4 Cinematography Techniques From Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing”

Spike Lee first captivated our cultural consciousness in 1986 with his debut film, She’s Gotta Have It, a story about a sexually empowered woman in Brooklyn and her three lovers, told in black and white. Over his long and varied career, Spike has often drawn from the well of his own life, which encompass everything from historically Black colleges and universities, colorism in the Black community, culture clashes in Brooklyn, love and jazz, interracial relationships, and addiction. Spike Lee continues to make movies—and make moves: In 2010, the Library of Congress selected Malcolm X for preservation in the National Film Registry, and his most recent film is 2020’s Da 5 Bloods.

Spike Lee’s film, Do the Right Thing—which received an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay and Best Supporting Actor—utilizes different camera angles and cinematic techniques to add movement, emphasize mood, and enhance the overall visual experience of the film. Here are some of the cinematography techniques that Spike used to make the groundbreaking film:

1. 1. Low camera shots: The simplest way to show contrast between characters through cinematography is the placement of the camera, and Spike Lee movies are known for their intense camera angles and movements. If you want to show a character is a little weak, you shoot them from above. If you want to show someone is powerful and controlling, you shoot them from below. This particular technique is used in Do the Right Thing, when three main characters Buggin Out, Radio Raheem, and Smiley enter Sal’s Famous Pizzeria. The camera shoots them from below, showing their confidence and power as they demand that Sal, whose New York City restaurant is in a Black neighborhood, change his “Wall of Fame” to feature famous Black people, rather than just Italian-Americans.
2. 2. High camera shots: Where the low camera shot conveys power, the high camera shot conveys insecurity. In the same scene where the crew confronts Sal, Spike shoots the restaurant owner from above, highlighting his fear and insecurity of the Black men who are challenging him. Tensions come to a head when Sal destroys Radio Raheem’s boombox and spouts racial slurs at the men.
3. 3. Dutch angles: A Dutch angle is a type of camera shot where the camera is tilted to one side. Also called a canted angle, oblique angle, or Dutch tilt, you can use a Dutch angle shot to take the audience out of their comfort zone, cause disorientation, and convey chaos (but be careful not to overuse it, as it can take away its impact). Spike Lee uses camera tilts throughout Do the Right Thing to convey tension and a skewed reality.
4. 4. Zooms: There’s a dynamic that you get from camera movement. In Do the Right Thing, there aren’t many static shots. Characters move into the frame, away from the frame, and side to side. In one particular scene, Mookie and some other characters are emitting a string of racial epithets, and the camera zooms in close while they list off the various stereotypes about other cultures, emphasizing racial tensions. However, Samuel L. Jackson, whose character is a radio personality for the Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn area, serves as the voice of reason at this moment—he is the only character who moves towards the camera, rather than having the camera move at him. The camera symbolizes the audience in this scene, which demonstrates how the characters are directly addressing the viewers, breaking the fourth wall, and making it a more personal moment.

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