Comparing Do The Right Thing By Spike Lee And Lone Star
The films that I chose to explore in this paper are Do the Right Thing by Spike Lee and Lone Star by John Sayles. Each film offers examples of counter narratives in my opinion. There are many examples of characters vying for both power and respect from characters of the other race. Spike Lee, however, has an undeniably unique style that offers a counter on many levels. In Do the Right Thing, albeit there are numerous demonstrations of scorn or opposition between characters, Lee continually counters these activities with those of adoration and resilience. Indeed, even in the music Lee takes after this idea of inconsistency. The sweet melodic tones of a jazz instrumental is a total inverse to the bumping rap musical proclamation of Public Enemy's …show more content…
Each of the characters speak to five diverse ethnic foundations of the community. Yet promptly after the verbal put-down a second voice of reason, the neighborhood DJ, Senor Love Daddy utters "Time out...you need to cool out!" His comments all through the film are words that are pointed to the motion picture's characters as well as to the group of onlookers. From his opening explanation ("Wake up...up you wake), to the one at the film's end ("Are we gonna live together...together are we gonna live?"), Lee uses the encouraging statements of Love Daddy in an endeavor to grow society's …show more content…
Race is the center of every theme in the movie and Sayles utilizes a few distinct scenes to clear up the centrality of race in his film. At first glance, Lone Star is the tale of a man hunting down reality in a town mystery and, consequently finds his own individual history. Into this fundamental story, John Sayles weaves stories of other individuals' lives, all somehow likewise managing issues of history. Drawing from the issues which shred our own particular social fabric, and also the demons which torment our individual mindsets, Sayles utilizes this mosaic of lives to better outline the part played by numerous multifaceted levels of
Do The Right Thing
1483 Words | 6 PagesMartin Luther King and Malcolm X, two authors, two activists who advocated different strategies to achieve a shared end, have since their deaths, transcended the local, pragmatic potency of their respective narratives of African-American resistance (Garrow, 1991). The film 's use of the metonymic figures “King” and “X” as well as the ethically divergent meta-narratives of which they are the cultural signifiers suffuses its dramatic structure with the ideological tension generated by the trope of “double-consciousness” (Garrow, 1991). The vehicle by which Do the Right Thing represents the black community reminding itself, so to speak, of the presence of these figures is the ubiquitous Smiley, a young man with cerebral palsy who earns money selling photographs of African-American heroes to his Bedford-Stuyvesant neighbors. The film calls attention to one image in particular: the famous photograph of King and Malcolm X shaking hands and smiling during their first and only meeting.
Rahm Emanuel Says No To Chi-Raq
446 Words | 2 PagesRahm Emanuel Says No to Chi'Raq Director Spike Lee finished shooting his controversial film "Chi-Raq" in July. The film addresses the crime and violence taking the lives of young people in the city of Chicago, thus "Chi-Raq" an urban slang name for Chicago coined by rappers that compares the city's rampant black-on-black violence to that of Iraq. Several months ago the Huffington Post reported that “Chicago Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, U.S. Senator Dick Durban, and local [Chicago] Alderman Anthony Beale expressed concern over the title, with Beale calling it “insulting.”
The White Man Exposed In Ralph Ellison's Battle Royal
1273 Words | 6 PagesIn the first chapter of Ralph Ellison’s short story, ‘Battle Royal’ we are introduced to the narrator who takes place in this boxing match amongst other black men. Ellison sets us in a scene where we are given the true reality of what life as a black man was like in the years of the 1940’s. The system of the Jim Crow laws was effective by state and local laws enforcing racial segregation in the southern United States. All areas of living according to the Jim Crow laws were ‘separate but equal.’ Ellison’s battle royal allows for us to see first hand what the narrator experienced as a black man being embarrassed and harassed by these white men.
Perseverance In August Wilson's A Raisin In The Sun
1517 Words | 7 PagesDe jure segregation in the United States started to decline with the Brown vs Board Of Education Supreme Court ruling in the 1950s, and continued to decline through the actions of Martin Luther King Jr, Malcolm X, and others who protested against the system in hopes of being heard. But even with the passing of the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act in the 1960s, segregation is still a prevalent force in today’s society. De facto segregation is still felt today, with riots occurring within the past ten years in Ferguson and in Baltimore, predominantly due to police brutality and income inequality. These riots, coupled with actions such as the unjustified killing of Trayvon Martin and the murder of Eric Garner while in police custody, help to show that where we are today is no better than the racist times of de facto segregation and Jim Crow. When events like these occur in today’s
Stereotypes In Do The Right Thing
922 Words | 4 PagesDo the Right Thing brings about many questions, while also leaving it up to the diverse audience to decide what they feel the right thing is. The movie also brings about the animosity that is forced between different ethnicities and races because of the way the culture in America has been
'The Offensive Movie Cliché That Won' T Die Analysis
884 Words | 4 PagesWhen we think of heroes we often think of a masked vigilanty or a cape crusader swooping down from the heavens and saving the day. Although heroes come in many shapes and sizes, they also tend to come from different backgrounds. The people of the United States pride themselves with freedom and equality. However, still to this day there is a struggle with discrimination. Matt Zoller Seitz’s article “The Offensive Movie Cliché That Won’t Die” definitely sparked some interest and was definitely right when it came to the offensive issue most people do not see.
