Episode 1: ‘Fight the Power’
How Spike Lee made his 1989 classic – and how Koch’s New York inspired it.
Spike Lee’s 1989 film Do the Right Thing, shot on location in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, is now considered not only a classic of modern cinema, but a clarion call to social justice, frequently connected with current acts of racist violence. But Do the Right Thing is inspired by specific historical events in New York City in the years before its release – and a general atmosphere of racial tension and police brutality, much of it empowered by the casual racism of Mayor Ed Koch. This episode connects the film to those incidents and to that atmosphere, and looks back at its initial (and fraught) reception. We also connect Lee’s iconic work to current events, and ask how we can carry its lessons into the current struggle.
Our guests are New York Times culture / op-ed editor Aisha Harris, Making Rent in Bed-Stuy author Brandon Harris, indie film guru (and Spike, Mike, Slackers and Dykes author) John Pierson, and Rolling Stone senior writer Jamil Smith.
Listen to the episode here.
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The original theatrical poster.
Spike Lee's first major 'Village Voice' profile, August 12, 1986.
'Do the Right Thing' announcement, 'Variety,' June 1, 1988.
'Do the Right Thing' announcement, 'Premiere' magazine, August 1988.
Amy Taubin's set report, 'Village Voice,' August 30, 1988.
Still from 'Do the Right Thing.'
A baffling publicity photo.
Pino (John Turturro), Sal (Danny Aiello), and Vito (Richard Edson).
Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn).
Pino (John Turturro) and Mookie (Spike Lee).
Tina (Rosie Perez) and Mookie (Spike Lee).
The final scene.
Jack Kroll's review, 'Newsweek,' July 3, 1989.
David Denby's review, 'New York' magazine, June 26, 1989.
David Denby's review, 'New York' magazine, June 26, 1989 (page 2).
Joe Klein's commentary, 'New York' magazine, June 26, 1989.
Joe Klein's commentary, 'New York' magazine, June 26, 1989 (page 2).
'Variety,' July 5, 1989: 'Do the Right Thing' "opens without violence."
For Your Consideration ad. If only!
The block as it stands today.
The block as it stands today.
Bed Stuy, Do or Die.
The facing corners at Lexington and Stuyvesant.
A mural honoring the departed actors.
SHOW NOTES
You can watch Spike Lee’s full June 8, 2020 appearance on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon here.
News audio of the blackout, and of Koch’s comments on calling in the National Guard, are from WPIX’s one-hour special report, which you can watch in full here.
Mayor Beame’s comments from Channel 7 Eyewitness News’ coverage of the blackout, available here..
The background on the blackout (and the mayoral candidates’ responses to it) is from Jonathan Mahler’s essential Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bronx Is Burning: 1977, Baseball, Politics, and the Battle for the Soul of a City, Picador, 2005.
Much of the audio in the Koch-explaining B-block comes from the wonderful 2013 documentary Koch, directed by Neil Barsky. If you have Kanopy, you can stream it there.
Much of the information on Koch comes from Jonathan Soffer’s Ed Koch and the Rebuilding of New York City, Columbia University Press, 2010.
Coverage of the Syndenham Hospital protest and occupation from WABC Eyewitness News. More on that story, via NYT.
Koch expresses his “blacks are anti-white,” anti-union, and other sentiments in Ken Auletta, “Profiles: The Mayor I,”New Yorker, September 10, 1979.
Koch’s anti-MLK Day stance is detailed and analyzed in the editorial “Abraham, Martin, and Ed: Koch Plays Politics with King’s Birthday,” Village Voice, January 15, 1985.
Lou Reed sings about Eleanor Bumpurs and Michael Stewart in the song “Hold On.”
Coverage of Michael Stewart from NYT here, here, and here.
Coverage of Eleanor Bumpurs from NYT here and Washington Post here. Mike reads from Sol Stern’s article “The Bumpurs Killing: A Case for Indictment?” in the Village Voice, January 1, 1985.
Koch’s “shifts” in support of Goetz and Officer Stephen Sullivan, who killed Eleanor Bumpurs, are detailed in thisNYT commentary from February 23, 1985.
Audio from the She’s Gotta Have It’s trailer, which you can find on YouTube.
John Pierson was interviewed on October 3, 2019, for the Fun City Cinema book. You can buy his book, Spike, Mike, Slackers and Dykes: A Guided Tour Across a Decade of Independent Cinema, here.
Spike Lee’s Nike “It’s gotta be the shoes” ad is on Youtube here.
Brandon Harris was interviewed on July 2, 2020. You can buy his book, Making Rent in Bed-Stuy, here.
Aisha Harris was interviewed on June 29, 2020. You can read her work for NYT here, and follow her on Twitter@craftingmystyle.
Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing companion book is out of print but still findable (you can buy it on Amazon here). In the entry for December 27, 1987, he writes:
New York City is tense with racial hatred. Can you imagine if these incidents had taken place in the summer, on the hottest day of the year? I’d be a fool not to work the subject of racism into “Do the Right Thing” … It’s funny how the script is evolving into a film about race relations. This is America’s biggest problem, always has been (since we got off the boat), always will be. I’ve touched upon it in my earlier works, but I haven’t yet dealt with it head on as a primary subject.
Spike Lee’s Howard Beach description comes from the audio commentary for the Criterion Collection edition of Do The Right Thing (recorded in 1995).
The “Dump Koch” explainer and most of the rest of Lee’s audio commentary excerpts come from Universal’s 20th anniversary Blu-ray edition (recorded in 2009).
More on the Howard Beach attack here; more on the Central Park Five here.
More on the idea Mike articulates about white culture’s inability to re-appropriate hip-hop here.
Amy Taubin's set report, “When You’re Hot,” ran in the Village Voice on August 30, 1988 (clipping in the gallery).
Additional information about the making of the movie comes from the book Spike Lee: Do the Right Thing, Ammo Books, 2010.
Dialogue and sound from Do the Right Thing, Universal Pictures, 1989.
Lee’s commentary on the press response to the film in 1989 comes from the featurette “Spike’s Last Word” on Universal’s 20th anniversary Blu-ray edition.
Jack Kroll's review, “The Fuse Has Been Lit,” ran in Newsweek on July 3, 1989 (clipping in the gallery).
Brandon Harris mentions The Spook Who Sat By the Door; for more on that reference, read Richard Brody in the New Yorker, July 20, 2018.
David Denby's review, “He’s Gotta Have It,” ran in New York magazine on June 26, 1989.
Joe Klein's commentary, “Spiked,” also ran in New York magazine on June 26, 1989.
Audio of the King protests from this YouTube compilation of television news coverage.
Jamil Smith was interviewed on July 24, 2020. You can read his work at Rolling Stone here (the cover story we discuss, “The Power of Black Lives Matter,” is here), and follow him on Twitter @jamilsmith.
Music (in order of appearance):
“Stunned but not Defeated” by Fulgur Studios
“1980s Hip Hop Instrumental” by AltidoreJozy
“For You” by Kwelar
“Ohtli” by Seclorance
“Right” by The Insider
Opening Theme:
Our opening theme features sound from the following films: The Taking of Pelham One Two Three, Coogan’s Bluff, Sweet Smell of Success, Quick Change, The Freshman, Spike of Bensonhurst, I Like It Like That, Prisoner of Second Avenue, Little Murders, Taxi Driver, Midnight Cowboy, Rhythm Thief, The Out of Towners, and What’s So Bad About Feeling Good?