Spike Lee Explains How ‘Do the Right Thing’ Has Remained Relevant | Anatomy of a Scene
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ส.ค. 2024
- This year is the 30th anniversary of the release of Spike Lee’s game-changing drama “Do the Right Thing,” about the rise of racial tensions during one very hot day on a block in Brooklyn’s Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood. In July, the Criterion Collection released a digitally restored version of the film on Blu-ray.
For the Anatomy of a Scene series, we asked Lee to pick a sequence and discuss it. He chose the one leading to the killing of Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn) by police officers, and during an interview at his Brooklyn production offices, he gave an impassioned explanation for it. Here are edited excerpts from his comments:
Spike Lee: I know the column is called Anatomy of a Scene. I’m renaming this. I’m calling it Anatomy of a Murder. Some of you might not know that the chokehold of Radio Raheem, played by the late, great Bill Nunn, my Morehouse brother, was based upon the death of Michael Stewart. In September 1983, Michael Stewart, a graffiti artist, was tagging the First Avenue subway station. Eleven New York City Transit police officers jumped on him and strangled our brother to death. That’s where I got the idea for the chokehold murder of Radio Raheem.
Five years ago, after the chokehold had been outlawed by the N.Y.P.D., Eric Garner died the same way that Radio Raheem did in a movie that was based on the real-life chokehold of Michael Stewart.
And several days ago, the attorney general of the U.S., appointed by the president, Agent Orange, gave the final decision that no charges would be brought against the officers in Eric Garner’s death. When I saw that footage of Eric Garner being choked to death and saying, “I can’t breathe,” I immediately thought of Radio Raheem.
So a lot of things in this film, even though it debuted 30 years ago, are still happening today. Black and brown people are still being murdered today by police forces across the United States of America. And the people who inflict this death walk free. They don’t get fired, don’t get suspended.
So when I was asked to do this series, I immediately thought of this scene because it just happened where the murderers of Eric Garner walked. This is very, very personal to me.
Read the review here: nyti.ms/33Ehfgg
Subscribe: bit.ly/U8Ys7n
More from The New York Times Video: nytimes.com/video
----------
Whether it's reporting on conflicts abroad and political divisions at home, or covering the latest style trends and scientific developments, New York Times video journalists provide a revealing and unforgettable view of the world. It's all the news that's fit to watch.
![fellow fellow - PROUD feat. INK WARUNTORN [STRING QUARTET]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/BQrVkMPTdHE/mqdefault.jpg)
![[UNCUT] The Loyal Pin ปิ่นภักดิ์ EP.4 (4/4)](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/d3l5rxl5CVo/mqdefault.jpg)
Sadly, this scene is still relevant today. In 2020.
You better believe it
Correct me if I'm wrong... but wasn't Radio Raheem attempting to murder another person when the police pulled him off? And when the police pulled him off wasn't he still trying to escape in order to murder that person... over a radio... asking for a friend. Please defend your position ... thank you
@@badfish5695 do u navigate the world with your eyes closed? did we even watch the same film?
@@churro6372 but he isn’t wrong tho
@@badfish5695 yes but they didn't have to choke him to death. Theres this line when one police officer said 'thats enough', and the other officer still continued. Theres other ways like forcing him into the police car, or tasering him rather. Plus its made evidently clear by the writer and director that the police officer was only strangling him not to protect the other man, but doing it out of his own hate for black people.
You can even hear one of the police officers trying to calm down one of his own comrades as they're choking out Radio Raheem. And he even said "NO" when Radio died before hitting the ground.
To this date, the most powerful film I watched in film school. I am really thankful for this one, Spike.
like in real life... the white and asian working and the black only sitting in the street drinking and hating all the people who earn money with working...
Well this is racist and not what I saw. Bless you heart and hope you see the world differently.
Please learn and make your own mark for justice. Spike Lee made a unique film.
2fallon this inspires me. Thank you. I will do it for those resting in power.
Regan M We need people with more of your energy. Thank you.
I absolutely love this film and have since I first saw it in the theater in 1989. One of the most powerful and important films in the history of US cinema. Tragically, nothing has changed, despite the impact this film made - which certainly points toward the Malcom X quote at the end as being the unfortunate path to change. I recall having a pointed discussion with a friend back then, about which path was the ‘right’ one, and I argued the King path. Here 32 years later, I’m not so sure. I’m sad to give up on the idea of love; but when is it going to stop?!?
Thanks to Spike Lee, for giving us this gift.
