardworking black families.
Content
Here, Fabe points out Lee’s dialectical conflict between four main characters: Mookie and Sal, and to a lesser degree, Vito and Pino. Though Sal is affectionate and even indulgent toward Mookie, he exploits Mookie by paying him low wages. Conversely, while Mookie acts as a mediator between Sal and his black customers, he is not exactly a model worker either, since he often shows up late for work, takes long breaks, and refuses to do extra chores around the pizza parlor.
Fabe also devotes a small section to the contrast between Vito and his older brother Pino. While Vito is friendly with Mookie and sympathetic to the black customers, Pino is openly hostile and racist, making several derogatory remarks (e.g., calling Sal’s pizza parlor “Planet of the Apes”) and criticizing Mookie’s laziness.
By presenting such antithetical elements, accompanied by conflicting (but valid) human emotions and viewpoints, Lee avoids a good/evil dichotomy. For instance, by making an unpopular character (Radio Raheem) the victim of police brutality and having Mookie throw the garbage can through Sal’s pizzeria window, Lee forces the audience to consider the underlying principles of the movie without being influenced by good guy/bad guy status.
Hannah Mann
Spike Lee had the same method as Eisenstein’s, and that was “to confront the viewer with a constant stream of conflicting images and viewpoints. (Marilyn Fabe 194)” The opening scene of the Do the Right Thing was Rosie Perez dancing to the rap song “Fight the Power” by Public Enemy. This is where there is a dialectical conflict, because as Fabe said, you have Public Enemy rapping “Our freedom of speech is freedom of death/ We got to fight the powers that be”, and then you have Rosie Perez dancing. Although the dancing at times turns into boxing, it allows the viewers to think that the dance is “fun” or “dangerous”. Lee also gives the viewers a different feel to the dance by doing extreme close-ups and long shots of Rosie Perez’s face and body parts. Lee also uses a clean neighborhood for Do the Right Thing, and viewers would think of Bed Study being a place for drug dealers, prostitutes, and murderers. Lee uses a neighborhood where the buildings are brightly colored, and it doesn’t seem like a ghetto.
One of the levels on content that Lee has in his film, is the relationship between Mookie and Sal. Mookie pretty much calms the customer’s down that get aggravated with Sal. Throughout the times that Mookie helps out Sal, Sal never thanks him. Sal also pays Mookie low wages, and expects him to do more then just deliver pizza’s. There is also the relationship between Pino and Vito, and Pino bullies Vito around. Pino tells Vito that no black man can be trusted, and I think this also points out what Lee was trying to get across. That people who aren’t black, don’t trust black people, and that is what’s wrong with society. How are young African Americans supposed to try and make a living if society is just looking down on them? One of the other things I thought that had a deeper meaning was when Fabe is talking about the “Corner Men”, and they are talking about business’s and how the Koreans have been here for a year, and already have a business. One of the guys says “Either dem Koreans are geniuses, or we Blacks are Dumb.” It sounds like Lee is saying that even though they are looked down on, African Americans still need to go out there and try to make there lives better.
Marilyn Fabe notes Spike Lee's use of Eisenstein's methods of juxtaposition in order to stimulate a greater level of viewer consciousness. Lee begins his film Do The Right Thing with a sort of precursor to this use of contrast. Fabe talks about the films opening scene and how it uses a constant clash of opposites. The song to which Rosie Perez dances to clashes with her style of dance. The dancing style itself also alternates and contradicts itself. Long shots that are suddenly cut to close ups, contradicting screen jumps, and warm and cool filters are all used by Lee as a warm up for the audience in order to subconsciously shake off stereotypes that would hinder the film. Fabe also talks about Lee's decision to give the filmed area a cleaner, less realistic look. It is another attempt by Lee to bypass the stereotypes often associated with the area. Fabe quotes Lee's decision to create a set that defied these stereotypical views so the audience could, “confront their stereotypical expectations.” (pg. 197)
The content of Lee's film also creates juxtaposition. The odd relationship between Mookie and Sal is fueled by their differences. Mookie acts as the peace keeper between the black community and the pizza parlor while Sal is depicted as the instigator of violence when he destroys the boom box. Sal is still created to be an appealing character however, dealing with the lackadaisical work ethics of Mookie. In this way Lee can introduce characters that can not be classified in categories like “good” or “evil”. His characters are far more complex. Another instance of juxtaposed content arises in the debate between Buggin' Out and Sal over the pizzaria's Wall of Fame. Both men argue valid points making neither one right nor wrong. Fabe notes how this gives the viewers the ability to consider both viewpoints side by side and discuss it openly and more deeply.
