Still worried that the cinema is not open?
Don't wait, the United States is now full of blockbuster scenes!
Just watch the news.
First "Batman" appears!
The scene is close to the big battle in "The Dark Knight Rises" -
Next, there's the arch-enemy "Joker"!
While dancing, come together to join in the fun -
Last year's hit "Joker" has not dissipated, and today it has been reproduced.
Chicago's bridges rise one after another, as if returning to "The Mystery of the Shadow".
Or "Transformers" —
The story is clear to everyone:
On May 25, an African-American man in Minnesota was killed by "violent law enforcement" by police.
The police pressed their knees against the back of the black man's neck for several minutes until they ran out of breath and did not move.
“I can’t breath……”
(I can't breathe anymore)
This is the last cry of the man's mouth.
What we see today is only the result of things.
Why it developed into such a tragedy is what we need to think deeply about.
Behind the "racial discrimination", there may be more social contradictions and more complex human nature problems.
The movie that Uncle Fish recommends today, although it is the story of 30 years ago.
But you'll find that it's not that different from the problems of American society today.
This is the famous work of black director Spike Lee .
"Do What You Should"
Let's start with the director " Spike Lee " .
This old brother, Uncle Fish has always respected him!
Many young viewers may have only begun to know him from "Black Gangster".
He won Best Director at the 2018 Oscars for this film.
But in fact, as early as the 80s, he broke through the world in his 20s with his talent.
The '89 film "Do What You Deserve," which was introduced today, was nominated for the Palme d'Or at Cannes and the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
In addition, his works such as "Jungle Fever", "Kuroshio", "Black Street Pursuit Order" and so on have won the golden bear and lion palm three awards.
As a black director, it's not easy!
In addition to Jordan Peel ("Escape from Breaking Bad"), Barry Jenkins (Moonlight Boy), who have only made a name for themselves in recent years, how many big black directors can you find in more than a hundred years of film history?
Movies about black people, of course, are made by black directors themselves.
This "Do What You Should" was definitely "underestimated" at that time.
The biggest winner of that year's Oscars was "Driving for Miss Daisy," which was also about race.
(Won the three major awards of Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Adapted Screenplay)
But it has to be said that "Driving for Miss Daisy" is too idealistic, a docile black servant, an inclusive white employer.
The real issues behind the racial tensions are not touched upon at all.
On the contrary, the final grain of "Do What Should Be" has been highly praised by the industry.
The famous film critic Roger Ebert listed it as one of the "great films".
Martin Scorsese listed it as a "film that influenced his own creations".
Wes Anderson also mentioned the film in a recent interview, saying it was one of the "favorite movies" watched during the pandemic.
The film does not seem to be outdated today, and it has a very high degree of similarity with recent events.
The main line of the film is that a black man is violently killed by the police, which triggers a mass riot.
The instigator of the whole conflict is Buggin' Out, who is noisy all day long and looking for trouble:
(Looking back, I found out that this crazy character was actually the scheming "Fried Chicken Uncle" in "Breaking Bad"!) ）
Buggin' Out went to the pizzeria to eat pizza, and was extremely dissatisfied when he found that the shop was full of photos of celebrities of Italian descent.
He suggested to his boss that the store should have pictures of black stars because the store was open in a black neighborhood.
No one expected that such a ridiculous reason would lead to a fierce conflict between Africans and Italians.
He found two small friends to support himself.
One of them is the tall and burly Raheem.
Idle all day, carrying a huge radio around.
I like to make the music loud and not pay attention to anyone.
The pizzeria owner couldn't stand the loud radio and smashed it in a fit of rage.
This infuriated Raheem completely.
Strong, he grabbed the pizzeria owner, threw him to the ground, and grabbed him by the neck.
Just then, the police arrived.
In the process of subduing Raheem, the police suffocated due to excessive force...
A life was lost.
This is simply a far cry from today's reality.
Spike Lee also launched a video on social networking sites these two days, editing the scenes in the film with the violent law enforcement incidents in reality.
In addition to the use of recent conflicts;
There was also a video of "Eric Garner" suffocated by the police in 2014, which was also released.
It is almost seamless with the scene in "Do What You Should".
This shows the high degree of repetition of history.
In the film, fellow blacks also express their anger in demonstrations.
People rushed into the store and smashed it around to vent their dissatisfaction.
Finally, I burned it clean with a fire.
Even the convenience store opened by the "Korean" couple opposite almost suffered together.
Fortunately, after being dissuaded, he escaped a disaster——
In the face of the rushing fire brigade, the masses constantly interfered with the obstruction and clashed continuously.
