Naturalistic or Theatrical: Do the Right Thing

There are so many aspects of mise en scene in Do the Right Thing that are confusing to me because of the mix of other aspects of film, like cinematography. When we broke up into small groups in class, we determined that a lot of times various scenes, sets and acting in Do the Right Thing had scenic realism, but cinematography (a lot of the camera angles) would distort it (not in a bad way, but rather very purposeful way) into being something a little different. Going from there, however, I think cinematography helped in making things seem unrealistic, but the mise en scene was a mix between naturalistic and theatrical.

The parts of Do the Right Thing that seemed to exude naturalistic mise en scene were the sets, settings, costumes, makeup and props. The location of this day is in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, which I think somebody said is known for racial tension between Italians and Black-Americans. The streets definitely seemed realistic of that time. Sal’s Pizzeria looked the part, especially with the pictures of famous Italians on the wall (which were important props to the film). The costumes and makeup were also naturalistic because they fit the time period, which was the 1980s. Mookie wore bright spandex under his shorts, Tina wore a spandex body suit when dancing in the beginning. Another part of costumes was the African pendant that Mookie and many of the other black characters wore around there neck, which were also popular during that time period. Various props, such as the boom boxes were also very naturalistic for that time period and culture.

The parts that seemed theatrical to me were the lighting and some of the acting. The lighting seemed like natural lighting, but because of hue use, it was more theatrical. Almost the whole film was shot in a goldish light, or at least a soft-light. The acting sometimes seemed stylized rather than naturalistic. For example, when the teenagers gathered around the white man on a bike after he ran over Buggin’ Out’s shoe, they all threw there hands up at the same time and shouted after they found out he grew up in Brooklyn. That was stylized. Many of the characters’ acting seemed exaggerated and sometimes they directly addressed the audience. At one point the film stood still and a few different characters stood in front of the camera and spoke as many racial slurs they could about another race.

I think the mix between naturalistic and theatrical mise en scene during Do the Right Thing was intentional by the filmmakers in order to create a tension within the viewer. Incorporating both was to create an “off” feel, perhaps. Also, the mix allows the viewer to ask questions and look further into the deeper issues of the film.