Do the Right Thing

“Fight the power.”  It should be as simple as that.  All will be right in the world if one simply stands up and fights the power.  This idea has one big problem; it does not specify by violent or nonviolent means.  That is a choice to be made from situation to situation and person to person, as shown in the differing quotes at the end of Do the Right Thing.  The film lives out the conflict of integrating races and the reality of living in a multiracial community.  The common misconception that integration of all blacks will stop all rioting or opposition because it will put them in the same lifestyles therefore at the same levels of the white people is lived out in this film.  Despite adaptations and mixtures, one problem still stands: white is white and black is black.

While it seems as if this is a very blatant binary, the film does a good job of blurring the oppositions, which makes it both more realistic and more relatable.  When in comparison with other films dealing with race that we have watched for the class, this film does not have an untouchable, angelic good character fighting against an almost inhuman evil character.  In fact, there is no distinct fight involving the police.  It isn’t a one case situation, but rather an ongoing struggle void of explicit battles.  This struggle is only in its developing stages; it is building up, even if it cannot be detected quite yet.  Sal, the Italian-American owner of the local pizzeria located in a black neighborhood, talks of how he has been there for 25 years and watched the kids grow up.  He tells his son that they are good people and have never done anything to them.  In Sal’s eyes, this is reason enough to trust them.

There seems to be a generally civil understanding amongst them.  Sal’s two sons provide a good example.  Pino hates living in the black community and compares going to work every day with living in the film Planet of the Apes.  On the other hand, his brother Vito almost seems to be a “brother,” as he relates to Mookie, his black co-worker turned friend and confidant.  Mookie actually listens to him, which is a foreign concept, and even suggests he stands up for himself and fights Pino if necessary.  At first glance, this seems to be a genuine move.  Mookie appears to be looking out for Vito and convincing him of his self worth, something his father and brother fail to do.  I can’t help but wonder if Mookie had ulterior motives and wanted to spark a tension amongst the family.  After all, it was the tree of them against the neighborhood.  They had to stick together to stand a fighting chance; a broken family for them was more dangerous than usual.

By creating characters that seem average and human to us, the binary oppositions are much more effective.  It appears as though Sal is the exception to the rule; the black community will accept him in the neighborhood.  They even take his side over Buggin’ Out’s when he tries to organize a boycott.  The differences don’t seem as blatant as usual.  It isn’t one race versus another.  Americans, Italians, African Americans, Koreans, and Hispanics are all represented, but in this movie, they all spend time as victims.  Roger Ebert says that “Spike Lee had done an almost impossible thing. He'd made a movie about race in America that empathized with all the participants. He didn't draw lines or take sides but simply looked with sadness at one racial flashpoint that stood for many others.”  Ironically, the film is called Do the Right Thing, but Lee never outlines what the right thing is.  I think that’s the beauty of it; there is not clear cut right and wrong.

Another point I would like to bring up is the elapse of time.  This all takes place within a 24 hour period, which I think is a very smart and relevant move.  In that time, we get a sense of the history of the community.  Lee makes it very realistic by incorporation events and cultural aspects of the time (Howard Beach, Tawana, Public Enemy) into the film as well.  Time isn’t wasted on describing the setting or plot, we dive right in, and it works.  This made it possible to limit the film to one day, which emphasizes how drastically and quickly things can change.  At the start of the movie, Sal isn’t worried at all about living in that community, even when the cops question it, relocating isn’t on his mind.  He views these people as his neighbors in a community he is both welcome in and very much a part of, but this all changes when Mookie is the first to destroy the pizzeria after the death of Radio Raheem.  It only took one event to completely change the dynamics of the community.  The final scene, however, made me wonder just how much things had changed, and for how long.  After Mookie gets his money, he has an awkward yet casual conversation with Sal.  Small talk, they talk about the weather and the never ending heat wave.  It almost seems as though it is the first step toward moving on because despite what they do, black is black and white is white.

Shaft (2000)

“It’s my duty to please that booty.”  One must love the brilliant writing of 2000’s Shaft sequel…or not.  I think I am in good company in saying that it is more than ok to think this movie is much more ridiculous than the first one; in fact, it enters an entirely different level.  I’m not sure what exactly it does in terms of blaxploitation, whereas 1971’s version made its intent very clear.  That being said, this film had potential.  Christopher Null, founder of filmcritic.com states that “the update could have been a lot of fun -- a modern-day John Shaft as tragic hero in a corrupt and oppressive NYPD,” and he’s right.  Generally sequels of action films are not complete failures, but as Null says, “If it wasn't called Shaft, no one would see this film.”

So why, aside from the pitiful lines, is this film so stupid?  The answer lies in many aspects.  First of all, some elements of fantasy can ease their way into films such as these.  For example, the audience will probably let a few unrealistic shots or fighting sequences slide if done properly, but this film crosses all lines.  It’s so unrealistic it cannot be taken seriously, which is probably the angle the director should have went with, but instead the movie attempts to be sincere, which only makes the audience laugh more.  Are we really expected to believe a man can jump through not one but two windows, not to mention the fact that they are in two separate buildings, and walk away without a single cut?  Are we supposed to believe that two cops will turn on their team and help a Mexican gang leader kill a witness for a mere $10,000?  Or that the gang leader will do it for $40,000, not in cash but jewelry to be cashed in?  The 1971 version had Bumpy paying the men $10,000 each, double for Shaft, to bring his daughter back to him.  This was 30 years ago. 