In the hot summer, people's emotions will be more likely to be intensified.
The racial contradictions that were already deeply rooted in the first place were constantly amplified and inflated under the slightest conflict.
It ended up turning into an irreparable tragedy.
As a black director, Spike Lee does not turn a blind eye to his countrymen in the film.
He didn't even overly sensationalize the story of how oppressed a black man was.
Nor did he "over-glorify" his own ethnic group.
Most of the blacks presented in the film are from poor backgrounds, have a low level of education, and are often full of foul mouths, noisy, lazy, and even a little irritable and extreme.
Even those positive characters with good characters will inevitably have some irrational performance.
In "Do What You Should", Spike Lee himself also made a cameo appearance as a lazy, opportunistic little supporting role.
Obviously, it is difficult to have a job of delivering pizza, but I am often late, and I also use my work break to meet my girlfriend and sneak around in a busy way.
But it is precisely such a character that makes the story seem more "real" and "convincing"!
On the contrary, in films made by white directors such as "Driving for Miss Daisy" and "Green Book", black characters tend to be particularly kind, upright, and talented.
Even the whole story is a bit of an exaggeration.
Last year's Oscars competed for Best Picture
Spike Lee's "The Black Party" defeated "Green Book"
He teased helplessly, "Driving movies are my nemesis."
Of course, the creators were well-intentioned and wanted to change people's perceptions of black people.
But such an ideal image does not correspond to most black people.
As a movie, "Do What You Should" doesn't just give these fragments.
It combs through the real story from scratch, delicately showing everyone involved.
This gives us the opportunity to rethink the source of conflict.
In fact, the whole process of conflict is unbelievable.
Some of the parties have nothing to do, and the other side is too bad.0
It can be said that there are excesses on both sides.
Of course, the most infuriating and unforgivable is the violent law enforcement of the police to kill innocent people.
But is it right that the black community is therefore pouring its anger at Pizza Shop owners of Italian descent?
This obviously does not stand up to scrutiny.
The director did not "beautify" the image of black people, he analyzed the problem of racial discrimination at the same time, but also from the perspective of black people themselves, began to reflect.
He was naturally outraged by what had happened to the deceased, Raheem, but more importantly, a deep examination of the violence.
Before his death, Raheem waved "LOVE" and "HATE" with his left and right hands.
Love, hate—
Which hand will win in the end?
At the end of the film, the director shows the famous quotes of the black movement leaders Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm Aix respectively.
The former advocates the peaceful struggle for their rights, while the latter advocates victory through violent means.
Spike Lee did not give a definitive answer.
Just leave the problem to the audience to think and choose for themselves.
As this intriguing title goes:
「Do the Right Thing！」
A more straightforward translation is:
"Do the right thing!"
So, what exactly is the "right thing to do"?
Let's go back to today's perspective -
The death of black people due to police violence led to the death of black people, and the Demonstration and Protest of the American people is reasonable from the starting point.
Police officers who cause human lives deserve judicial supervision and trial.
The long-standing injustices of American society against people of color deserve to be further addressed.
However, reasonable demands also need to be conveyed in a reasonable way.
Today's movement, on a certain level, has developed into many cathartic riots.
Many people do not really feel bad about the black community, but simply revel in the carnival of violence.
Burning apartments, post offices, convenience stores, vehicles, destroying public property, harming innocent civilians, etc.
All this is not worth showing off or praising.
This is a frenzy that has fallen into irrationality.
The more important question is, will such catharsis lead to satisfactory results?
In les Misérables, another French film this year that explores the conflict between black people and white cops.
Police officers accidentally injured an African-American teenager with a riot gun during law enforcement.
As the conflict erupts, the protagonist from a neutral perspective comes forward and mentions "the conflict of 2005."
Minorities pay the price for their "revenge", but nothing has changed.
The incident was caused by a police raid that accidentally electrocuted two African-American boys while evading.
The trigger triggered thousands of ethnic minorities to take to the streets to demonstrate.
And eventually evolved into a nationwide ethnic violence and civil unrest.
Still, France's biggest post-World War II upheaval did not fail to bring about any change.
Instead of disappearing, the estrangement between ethnic groups has grown.
So what will be left after the riots in the United States subside today?
Was the racial conflict successfully resolved?
Or is it the anger of violence that continues to press, deepening estrangement and prejudice?
What should be done to be the right thing to do?
Spike Lee, a black director, couldn't give an answer.
Uncle Yu, who is a bystander, can't give an answer.
From "Do What You Should" to today's Freudian events—even longer than this period of time—no one can give an optimal solution.
Only time and history.
Slowly precipitate the answer.