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Do The Right Thing Analysis

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After watching Spike Lee’s 1989 film Do The Right Thing, it is very clear to me why this film is considered an independent film. By using Michael Z. Newman’s article Indie Cinema Viewing Strategies it was easy to break up the film into three slogans: characters as emblems, form as game, and read as anti-Hollywood. Do The Right Thing uses a mixture of these three slogans through character, narrative structure, and theme to open our eyes to racism and violence and let us decide what really is doing the right thing. Although this film was distributed by a major Hollywood studio, it still keeps within the styles and techniques of independent cinema. Beginning with the characters in Do The Right Thing, each character is interesting and contributes to the narrative structure of the film. When discussing characters as …show more content…
Allusions is another aspect within the slogan form as game. The shirt Radio Raheem wears throughout the entire film says Bed Stuy Do or Die. It is ironic because at the end of the film Radio Raheem dies. Other allusions like Dj Senior Love Daddy sign in front of his window that says love, it is alludes to the words he speaks which are of love, peace, and music. The narrative structure within Do The Right Thing, is considered independent because it strays away from the typical Hollywood narrative structure. We are introduced to many characters, and follow the stories of multiple characters not just one. There are no flashbacks, and the whole film takes place within a day. We focus Mookie around the most because he is the main tie between all the different characters. When Newman describes narrative structure as form as game when he says, “Two aspects of independent cinema in particular engage this viewing strategy: films encourage play by engaging unconventional genre elements and by presenting unconventional narrative structures” (pg.

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