According to Fabe Lee is attempting to open an audience up to a higher level of viewing and thinking. He uses all of these contrasting form and content in order to bring light to a greater argument not limited by stereotypes or driven by bias towards a protagonist. Lee hopes that his film can be viewed more deeply so the issues he confronts can be dealt with more effectively.
Nathaniel Winter
Spike lee creates dialectical conflict in a few ways. In terms with the level of form, the dancing scene stood out. It showed contrast by showing the sensual movements, and then cutting to aggressive, warlike ones. Not only did the switch of dance styles create conflict, but the dance moves themselves did also. The dance routines, along with the music, were contradicting themselves in relation to their own manner.
Another way Lee created dialectical conflict was by his “cleaning up of the streets.” The setting was taken place in a low-income neighborhood, yet there were noticeable differences to that of a real ghetto.
Lee also creates conflict with his use of content. This was shown especially through the characters’ relationships. The one that was the most clear was probably the one between Mookie and Sal. Sal obviously treated his African-american customers with less respect, yet he treated Mookie differently.
And in terms with Mookies wage, it was a way that would lead the audience to pull for one side, but yet Mookie was not willing to put in extra hours, do odd jobs, or even show up on time.
According to Fabe, Lee was trying to send the audience a deeper message. He attempted this by the wall of fame scene, when both characters had rightful reasons. Was Lee trying to hard? Either way he did in some way achieve it through his use of dialectical montage.
-Ryan Bender
In Spike Lee’s film Do the Right Thing, the initial reaction by some reviewers was that it shows some radical views that is encouraging a, “black uprising and predicted race roits,” and others saw the film as a brilliant, “even-handed portrayal” of the different races of characters presented in the film.
Looking at the Spike Lee’s use of dialectical form, it can be compared to methods of Sergei Eisenstein, presented in the 1920’s. In this method Lee attempts to present his viewers with a variety of different and conflicting viewpoints. A female at the beginning of the film expresses the first example of this method through a dance. This dance expresses a variety of emotions that range from anger to sex appeal. These mixed emotions allow the viewer to attempt to pick out what the feel the dance is expressing. The cinematographer of the film, Ernest Dickerson, chose to shoot this film in a ghetto rather then shooting in simply in a studio. Lee brought up the use of conflicting viewpoints again by prettying the ghetto up. In the film you see no litter on the street along with some sketchy activity that would typically go along with a ghetto area.
Lee not only brings up the use of dialectics in the film’s form but also in the film’s content. This dialectical content is seen in the character Mookie who acts as the “keeper of the peace,” and a protector of Sal’s Pizzeria. Mookie suddenly turns against his employers and we cannot help but to take notice. Sal is another character that can be looked at to have conflicting viewpoints. Although he shows some affection for Mookie because of how is he handles black costumers, he is also portrayed as a racist.
-Logan Lovett
Like Eisnstein, Spike Lee “confront the viewer with a constant stream of conflicting images and viewpoints.” (Fabe 194)” The opening scene of the Do the Right Thing with the dancer. This is alternating between the alternates between an aggressive boxer. While dancing has different techniques and can be very rough and vigorous the boxing represents normally anger while dancing represents elegance. They uses contradicting colors with the blue and red. Another example of form is when Lee uses a clean neighborhood for Do the Right Thing, it takes place in the ghetto but it lacks the things that are presented in the run down neighbor hoods of the poor areas considered the ghetto like graffiti, trash, drug dealers, and all things dark.
Lee’s film creates a relationship between the characters of Mookie and Sal. Their relationship becomes strong based around the characters differences. The characters differences are shown when Sal is shown as an instigator and causes mayhem when he breaks the boom box is the pizza parlor. While Mookie maintains the order around their community, when costumers get upset with Sal, Mookie calms them down. Although Sal is shown as the bad guy and Mookie is the good guy, Sal still has good qualities like dealing with the faults that Mookie has. Lee creates characters like this making it difficult for them to be depicted just as a bad guy or a good guy. Their personalities hold so much more reflecting more of every day people. While there is the relationship between Mookie and Sal there is also another relationship shown between brothers Vito and Pino. Pino pushes his younger brother Vito around. Vito just wants to be friends with Mookie and Sal but Pino says that blacks cant trust people who are not black. This conflict between races is also exemplified later when the Koreans are presented.
