Category: Week 13 (11/17 + 11/19) • Ideology and Critique

Ive only ever had one exposure to Spike Lee, and it was from my dad who worked on set with him and said he was horrible to him- so of course ive never watched any of his stuff and have to mention that whenever someone bring him up now. I have thought about watching Do the Right Thing for the same reason as everyone else, it has 4.4 stars on letterboxed. However, based on the reading this week I feel like I already have seen the whole film. They broke down the scenes and talked about the unique style of the film that helps make it so popular today. Specifically the notion that, “Lee weaves his many stories into a whole.” This seems to be a key definer of this movie, whether on letterboxed or the reading – people are praising how Lee was able to put so many ideas together into one and make it work. Along with this the reading goes on to praise the community within the film, and says that despite there being so many characters to focus on – Lee did a great job of using a formal narrative structure on each one. This reading is a praise of how Spike Lee was able to balance multiple characters and their stories and weave them all into one to create a fluid story about community and life within their neighborhood while also battling conflicts. It goes on to compliment Spikes ability to stay on the 180 degree line and utilize continuity editing despite the switch in focuses. The film is seemingly revered very highly as the reading talks about the flow in and out of traditional narrative structure by mentioning how Spike, despite having 8 main characters, was able to give each a conflict and goal as if it was just 1 character. Then talks about how Spike fades out of narrative structure by not giving all 8 of the main characters “clear cut” goals that bring them to a conflict. I believe based off this reading that the because Spike deviates from the norm, the film is what it is and is so well received, he has created something that people were not used to seeing, it was unique. By doing that, this movie has remained something that people all these years later still are shocked if you have not seen it because of its lasting relevance. Spike Lee, despite being rude to my dad, seemed to have a vision and it is one I can appreciate as he utilizes these aspects of film making to produce a movie that navigates complex themes while using complex film and narrative structures, which is (unfortunately, always got to side with my dad) very very impressive.

This week’s reading on Do the Right Thing made me think a lot about how filmmakers use form to create meaning, especially when the story contains dozens of characters and a constantly shifting flow of small moments. Spike Lee builds a film that looks loose on the surface, but the chapter shows how carefully he organizes it through restricted narration, recurring visual and sonic motifs, and a flexible continuity system that still keeps us oriented. Those ideas helped me see the film less as chaotic and more as deliberately unified.

I found the discussion of restricted narration especially interesting. Even though the movie jumps between characters, Lee often limits what we know in a given moment, which builds tension inside the neighborhood. We may understand the community, but we don’t always know where the next spark will come from. That gap mirrors the instability inside the block itself—one heated moment away from exploding.

The reading also highlights how motifs pull everything together. Mister Señor Love Daddy’s radio presence becomes the neighborhood’s heartbeat, stitching scenes together through sound. Even Mookie repeatedly stepping over the girl’s chalk drawing becomes a small but sharp reminder of how disconnected he feels from the community he lives in.

To connect this to something I’ve watched recently, I kept thinking about La La Land. It is totally different tonally, but it uses motifs in a similar way—like the recurring musical theme that reappears each time Mia and Sebastian confront a new stage in their relationship. It also blends classical continuity with more stylized moments, just as Lee does. In both films, those choices subtly control how we experience character conflict.

Overall, this week’s reading pushed me to look past plot and pay more attention to the craft that shapes how stories hit us emotionally.

This week’s reading from Film Art focused on film criticism and walked us through a sample analysis of a film directed by Spike Lee, Do the Right Thing. What stood out to me during the readings was the mention of the film’s plot disconnecting from traditional storytelling and classical usage. Instead of having clear, cause-and-effect action or movement that pushes the plot forward in a traditional way, the film steps outside of that structure. At the same time, it still taps into certain elements of American cinema, just in its own style and on its own terms. This approach allows the film to feel both familiar and completely original, creating space for the social and emotional weight of the story to take priority over a strict narrative.

Throughout the film, Lee makes an effort to incorporate and seamlessly show the connections among several sequences that hold their own stories and lead back to the central theme of respecting the community. In the beginning of the film, there is a brief introduction of the man on the radio, which establishes the setting of the town and ultimately binds together the relationships presented. Lee’s ability to utilize setting helps hold the characters and their actions together. With the radio man speaking about the heat wave currently affecting the residents of the neighborhood, there is space for the feeling of irritability and tension that leads to the climax later in the film. Lee is also able to detach slightly from traditional filmmaking and touch on elements of experimental film in the way he stitches these scenes together. This creates a rhythm that mirrors real life, where smaller moments slowly build toward larger conflicts, making the film feel grounded, intentional, and socially aware.

In addition, the reading also discusses Lee’s choice to incorporate various camera positions to evoke emotion throughout different scenes. For example, it highlights his use of high angles and the shot of a man walking over a child’s drawing, which helps convey a sense of self-absorption within the narrative. This further underscores his reliance on classical usage.