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Shot Techniques in the Film, Do the Right Thing Essay

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Shot Techniques in the Film, Do the Right Thing

Spike Lee does many fascinating things from a directorial standpoint, which makes his film (dare I say, joint), Do the Right Thing so interesting to watch. Writer, director Lee makes much use of the high and low angle shots. He does this to draw clear contrasts between the two elders of the block, Da Mayor and Mother Sister and to make conflict more apparent.

Mother Sister certainly believes she is on a higher moral plane than the lowly Mayor and is usually seen by way of a low-angle shot high in her window preaching down and casting criticism on the passersby, giving her an almost God-like characteristic. The high angle shots from her view give Da Mayor and others on the street a …show more content…

Briefly the two are in the same eye-level shot showing the viewer that Mother Sister and Da Mayor are very much the same. This also gives her character a much more tangible, mortal quality. They are also shown this way after Da Mayor risks his life to save a boy from being hit by a car while playing in the street, but it is not so much because the two are equals as it that the God-like Mother Sister is coming down from her high perch to grace Da Mayor with her sacred opinion that he has done a good thing.

A good example of Lee using high and low angel shots to exemplify conflict is in the two encounters between Sal and Radio Raheem. Radio Raheem is shown throughout the film only with low-angle shots giving him a threatening, larger than life appearance. When Radio Raheem walks into Sal’s Famous with his boom box blaring the first time it starts a huge altercation between Sal and Raheem. The camera jumps back and forth between low angle close up shots of Raheem to the reverse high angle close ups of Sal as the two yell at each other. This confrontation ends with Radio Raheem finally turning off the music and peace is restored. The second instance occurs just before and serves as the catalyst for the violent climax.

Lee makes excellent use of these shots as a way of bringing the viewer into the action of the movie. His use of high and low angle, point of view shots both heighten tension and give the feeling that the characters

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