Zachery Holder
According to Fabe’s article, Lee uses a lot of dialectical form in the opening sequences of the film Do The Right Thing. The first example of this form is when Rosie Perez is shown screen right shadowboxing, and then a quick cut to screen left shows her doing the same thing. These quick cuts between the two create juxtaposition because it appears as if Rosie is fighting herself. Another example of dialectical form is the use of warm red filters in one shot followed by cool blue filters in the following shot.
Lee also uses dialectics on the level of content. One example of this is through the relationship of Mookie and Sal. Mookie always acts as the mediator between Sal’s pizzeria and the African-Americans when there are problems. However, Lee creates contrast with this character because in the end, Mookie is the one who sparks the riot to destroy Sal’s Pizzeria. Another contrast that appears is Sal paying Mookie low wages, but he expects him to do more work with lower pay. Mookie, in turn, is lazy and often shows up to work late and takes long times to deliver pizzas.
Through this dialectical montage, Lee seeks to “Liberate his audience from fixed stereotypical images of the conflict between black and white Americans and to open their minds to a more subtle awareness of racism in American Society and the danger that racism poses to us all.” (Fabes) He asks for us to confront our stereotypical expectations and to change them from viewing this film.
Kyle Probst
Conflicting viewpoints are all over in Spike Lee's joint, "Do The Right Thing." The main conflicts, aside from the obvious racial conflict, can be seen between characters. Mookie and Sal, though in normal life would hate each other, are forced to deal with each other, as Mookie works for Sal. Mookie acts like a peacekeeper between the blacks and the Italians, even though their is obvious tension. On a deeper level of conflict, Radio Raheem is killed in an obvious racial attack by the police, even though it is the Italians that start the confrontation. Lee does this primarily to show what is truly happening in the hood, but at the same time is asking for change, which is seen to be the final outcome of the film, though comes at the cost of Raheem's life.
Dialectic form can be seen with Rosie Perez's dance at the beginning of the film, where she is dancing to the Public Enemy song "Fight the Power." This song is obviously used as the tone of the entire movie, which is a very strong and powerful song, but is juxtaposed by her sensual movements. Spike Lee also uses a colorful, clean ghetto in his film, instead of what one would truly look like. I personally believe that he does this so that the audience can focus more on what is being told, rather than focusing on a story that "could never happen in my neighborhood." By doing this, he brings the story out of the hood and into the laps of America, showing that racial injustice is happening all over, not just in the ghetto.
Steve Ball
In Spike Lee's "Do The Right Thing," there are many aspects of the film that contrast with eachother in order to represent the racial conflicts portrayed within the film. In the first scene in which the beautiful Rosie Perez performs a dance number to the political rap group Public Enemy's "Fight The Power." This routine is choreographed with dance moves that are sensual as well as ones that depict violence such as punching and kicking. The violence in the routine represents the racial conflicts that come to a head in the film and also the conflicts of racism within ourselves.
Another contrasting aspect of the film is Lee's representation of the black ghetto. he is criticized for making it look cleaner than it really is by not portraying the drugs, sex, and violence that is stereotypically associated with the black ghetto. Lee defends himself by saying that there are enough films already that show black people in the context of garbage, prostitution, drugs, and violence. He wanted to contrast those films and stereotypes by creating a mise-en-scene that clashes with the pre-concieved ideas of what ghetto life entails. In the content of the film, racial tension is created with the relationship between Sal and Mookie. Mookie works for Sal in the Pizzeria and puts up with his racism up until the climactic point at which he turns on his employers and triggers a riot. Mookie's relationship with Sal is a contradicting element of the film in that Sal's son Vito seems to listen to Mookie whereas his brother Pino calls him a "nigger" and consistantly talks down about black people. Mookie's role in the beginning of the film is to act as a mediator between Sal and the black customers, but this character role is killed off when Mookie ignites the racial riot.