It’s not only the context of the film, but it’s the characters as well.  One of the things that made the original Shaft so cool was that he was a private eye; he was in between the law.  When this movie begins, Shaft is a detective, and one about to lose his job at that, yet manages to keep it for two more years.  He then quits, just before completing the biggest case of his life.  Sure, he now is protected by the police without the limitations, but I wonder why he chooses to search for Diane on his own without the aide provided by a police department, and for that matter, why did he wait two years to thoroughly search for the only eyewitness; the key to solving the case?  Shaft may know how to mess with people, but I certainly don’t think he’s the smartest guy, nor the guy “everyone wants to be.”

One cannot talk about this film without mentioning the music in it.  Of course, the 1971 version’s score was amazing, and rightly winning awards.  This version incorporates the original score, but it just doesn’t fit as well as it did the first time around.  The opening fit, however when paired with sexual imagery, it did not have as strong of an opening sequence as the original.  The music also contributed to discontinuity.  One scene in particular stands out; when Peoples and his men were running to his cars fast paced Latino music way playing, but then abruptly transitioning to the scene in the apartment with Diane, and slow, cheesy music was now playing.  It seemed like it was trying to be humorous, yet in was in the middle of a suspenseful sequence; the very climax of the movie.

While the original made prominent statements about race and culture, this film had less of a message.  Shaft is the obvious hero in both films, even though he is unorthodox, but we’re still rooting for him to win.  It’s the case of the “bad” guys that seems to be a bit blurred in the original, but for good cause.  It brings the focus on Shaft, and the fact that he’s fighting for what he thinks is right.  It’s for his own morals and values, and has nothing to do with being employed by the police department.  In the remake, we could not have a much more clear cut bad guy.  From the beginning, we know exactly who we are fighting against, and although Shaft probably would do something about this no matter what, he has to take a stance because of his job as a detective.  Making Peoples a prominent villain seems to knock the Hispanic community almost in an effort to raise the black community above them.  They also throw around f-bombs like none other and have the occasional n-word slip throughout the film.  If the NAACP had concerns about the blaxploitation used in the original, I can only imagine their views on this film.

Shaft (1971)

From the very first scene, we can see that Shaft is not simply the average private eye movie; it’s opening the doors for blaxploitation.  The film opens with prominent music one cannot help but to take note of, complete with a theme song for the main character, John Shaft.  The audience can tell that this guy is a big deal right away, and the fact that he is African American will not and cannot slow him down.  He runs the show, shown right away as he crosses the street by ignoring the crosswalk and walking through moving traffic, forcing it to work around him.  As he continues walking, the camera focuses on the flashing “Don’t Walk” sign, which he completely ignores, demonstrating that he breaks the rules.  This shot also brings into play the main idea of the blaxploitation drama, which is to break the unwritten rule of cinema for that time: white males play heroes, black males play villains.

Roger Ebert claims that Shaft is “the first really convincing black private eye,” and that “the strength of Parks’ movie is his willingness to let his hero fully inhabit the private-eye genre, with all of its obligatory violence, blood, obscenity, and plot gimmicks.”  He places this movie among the best of the private eye genre films, and I cannot argue with this statement, but while Ebert only brushes on the topic of blaxploitation, I think that is what makes this movie great.  If John Shaft would have been the average private eye (white guy solving crimes for other white men, generally fighting against a black enemy) it would have been an average private eye film, most likely not ranking among the top.  Instead, this movie reverses the idea cinema had traditionally planted in our minds.

I already brushed on the prominent role John Shaft has, but essentially it is his character that fulfills the idea of blaxploitation.  While he may not always use traditional tactics, he gets the job done, and is respected for that.  The white policemen have to ask him for help; he knows more about what is going on within the precinct than the actual cops do.  In fact, the police almost rely on him, as they protect him and keep him from going to jail and even simply being questioned because he is such a central figure.  The citizens also know of his importance and trust him, which is shown early on when Shaft takes down the man in the lobby despite many onlookers.  They do not question him, and he knows they won’t.  The elevator operator even asks him if everything is ok, offering assistance without even knowing the entire situation.  His skin color plays little role except for when he cannot get a cab right away.  Other than that, he is an authority figure.

The filmmaker does not only use Shaft to enhance the blaxploitation, but rather uses multiple techniques, such as a complete reversal when Shaft’s team uses the fire hose against the white mafia, similar to the way the police would hose down blacks during Civil Rights protests.  There also is a scene in the bedroom when the camera focuses on two photographs on the nightstand, and in between the photographs is a small figurine of a Black Panther, something that would not dare appear in a film about a white investigator.  The audience has already related to and grown to like Shaft, so the figurine just makes us realize that the Black Panther group may not be as dehumanized as we once thought.  Our misconception is again challenged when Shaft’s “partner” for this case tells Bumpy that he will not “risk brothers just because your daughter is black,” changing the idea that we have that all blacks are the same and will stick together simply due to race.  He goes on to say that he will do this for the money and wants $10,000 per head, which makes them seem even more relatable than we initially imagined as money is the driving force.

                Throughout the film, Shaft is always one step ahead, and of course, ends up winning.  He is the cross between good guy and badass the audience wants to win, whether they are white or black.  It almost seems as though the blaxploitation aspects are not even noticed at some points; the audience treats it as a private eye genre film without any subliminal messages.  Who cares that the first white represented in the film is the man at the newsstand who seems rather unintelligent, that the most prominent white character (the detective) is always one step behind Shaft, or that the white bartender is obviously gay, which was not widely accepted in the 1970’s?  The fact that these appear to be minor details means it worked, and the many blaxploitation films that sparked from this one can attest to that statement as well.  I think this film was well made, but it made me wonder why it is difficult for me to think of any recent (with the exception of Tyler Perry) films that have had a nearly all black cast, especially in the action genre?