Correct me if I'm wrong... but wasn't Radio Raheem attempting to murder another person when the police pulled him off? And when the police pulled him off wasn't he still trying to escape in order to murder that person... over a radio... asking for a friend. Please defend your position ... thank you
@@badfish5695 yes. But he didn't deserve to be strangled in the street. One of the officers can be heard saying to release him but was ignored until it was too late. There were mistakes all around. Stupid people do stupid things but there are lessons to be learnt
And the list continues today with George Floyd....
Floyd probably psy op
Criminal was killed by accident . No big pity.
@@Horaczkocom God will judge you, is all I will say
@@johndoe-eh3tv amen
Floyd deserve what he did for
Eric Gardner.....Michael Stewart (30 years ago).....Summer heat.....I felt the heat!
George Floyd...
I genuinely hated radio raheem, I thought he was extremely unlikeable in every scene he was in. Maybe it’s my intolerance to people blaring loud music for no reason.
Ok fine understandable but at the end of the day his humanity was deemed worthless when the police downright maimed and killed him when they know themselves the shouldve just put him in back of their car like buggin out. Ask yourself if it were a big white dude like radio raheem who always blared concious hip hop music inside peoples businesses and was also rude half the time would he have gotten the same brutal treatment from the police as the big black dude radio raheem. No . Thats the answer a big no. So instead of pointing fingers of who started the incident in the first place lets develop some emotional intelligence within ourselves and realize that when a human life has been deliberately taken away by a person whos main job is protect the communities people there's no right to justify a murder because "he started it" or "he was an unlikable person."
I found him pretty unlikeable as well, but of course that would never justify his death. He was just super rude lol.
I feel like he kinda had it coming after he tried to strangle Sal, but the police shouldn’t have killed him. That’s not their job. After he had been subdued enough via the chokehold, they should’ve just put him in the car.
@@faithtomorrowhe wasn’t just super rude, but he tried to murder Sal over a broken radio which makes him an actual criminal and less of a sympathetic character. he did not deserve to die of course, but it’s not like he was a saint who happened to just be a rude guy
R.I.P. Radio Raheem, bumping Public Enemy's "Fight the Power" all day each day.
Rip radio Raheem man, bumping public enemy all day tomorrow
Just want to point out that Raheem was the one strangling Sal. The cops pulled him off because he was the aggressor, not just because he was black.
they killed him because he was black
i will never forget this film. a caveat: the cops will pull the "attacker" off the "victim". if my neighbor was *on top of me while choking me* they gonna pull her off first* even if we're choking each other. THEN, they pull her away, & seperate us. And i live in KANSAS, and had this happen on the prairie! not MURDER, tho. that's why this scene & Eric's were shockingly similar.
Except in this scene the black people were the aggressors starting the fight
Radio didn't deserve to die, but he did need to get his butt whopped, along with Buggin'. He was extremely annoying
I remember watching this as a teenager and not really understanding why things happened the way they did at the end of the movie. Then I watched some DVD extras and Spike Lee said that a white man came up to him and asked him why Mookie threw the trash can through the window, a somewhat common question, and Spike responded that no black person has ever asked him that question. That answer helped me realize just how limited my worldview is.
Right. Because using violence to get your message across makes complete sense. Your world view is fine. Black Lives Matter and the media will try and convince you otherwise.
No black people ask why Radio Raheem was strangling Sal to the point of death and his bros were cheering him on either.
Wait, that might be a response but it's not an answer to the question. So why did Mookie throw the trash can through the window? I saw the movie in 1990 and I still don't understand it.
I've spent all my life in Eastern Europe and Japan, so we might be dealing with cultural differences here.
@@adriennigarashineszabo946 It is almost a symbolic take on breaking the tension by breaking the glass. Mookie diverts attention from Sal, Pino, and Vito by pointing the mob toward property instead of life. Which is why they discuss that insurance is going to cover the building, but it can't bring Radio Raheem back.
@@creaturexfeature2653I called that point but I didn't realize the meaning. You're so powerful the way that Spike Lee does it and the way the camera angles work with the tension and the conflict. When I first saw this movie, I was frightened because I did not get understand everything. But watching it a second time has revealed so much insight, but I missed when I was younger. Though the film ends with destruction, it is a sad reality that we all must face, and the truth of it all is so horrible. The current times are a little bit better for us than it was back then, and I'm glad that the racism from all parties (including black people) have begun to subside. At times the tension can become unbearable, but it's the voices and the beliefs that we have that will determine the outcome, whether of Martin or Malcolm
This film remains as significant today as it did then. It's a tribute to the film, and an indictment of how we can't change.