Jack Kirby
Caroline Kastellic
Black and white is what Spike Lee Poses against each other in his movie Do The Right Thing. He uses the opposites and racial tension to create a dialectical form of presentation for the movie. Pitting blacks against whites in the climax of the movie where Sals Pizzeria gets ran-sacked is the largest focus of dialectical form Spike Lee uses in Do The Right Thing. Compared to Eisenstein Lee has similar methods “to confront the viewer with a constant stream of conflicting images and view points. For instance did Mookie do the right thing by retaliating to Radio Raheem’s death? Lee leaves this up to the viewers to choose.
He does bring to the table the seriousness of racism in America and how It’s dealt with in everyday situations. Like the instigation of Sal destroying the boom box with a baseball bat. I think Lee intended for the movie to be interpreted in different ways, and whether that situation can be looked upon as justified or not, which is why I think there was so much controversy involved. Spike Lee said he “intended for viewers to understand that Mookie did the right thing.”(Fabe 193)
Nick Edmonds
Marilyn Fabe describes the opening scene of Spike Lee's "Do The Right Thing" as being structured by conflicts on multiple levels. As a dialectical conflict Spike Lee portrays a beautiful girl dancing to a race driven rap song. The idea of a girl dancing to a conflict song gives two different ideas to the scene. But once the scene is developed the two ideas are joined together by the violent choreographed dance the girl is performing to the song. Later in the film Spike Lee allows the viewer to read what is engraved in Radio Raheem's brass knuckles. Love and Hate. Marilyn Fabe concludes them symbolizing the erotic yet angry expressions and dance movements of Perez, the girl dancer.
Another dialectical conflict in the scene of Perez dancing is the use of color filters. Contrasting red and blue filters to connote evil and good. Eisenstein use a similar technique he called intraframe optical conflict. The contrasting of clip-cutting to create an exciting scene and the connotations of the choreographed dance movements and the use of filters was an instance that Spike Lee used Eisenstein's theory of dialectical conflict.
Spike Lee also used mise-en-scene to depict some conflict of content. The streets where the film was shot was thought to be littered with garbage, known area for prostitution and drug dealers. However in the film there weren't any signs of this sort of activity and the streets were cleaned prior to shooting. Spike Lee's response to this was, not every single block in Bedford-Stuy is like that.
Spike lee utilized Esinstein's dialectical form and contrasting shots to confront the viewer drastically. Fabe notices Lees uses different almost radical viewpoint changes within the first shot. The characters are so contrasting it's strange. The relationship between Mookie and Sal only exists because of the differences between the two. Mookie a peacekeeper for Sal with the black customers but is resentful because he is payed poorly. But Mookie isn't the best worker or person either. According to Fabe this is when Lee introduces to the movie the theory of characters that are not all good and not all evil. The use of juxtaposition in this film flourished with the contrasting characters in this film. Black and white, upper middle class to poor .
Lee was trying to open his audience to a higher level of thinking and his use of contrasting characters is simply to show class struggle.
According to Marylin Fabe, Spike Lee's main goal that he seeks to achieve is to present the viewer with a "constant stream of conflicting images and viewpoints" which will, in turn, make an attempt at eliminating bias toward the protagonist and open the viewers' minds and open discussion.
One example of dialectical conflict on the level of form is the opening scene to the film. The choreography Rosie Perez's dance is very contrasting to the harsh rap song, "Fight the Power" that is playing. For the most part, that is, until the dance contradicts itself with contrasting color filters and the abrupt switch to the boxing moves.
Another example of this type of conflict on the level of form is the neighborhood in which the film is shot. It has a much cleaner and unrealistic look to it than a neighborhood like that would really look in the real world.
Dialectical conflict is also created on the more broad level of content, specifically within the relationship between Mookie and Sal. Sal is more violent and offensive than Mookie, however Sal is the one to take care of the issues that arise from Mookie's laziness. This contrast smudges the fine line between good and bad and creates a broader sense of complexity about the characters. It creates juxtaposition with viewpoints and allows the viewer to decide for himself what is right and wrong as opposed to making it a solid, clear point to be believed.
There are a few sections that show some conflict in the movie. One being colors. They mix and match opposite colors back and forth thoughout the film. Reds, blues, and other conflicting shades. Another way there is confliction through out the film is that fact of race. There are some italians in a black community. The asain couple also shows this. There are also diverse camera angles that show conflicts. He uses multiple different angles to make the scene more intense and/or more conflicting.
One thing that Lee is trying to achieve is to show conflict thus a main portion of this response is subject to it. It is also supposed to show some tension between people when something such as heat and a small dispute and cause a neighborhood into chaos.
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