Comments on: Do a New Thing: 20 Years After Spike Lee’s Groundbreaking Film on Race in America http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/25/do-a-new-thing-20-years-after-spike-lees-groundbreaking-film-on-race-in-america/ A Blog by Jim Wallis and Friends Mon, 22 Mar 2010 09:13:52 -0400 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.4 hourly 1 By: Lord_Voldemort http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/25/do-a-new-thing-20-years-after-spike-lees-groundbreaking-film-on-race-in-america/comment-page-1/#comment-112265 Lord_Voldemort Fri, 26 Jun 2009 05:27:02 +0000 http://blog.sojo.net/?p=9644#comment-112265 If you ask me, the reason why little was made of the significance of this movie is ... Spike Lee isn't quite the radical he's sometimes made out to be. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he's a closet conservative, but he doesn't lack nuances. I got the black radicalism to be sure, but I remember seeing the film thinking the exact thing that Hopkinson did so many years later: Did Buggin' Out really do the Right Thing? I came away with the feeling that Spike Lee himself had mixed feelings on that score.<br><br>Lord knows I don't agree with him about a whole lot of things, but I've seen a lot of Spike Lee's movies either in the theater or video, and the man's an excellent director.<br><br>LV If you ask me, the reason why little was made of the significance of this movie is … Spike Lee isn't quite the radical he's sometimes made out to be. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he's a closet conservative, but he doesn't lack nuances. I got the black radicalism to be sure, but I remember seeing the film thinking the exact thing that Hopkinson did so many years later: Did Buggin' Out really do the Right Thing? I came away with the feeling that Spike Lee himself had mixed feelings on that score.

Lord knows I don't agree with him about a whole lot of things, but I've seen a lot of Spike Lee's movies either in the theater or video, and the man's an excellent director.

LV

]]> By: Lord_Voldemort http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/25/do-a-new-thing-20-years-after-spike-lees-groundbreaking-film-on-race-in-america/comment-page-1/#comment-89374 Lord_Voldemort Fri, 26 Jun 2009 03:27:02 +0000 http://blog.sojo.net/?p=9644#comment-89374 If you ask me, the reason why little was made of the significance of this movie is ... Spike Lee isn't quite the radical he's sometimes made out to be. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he's a closet conservative, but he doesn't lack nuances. I got the black radicalism to be sure, but I remember seeing the film thinking the exact thing that Hopkinson did so many years later: Did Buggin' Out really do the Right Thing? I came away with the feeling that Spike Lee himself had mixed feelings on that score.<br><br>Lord knows I don't agree with him about a whole lot of things, but I've seen a lot of Spike Lee's movies either in the theater or video, and the man's an excellent director.<br><br>LV If you ask me, the reason why little was made of the significance of this movie is … Spike Lee isn't quite the radical he's sometimes made out to be. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying he's a closet conservative, but he doesn't lack nuances. I got the black radicalism to be sure, but I remember seeing the film thinking the exact thing that Hopkinson did so many years later: Did Buggin' Out really do the Right Thing? I came away with the feeling that Spike Lee himself had mixed feelings on that score.

Lord knows I don't agree with him about a whole lot of things, but I've seen a lot of Spike Lee's movies either in the theater or video, and the man's an excellent director.

LV

]]> By: PonderingTom http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/25/do-a-new-thing-20-years-after-spike-lees-groundbreaking-film-on-race-in-america/comment-page-1/#comment-89350 PonderingTom Thu, 25 Jun 2009 19:30:19 +0000 http://blog.sojo.net/?p=9644#comment-89350 The thing that i remember most about the movie "Do the Right Thing" is that absolutely everybody does the wrong thing. Mookie will not do the right thing and be a good father. Sal will not do the right thing and put up a picture of an African American on his wall of fame. Radio Raheem won't turn his radio down or repsect Sal's right as a business owner, Buggin' Out won't stop escalating the vitriol and pause to forgive. The police allow anger and brutality to control them and a tragedy happens. And then everyone escalates this to a neighborhood disaster. Everyone does the wrong thing. If only one person had followed Christ in this movie, disaster could have been averted. This movie is a labratory lesson on how not to live one's life. The thing that i remember most about the movie “Do the Right Thing” is that absolutely everybody does the wrong thing. Mookie will not do the right thing and be a good father. Sal will not do the right thing and put up a picture of an African American on his wall of fame. Radio Raheem won't turn his radio down or repsect Sal's right as a business owner, Buggin' Out won't stop escalating the vitriol and pause to forgive. The police allow anger and brutality to control them and a tragedy happens. And then everyone escalates this to a neighborhood disaster. Everyone does the wrong thing. If only one person had followed Christ in this movie, disaster could have been averted. This movie is a labratory lesson on how not to live one's life.

]]> By: ChristineAScheller http://blog.sojo.net/2009/06/25/do-a-new-thing-20-years-after-spike-lees-groundbreaking-film-on-race-in-america/comment-page-1/#comment-89341 ChristineAScheller Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:33:52 +0000 http://blog.sojo.net/?p=9644#comment-89341 So glad, Sojo posted this. Great film. Great post. So glad, Sojo posted this. Great film. Great post.

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