When Spike starting getting loud in the interview yk it was real
this scene makes me cry every time
Remember plando castio, shoot to death by an officer in MN. Thanks for making this movie Spike Lee.
Philando Castille. 😥
Radio raheem is my favorite actor in this film.
Actually, he was a jerk He was he to think that he could enter into someone's establishment and play his boom box as loud as he wanted?
He's one of my favorite characters in film history, also Andy in Shawshank, Alonzo in Training Day, Pacino in Scent of a woman n lastly denzil in Malcom. These charecters were larger than life, truly unforgettable piece of acting.
*I was looking for Do the right thing clips yesterday. Now that you are all here go and watch the racial stereotypes scene from this film, it will blow your minds.*
Did you have Remember the Titans shoved down your throat your whole childhood?
This scene is such an emotional rollercoaster. The tears were flowing watching this. Incredible filmmaking.
I can’t tell what’s going on all I understand is that the cops played judge jury and executioner because that guy try to choke him to death
Have you seen the film?
So Sal wasn't in danger at anytime I presume? Cops overdid it but Raheem never gave up either.
The best character in this entire film was "Mother Sister". I miss her...
George Floyd
No it's not. Floyd never at any point resisted arrest. Radio Rakeem and Eric Gardener did.
@@lwmson Eric Garner Most Certainely Did Not
@@jacksongilmore6496 Yes, he did.
@@lwmson The Video Footage Paints A Different Story You Police Brutality Enablist.
0:47 Gustavo fring in yellow
Correct me if I'm wrong... but wasn't Radio Raheem attempting to murder another person when the police pulled him off? And when the police pulled him off wasn't he still trying to escape in order to murder that person... over a radio... asking for a friend. Please defend your position ... thank you
Then someone smashed the window of their faithful employer, in order to get back at a completely seperate group of people, insighting a riot that ended up burning down an establishment that had proudly fed them for 20 years.
I agree and think he had it coming, but the police shouldn’t have killed him. It’s not their job. After he’d been subdued via the chokehold, they should’ve just thrown him in the car. Also, we don’t know if he was still trying to murder Sal after the officer got ahold of him.
@@capncake8837does it mater, he tried to murder Sal in the first place. didn’t deserve to die, but his a criminal who will murder you over a broken radio
@@forasgarddd It does matter because it wasn't their job. Plenty of people in this country will shoot someone else for stepping on their property. We live in a country where property is often valued, and the whole point of the movie is that tensions were rising. These are supposed to reflect real human beings, and people can be emotional and aggressive, especially if they weren't taught any other way to handle their emotions. The man could have let go of Radio's neck and he didn't even after the other officers told him to let go.
Who knew spike Lee would make a Movie back then about today. It is sad that not much have change.
30 years- 😢😢😢
Farrr I wish I had watch this movie first before all the others these stories need to be seen and heard to make a change in our society, community and country and I hope more stories are revealed to teach people of today and our children for our future to learn these lessons in life and be aware and be better fot it.
Loved this movie! I remember when it came out in the 80's. I was a student at Howard University.
Why does Spike conveniently leave out that Radio Rahim was attempting to choke to death Sal? And the police would've stopped choking Radio Rahim if he had just let stopped resisting arrest.
One of my all-time favorites
doing the right thing!! consists of ""compassion"" and a strong sense of morality something that is disappearing rapidly in america and it is the responsibility of parents, schools, and our government to teach our children the morality to be a good person and good people are becoming extinct around the world
Trump 2020
This part put me in the mind of Ferguson Missouri
Raheem was trying to strangle Sal by strangulation.
0:34
Yes, same thing....powerful
Black power right now!
From Fruitville Station to George Floyd. The struggle continues. PROFESSOR X of X-CLAN RIP
you gotta love this. period
Spike Lee needs a updated sequel. To do the right thing 2022
I ❤ Do the Right Thing!
R.i.p. Raheem George Floyd
RIP RADIO RAHEEM
They kept ambushing me because I did the right thing and reported them selling fententenol out of the V's smoke shop and coaches and circle k at quail creek
He does die if he does not mess up with the owner
The movie needed a script rewrite. There was a lot of padding.
So does anyone think they recreating your art work to put people in the state of terror and depression? I'm asking not assuming
The media most definitely thrives on public chaos/fear. Puppies and rainbows don't get the same ratings and hatred and violence unfortunately
Preach brother!
A very true film about Black community.
Congrats
This whole scene didn't have to happen.
Just watching partition of India and then this,,,world is sad place.
aktar zaman there are though some diffrences between this and the India story. Keep some perspective on things.
