Do the right thing

HEAT WAVE


The element I am going to identify in the movie by writer-director Spike Lee film is the Heat wave. And I'm going to discuss how it contributes to the structure and development of the film.
From the very beginning of the movie, Mister Señor Love Daddy (Sam Jackson), the DJ at local WE-LOVE radio, who provides another form of running commentary, announces at the beginning that it's going to be the hottest day of the year as the heat wave had hit the neighborhood. And as the movie continues it shows people in that community struggling with the heat.
It contributes pretty well because the movie starts with a fight at the Sal's Famous Pizzeria, is owned and managed by the Italian American Sal (Danny Aiello), with a local activist Bugging Out (Giancarlo Esposito) complaining about the photos on the wall of fame and calling Sal a racist. Then he gets banned from the Pizzeria where he starts a plan to boycott Sal's Pizzeria.
Like the Heat wave was heating up, the conflict between the black people and other italian american were heating up as well.
Mookie always tried to keep it cool and trying to make peace, but as a one individual, there wasn't much he could do than trying.

A Heat wave and literal word relates to danger, where as in real life a heat wave could lead to huge destructions such as causing a fire, which leads to loss of property, business and lives.
This was well delivered in the film as the heat up of blood and anger between Sal and his trouble makers heated up, it lead Sal to lose his control which ended up breaking the stereo of Radio Raheem (Bill Nunn), that made him lose his temper and attacked Sal and the fight was started.
The fight lead the cops to arrive and since the heat of the fight was so bad that lead to Radio Raheem's death. This made the black people turn against Sal for the reason of his death. Mookie by breakin the window of Sal's pizzeria lead to people to ruin the place and caused a fire during the fight that burnt down Sal's pizzeria, lost his business and a place built with his own hand with hardwork. And Mookie struggle with his life and earning to support his girlfriend and baby boy lost his job, Radio Raheems lost his life.

As I mentioned above how a Heat wave can lead to a fire, destruction of loss of property, business and lives where all shown well in the film...

The color and contrast of the film also showed very clearly the element Heat wave, such as the three old black guys sitting in a background with a wall painted red, the most of the indoor and outdoor sceneries was orangish color that emphasize the color of fire.

Commodity

"In classical political economy and especially Karl Marx's critique of political economy, a commodity is any good or service produced by human labour and offered as a product for general sale on the market. Some other priced goods are also treated as commodities, e.g. human labor-power, works of art and natural resources, even although they may not be produced specifically for the market, or be non-reproducible goods."
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Commodity_(Marxism)

Though today a commodity is a good or service put out on the market to be exchanged with money, during ancient days a commodity was an exchange of goods to goods or service to service.

For example goods like gold, silver, copper etc., were trade with coal, iron, timber. And also exchange of labour.

Looking at an artist's work as a commodity;

Jackson Pollock

As an artist he was the person who works were based on the abstract expressionist movement. Which wasn't well valued among the consumers who bought his paintings. His work scored for their uniqueness. As his way of working on paintings as gazing at the blank canvas until the picture reflects on the canvas from his brain then start painting by spilling of liquid paint in various motions using sticks, towels, buckets etc., according to his feelings and image on his mind.

His method became a famous and valued among consumers for the style and energy of his physical and mental expression applied to his work.

A commodity becomes successful when it meets the right marketeer. In Pollock's case his wife was the one who promoted his work to the art market and found the right dealer for Pollock.

he was an individual art maker often contrast to other artists such as Andy Warhol, he had people under him to work for him, produced works of mass production, and sold his work to the right people without an intermediate. Jackson Pollock's work was produced to people who valued and admired his work for it's uniqueness and own way of making art.

But there can be difference between an artist and other artists or producer of goods when it comes to define their work as commodity. An artist can have the freedom to make a piece of artwork for his or hers own satisfaction and the it will not be valued as a commodity until it's put out to the market. In this case, the individual will have self satisfaction of making the good or service. Where as when a good is produced or made under a given order or instructions, the producer won't have the same self satisfaction and the good will be put out in the market as a commodity straight way.

According to that all of Jackson Pollock's works were not a production of commodities when he enjoyed it first by painting it and gaining satisfaction from his work produced. There are many other artist who had also practiced the same thing. Other famous artists such as Michelangelo who was under lot of influence by the church and higher powers in his society when he produced most of his work for the church, he worked under order and instruction of the church and higher power, which didn't give him much freedom and self satisfaction when he produced his work. which is similar to mass production of commodities made in factories for consumers satisfaction.