Review of Do the Right Thing (1989) by Ben L — 17 Sep 2015

Will I look like an idiot if I say "I don't get it"? Do the Right Thing is a film that focuses on strained race relations in the late 80s, centered in New York City. It certainly feels like a film of its time and, while I am not stupid enough to think these things no longer occur, it seems like the world has changed a lot since then.

I don't like the way Spike Lee presents things, because it is overly stylized and feels like an exaggerated attempt to appear artistic. The film bounces around from one character to another with no coherent link from one scene to the next other than the existence of these people in the same city.

I generally prefer a more cohesive narrative, but this movie wasn't built that way. Slowly things escalate and everything explodes in one scene of intense drama, before petering out at the end. I never connected to the material, and was thoroughly annoyed by it all instead.

Also I felt like the African-American characters were almost all presented as overloaded with negative character traits and Danny Aiello was basically the pillar of virtue through most of the film. I just don't comprehend what the purpose of this movie is, because it seems to reinforce false stereotypes.

I'm probably not smart enough to see Spike Lee's vision, and I'm out of touch with the world at that time. Needless to say, Do the Right Thing didn't do the right thing for me, and I would rather not watch it again to try and understand it better.