@@nndlchModi Modiji I am from Bangladesh and I have my perspectives ,,I was implying to the communalism in the name of color or religion.
aktar zaman I am not sure what communalism refers to here, but I guess your referring to discrimination based on color and religion? Well, you being from Bangladesh enables you to better spot the differences…
@@nndlchModi You can put butter on it and call it discrimination or you may call it apartheid or racism or whatever,,,at the end of the day whats the difference??
aktar zaman watch India’s crackdown on Kashmir/the dispatch on YT. That’s the difference. You can put butter on American shortcomings, but there is no sugarcoating India in these instances.
Everyone wanna talk about RR getting strangled to death. No one wanna talk about him trying to do the exact same thing to Sal.
Spike at his best.
oh yes... the poor black... all the day noting to do than to sit in the street... drinking and hating all white and and asian, because they earn their money with working... and now we should cry for the poor blacks...? good joke...
I just watched this movie today, and what struck me is that it's still very relevant to today.
Buggin Out caused all this trouble for nothing and he’s responsible for the death of Radio Raheem
But those who agree to go along with instigating, are just as responsible
Please Do About Gilroy Garlic Festival Shooting
Poor Raheem he provoked his own death with his racial arrogance and instigations he brought it upon himself
In Italia l'hanno visto in pochi e quei pochi che lo hanno visto non lo hanno capito. A me è piaciuto sin dall'inizio, ne ho capito il senso. Film molto duro.
sadly, this scene is still relevant today. in 2022! 👇👇👇 (its a shame I'm able to copy and paste a comment from 2020)
Watching this now is so relevant.
Once his feet was in the air it was over before he dropped 😭😭 I'm not perfect but this is a prime example why I respect the law to stay alive I shake cops hands to know I cooperate and go home safe to my family when I get pulled over
you shouldn't have to fear them there to protect you it's sad u feel that way.
@deehassan4488 they said respect, not fear. Respect is a good thing. Disrespect has consequences. Parents teach their kids respect for a reason, it's the right thing to do.
God bless you Spike
You just made me think of a look over from them to what was what a cry to just here. Baghh go back home, Tolkien's qoute in Bilbo's adventures.
Do the Right Thing Way....street......profound movie. I ❤️ NYC....Queens
Very hard scene to watch indeed..... RIP
This video left me more confused than i would have been had he not been talking
Same old story. Black engaged in antisocial behavior and expect no consequences and if they experience any, it is racism.
Put some mootzarella on that shizz
why is this happening we as a people as martin had a dream it doesnt have to be this way i had this film vhs long live radio raheem now give the power to the people love and hate love wins when hate is destroyed its the only way to succed love to radio raheem and nothing with the enemy hey frends are stronger or what we got is doing the right thing
commas maybe,,,,,,,periods......
I really love this movie. Ppl forget but Mookie never did the right thing. He was a terrible employee who was always disrespectful to his employer and only source of income. It should be no surprise that he threw the can through the window at the end. He was always selfish (never chillin with his baby mama/child unless it was convenient). It goes to show how well this movie was written and directed when a protagonist can be so unlikeable and yet the movie so good.
Wow, brilliant film and so relevant now
I watched this movie yesterday.
I can't stand Raheem being killed by the police.
Likewise, I can't allow Spike Lee to break the glass of the store where he works and provoke a riot.
Is it the "Do the right thing" to destroy the local pizzeria?
To confront the police is the right thing, isn't it?
I can't stand Raheem. He was a vile thug.
@@cockoffgewgle4993 maybe the police should 'do the right thing' and not use that choke hold for as long as they did, and took the warming of the people around saying 'you're killing him' seriously
@@niamhm4109 Even one of the other officers was telling the one choking Raheem that it was enough.
34, 000 views. That's crazy.
This film is up there with the likes of the godfather classico.
yeah, I think you are reaching w that comment. Great movie, but the Godfather 1 & 2 is like Mount Everest for climbers, and DtRT would be Mount Denali in Alaska.
@@bear101897 Talking about the genre dude .
Okay all I read on your comment was "up there with" so that is up to interpretation. Most people would think that you are saying it was good as Godfather the word genres never came up
If he was engaged in a civil disturbance police can use force even if fatal
Spike Lee's so over emotional 😭. So a lot could have been avoided if "Radio" would have turned the s down.
A LOT OF VIEWS YA GOT HERE , LOOKS LIKE A TRAIN IS COME'N !!
like in real life... the white and asian working and the black only sitting in the street drinking and hating all the people who earn money with working...
