Just saw it in my Philosophy and Film class. I feel awful for the things it made me feel and very, very angry. If anyone has seen it, I would like to discuss it. I really can't say exactly what I think yet but at the moment I have a strong animosity towards the film. My mother is half black and half white, my father is all white, at least by societies definitions they are. There's some native american in there as well, but I have always been taught to be proud of my mixed heritage by my mother and of my "blackness", if you will, even though to most of society I am white. This film has me feeling like I am a racist and that is quite upsetting. What are your thoughts on this film if you have seen it? This is a very serious thread, so I would appreciate it if there is no trolling.
why not just read the comments in the imdb section?
what did you want to discuss?
IDK I just wanted to know what other people thought. I have just read up on it and feel like I missed a lot the points. This film makes me feel like I'm a racist for what it made me feel, and it's a horrible feeling especially when, like I said, my mother always taught me to be accepting of all races, and that I have heritage from multiple races.
Well, the film is meant to highlight racial tensions. It doesn't solve anything or try to make anyone out to be good guys/bad guys (except maybe the cops and firemen). If you feel angry, then I think that was Spike's intent. He wants to create controversy and stir discussion, like we are doing in this thread right now.
Personally, I feel that it's a good film but also an overrated one. I prefer something like He Got Game, which isn't a structurally superior film but is much more subtle and enjoyable than this.
I don't know. Sometimes I like Spike Lee and other times, I just want to smack the guy in the head.
Film is overrated, and it's considered to be Spike's best work.
I don't know what my opinion is on racism. I just try my best not to get involve in it. By this, I mean I try not to play a victim of it and definitely not one myself. I do have that "race/ethnic pride" feeling sometimes but I try my best not to express it in front of people.
Well, the film is meant to highlight racial tensions. It doesn't solve anything or try to make anyone out to be good guys/bad guys (except maybe the cops and firemen). If you feel angry, then I think that was Spike's intent. He wants to create controversy and stir discussion, like we are doing in this thread right now.
well said and totally agreed.
the film was brush strokes on a canvas. one of my favorite films of all time, and not worth picking apart on a structural level... at least for me.
Well, the film is meant to highlight racial tensions. It doesn't solve anything or try to make anyone out to be good guys/bad guys (except maybe the cops and firemen). If you feel angry, then I think that was Spike's intent. He wants to create controversy and stir discussion, like we are doing in this thread right now.
Personally, I feel that it's a good film but also an overrated one. I prefer something like He Got Game, which isn't a structurally superior film but is much more subtle and enjoyable than this.
I don't know. Sometimes I like Spike Lee and other times, I just want to smack the guy in the head.
It definitely affected me more than any film I've seen in a while, maybe ever. But I'm not happy about it. I'm more angry at myself now that I read more about the film, I feel really bad that I completely missed all that and did what the "typical white person" supposedly does. I also feel bad because that film made me think a lot of hateful things that I didn't know I had in me, whether I actually believe them or not. It makes me feel that the way society is, that we are all racist to some degree whether or not we want to be.
No. I want to talk to my mother and/or my aunt (mother's sister coming to visit for thanksgivng) about this film, but I'm afraid she'll be mad about my reaction. I have ancestors who were slaves, and I know my dad has dealt with some oppression for being Jewish, but I feel like an intolerant white supremacist bigot after watching this film. I know I'm not, but I don't like knowing I have this shit in me. It's disgraceful.
Not gonna lie, and it's not just because of this thread, but it did seem like you were discriminating in those back and forths you had w/ Euroleague. IDK. Maybe its just you trolling him, but I really thought you had something against white people. LOL.
BTW, this is a very good film. A bit overrated by some, but by the end of it, you'll be more aware (wiser) than you were before tuning in. That's what Spike has always tried to achieve in his movies.
Not gonna lie, and it's not just because of this thread, but it did seem like you were discriminating in those back and forths you had w/ Euroleague. IDK. Maybe its just you trolling him, but I really thought you had something against white people. LOL.
I know for a fact Euroleague is a racist, though.
Read my edited post. I'm more white than I am black "biologically" (although I know that is horseshit that's the way society talks about it, so whatever), but I think to be quite honest I sometimes maybe overcompensate by trying too hard not to be racist against blacks, or at least that's what this film is making me think. From 6th grade until graduation from high school, I was almost always in a school that was 80-90% black, though. The way race exists in the world is such a horrible thing at times, and the more I think about it, the more I realize how well Spike Lee made that film. I am still going to be haunted by my initial reactions towards it, and will have to talk to my mom, aunt and closest friends about this. Sorry for the rant(s), what are your thoughts on the film?
Why exactly did this film make you very, very angry? What parts or themes made you angry? Angry about what? How did it affect your pride? What did you initially take away from the movie and what themes did you read about that you initially missed?
I've always enjoyed Do the Right Thing. I mean, it's not a feel good story, but it's enjoyable enough for me to own on VHS, but not re-buy on DVD quite yet. I didn't actually see it until the new millennium (around 2002) so all those years Stuart Scott would say, "M-M-M-M-M Mookie!" whenever Mookie Blaylock scored, I never understood what the hell he was doing.
Why exactly did this film make you very, very angry? What parts or themes made you angry? Angry about what? How did it affect your pride? What did you initially take away from the movie and what themes did you read about that you initially missed?
I've always enjoyed Do the Right Thing. I mean, it's not a feel good story, but it's enjoyable enough for me to own on VHS, but not re-buy on DVD quite yet. I didn't actually see it until the new millennium (around 2002) so all those years Stuart Scott would say, "M-M-M-M-M Mookie!" whenever Mookie Blaylock scored, I never understood what the hell he was doing.
The character Buggin Out really annoyed me, because I felt that although he obviously knew that there was a lot of racism in the world that needed to be stopped, he was focusing on trivial things like there being only Italian Americans on Sal's wal (for example, a local pizzeria in Stl only has photos of famous latinos and I've never thought about that other than them being proud of famous latinos). Looking back, I realize Sal was more racist than I realized. Obviously his son (Turturro) is blatantly racist, and I knew that during the film, but I didn't really get mad at him the way I always have at blatantly racist characters I've seen in any other film. I also missed the point of Radio Raheem's death, and was overly concerned with Mookie throwing the trash can in the window. I really thought the only reasonable characters were Jade and Da Mayor.
Spike Lee makes me angry. How can you practically start your career with Do the Right Thing, and then proceed to give us throwaways like Jungle Fever and Crooklyn?
Who's Seen Do the Right Thing?
