Do The Right Thing, Spike Lee (1989)

There was a very apparent Mise-en-scene in this film. The point that stood out the most to me was the coloring. There were very saturated, bright reds, yellows and greens, probably a connection to the emphasis on African Americans in the film. Spike Lee did a wonderful job in showing heat by creating a yellow/orange haze in the scenes throughout the film. I could literally feel the heat they were experiencing throughout the day. This also later came to be a foreshadowing of the fire that was to occur in the end with Sal's Pizzeria. He also did a wonderful job by showing the tension between the Italians and African Americans by having Mookie, the main character in a Robinson jersey, and the white male walking down the street in a Larry Bird Jersey. Robinson was the first black baseball player while Larry Bird is a very white, Irish basketball player.

In class we talked about how directors and cinematographers have created visual metaphors for the audience to subconsciously feel more connected to a film. For example, in The Graduate the mother in the film is wearing a leopard coat to resemble her ferocious, sexual character as she tried to seduce the boy.