Spike should do a movie about not resisting arrest. Perhaps less people would get shot or choked.
naaah, he won’t of course😂 it’s okay not to obey the law if you’re black
Radio Raheem, Nancy Reagan too short the rapper and attacks against a actors family life president and choice in voice left too left too a widow in her paintry art California's what's left her painting ah ah maybe her readings and hate left after her job as a first lady and of course after he was dead. How aghh family goes on and ah maybe but the times in Cali in those years Mrs. And oh how !
This came off as confusing, no context, clashing audio and visuals. No idea what the guy was even talking about during the first half.
Alcmaeon Of Croton all I see is a dude trying to commit a murder and he died for it
😢
I respect Sal for standing up for his establishment and the Mom who says, "Nobody is gonna tell me how to Mother my son". These 2 demanded respect. I bet you she wouldn't allow Raheem coming into HER house with that loud music. This movie reminds me of the 2 cases of the lgbtq vs christian florist and bakery. They demanded them to do what they wanted too and even took them to court. If i have my establishment, i will run it how i want.
Bugging out basically influenced Radio Raheem to instigage racial chaos unpredictability leading up to the unfortunate chokehold death Sad all it takes is one person like a bad 🍎 apple in a bunch and the worm rotted the core He was his own worse enemy and lost his life Real brilliant just brilliant 👌 R.I.P. radio Raheem📷
Do The Right Thing?? Buggin doesn't start sh..t and Raheem doesn't go along with the instigator. Do The Right Thing?? Operate from Love, not Hate, Envy, Racism
They caused their own death by resisting. Had they gone limp and allowed themselves to be restrained, they would be alive today. No racist hyperbole there, just a straight fact. Don't matter to me what race or nationality they are, if you remain a threat by maintaining resistance, the consequences can lead to death. People need to wake up and see that it's not about race, it's about DOING THE RIGHT THING! How ironic of a movie title this is. BTW: Michael Stewart, in 1983, had a blood alcohol content of 0.22, more than double the 0.10 threshold needed to arrest someone for drunk driving. His escalating behavior could very well be the reason why the officers acted the way they did. He was also left alone in the van and went berserk, injuring himself. But none of this matters right? Because all cops are racist and nothing anybody else does matters.....smh
Marty McFly You trying to tell me that a professional police officer isn’t competent enough to restrain a resisting person without KILLING them? Come on man, that’s an insult to police officers.
@@tommym321 The cops were wrong here as well, but this dude instigated the whole thing, then tried to strangle Sal in a fit of rage, then resisted arrest. You telling me he had NOTHING to do with his own death?
Police did the right thing
If you are resisting is the right thing
like in real life... the white and asian working and the black only sitting in the street drinking and hating all the people who earn money with working...
I’m so glad I never succumbed fully to the leftist hysteria by getting a paid subscription to The New York Times.
This movie was dumb
correct... but like in real life... the white and asian working and the black only sitting in the street drinking and hating all the people who earn money with working... and now we should crying or the poor black...? good joke...
Why was this movie dumb?? If youre not black, hispanic, native American.. of course you would see it as dumb. Unless youre just blind to the fact of whats going on. ..
I am BLACK man myself I hated it as well when I saw it in St Louis
@@eugeniaboone5602 I liked the movie but it I don’t like the fact that Spike Lee a non Italian American decided to portray us the way he did, which I understand it’s just a movie but it probably gave a lot of people the wrong impression
the poor black... all the day nothing to do than to sit in the street... drinking and hating all white and and asian, because they earn their money with working... and now we should cry for the poor blacks...? good joke...
and by the way... mucky i didnt want as brother, father, boy friend or employee... to stupid to get a better job, but thinking he is the greatest on earth... that is the black problem... in school nothing learning and later hate the people who werent so stupid and did something for their later life... black ever thinking they get later a sport star or a rap star and earn millions and have a nice life... but in real life 1 of a million have that luck and the rest is sitting in street like in that movie and hate the white and asian for learning in school to have a better life...
Just try to watch "DO the right thing" today...bad acting ...stupid plot ...it is not even a good "b"movie anymore . Spike Lee absolutely stinks as a film maker regardless of what color of glasses he wears.
Worse than Howard the Duck!
How's the food at the kiddie table?
blacks ;/
The idea that anyone of decent mind would consider Spike Lee a legitimate filmmaker rather than just a racist provocateur is ridiculous and complete lunacy.
@@kg356 They're not, but if they were I'm not sure how that would negate any of what I'm saying
k d
I’m guessing you wrote that comment while smoking crack
Everybody right now needs to go home and watch do the right thing. It’s horrible that this movie is still relevant (even tho it’s an amazing movie) but people of both sides need to go home n watch this movie. Especially white people