Theme Of Whiteness In The Last Samurai
659 Words | 3 PagesThemes of Whiteness in Bulletproof Monk, Kill Bill, and The Last Samurai The subject for the above reading includes the issue of white movie actors taking over the martial arts film industry that had previously been dominated by Asian actors such as Bruce Lee. Steven Seagal, Van Damme, and Chuck Norris represent some of the white actors that took over the martial art film industry. The writer has indicated that the whiteness themes influence the narrative structure of the films, perpetuating a single ideological aspect of whiteness, such as the view that the whites are more superior to the rest of the actors. It also creates a perception that the white’s superiority in the film industry gives them an upper hand to perform bigger roles, even if there are other race groups, in this case, the Asians that can do much better.
Analysis Of Danez Smith's Dinosaurs In The Hood
1302 Words | 6 PagesAs Smith uses his words to create a poetic trailer for this stereotype-free movie, he tells the story of a young African American boy. Rather than being focused on his color, he focuses on his
Racism In The Princess And The Frog
971 Words | 4 PagesThe disturbing truth emerges that our history is so filled with racism, that it has caused Disney to have a lack of emphasis on racial issues in films such as
Examples Of Critical Race Theory
1747 Words | 7 PagesRace has always been a problem in America and other countries. But developments such as Critical Race Theory (CRT) has helped challenge race and racial power and its representation in American society. Articles such as Critical Race Theory: An Introduction by Richard Delgado and Jean Stefancic; White Privilege, Color, and Crime: A Personal Account by Peggy McIntosh have helped CRT develop further. Along with the documentary White Like Me by filmmaker Tim Wise. These articles and film explore the race and racism in the United States, along with critical race theory.
42 Jackie Robinson Character Analysis
845 Words | 4 Pages“You give me a uniform, you give me a number on my back, I'll give you the guts.” Throughout the 2013 film “42”, Jackie Robinson indeed proves that he has the guts to counter racism in people from all walks of life. Character is the aspect of a person that decides what kind of person he is; it is who he is at his very core, and it affects his tolerance, courage, and sense of justice. Jackie’s dealing with the racism conveys true character, and it teaches the viewer how to behave when put to the test. Specifically, “42” exemplifies true character education in that it depicts Jackie Robinson persisting despite the racial prejudice of spectators, the media, and fellow athletes.
Violence In Ralph Ellison's Invisible Man
181 Words | 1 PagesRalph Ellison’s Invisible Man is a riveting novel encompassing the life and hardships of an unnamed black narrator in the 1930’s. Ellison’s beautifully crafted work dives deep into the racism and hardships of 1930 and uses numerous conventions to layer depth onto his subject. Ellison attempts to inform the reader of the extreme racism that was rampant in 1930’s society. The violence displayed in the battle royale held in the narrator's home town in chapter one is a shocking opening to the rest of the novel.
Prejudice And Racism Exposed In Ralph Ellison's Battle Royal
1342 Words | 6 PagesThe core theme of Ralph Ellison’s short story ‘Battle Royal’ is racism and its manifestation in the society that the author lives in. The conflict between the two cultures, black and white, the segregation and suppression of the African Americans by the whites are emphasized through various incidents. The fact is that the narrator himself unconsciously gives in to racism and as a black man longs for the approval of the white man. He considers himself superior to the other blacks. But the ‘battle royal’ that he is compelled to participate in finally makes him realize that in the society he lives he is “an invisible man.”
Cultural Misrepresentation In The Media
1370 Words | 6 PagesHow many times have you seen a white person paint their face to be another race as a “costume”? How about a model wearing a Native American headdress? These are examples of cultural appropriation, an issue our society often pushes to the side. Cultural appropriation is the misrepresentation of a minority group by a dominant culture. It occurs in media, music, Hollywood, and everyday life.
Do The Right Thing Ethics
1355 Words | 6 PagesThe film Do the Right Thing, composed, coordinated and delivered by Spike Lee, concentrates on a solitary day of the lives of racially different individuals who live and work in a lower class neighborhood in Brooklyn New York. Be that as it may, this conventional day happens on one of the most sweltering days of the mid year. The film focuses on how social class, race and the ethical choices that the characters make directly affect the way individuals interface with each other. It begins with the film's characters awakening to begin their day and peaks with an area revolt after cops too much limit and kill a youthful dark man named Radio Raheem for battling a more seasoned Italian American eatery proprietor named Sal in his pizzeria, and afterward
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