DTRT CONTEXT FLASHCARDS
Who was the director? – Spike Lee
When was it released? – 1989
Todorov’s theory link? – Follows a 3-stage narrative structure, with the riot being the climax
Propp’ theory link? – Police are the villains, Mookie is the hero, Raheem is the donor, Smiley is
the helper
Levi-Strauss’ theory link? – Binary oppositions shown through Sal and the Black community,
the police and the community
Neale’s theory link? – Heavily follows the social commentary genre by exploring common
themes
Tasker’s theory link? – Mother Sister openly doesn’t like Da Mayor, but at the end has a
change of heart
Proairetic code link? – The long fight against racism which is the reason for the already boiling
racial tensions
Symbolic code link? – The Black community wearing red, the Koreans in blue, and Sal’s family
in black during the riot sequence
Semantic code link? – Radio Raheem’s boombox and Fight the Power being a symbolic and
literal representation of the oppression of black people
Hermeneutic code link? – Mookie’s relationships with people in the film and the way he acts
towards them
Syntactic approach link? – Links with the narrative and thematic features of the social
commentary genre
Semantic approach link? – Uses more cinematic techniques in order to engage the audience in
the film and make the messaging more hard-hitting
Bazin’s theory link? – Focus on racial politics, focus Mookie almost solely throughout the film,
external voice of Senõr Love Daddy
Hypodermic Needle Theory link? – Had been a lot in the media about the racial struggles and
police brutality, influencing the audience’s opinion of the film
Conventions of the social commentary film genre? – Tackles real-world issues, challenges
audiences to think critically about society, uses storytelling to highlight injustice. Common
themes include racism, class struggle, police brutality, media manipulation, gender inequality
and war
Spike Lee signatures? – Double dolly shot, focus on racial politics, squeezing the frame,
external voices which start each story, conversational descriptions, visceral use of written
dialects
What award did it win? – MTV Movie Silver Bucket of Excellence Award in 2006
Where is it on BFI’s greatest films of all-time list from 2023? – 24 th
What was the response to DTRT? – Gained a good response from the Black community and a
bad one from the white community
Why is Lee controversial? – He allegedly objectified women or made them uncomfortable on
set and his films are critiqued for contributing to ethnic stereotypes
Who was president in 1981-1989? – Ronald Reagan
What were Reagan’s views? – Opposed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prevented racial
discrimination. He tried to veto the Civil Rights Restoration Act
What was the US’s most urgent problem in 1989? – Drug use
Who was the director? – Spike Lee
When was it released? – 1989
Todorov’s theory link? – Follows a 3-stage narrative structure, with the riot being the climax
Propp’ theory link? – Police are the villains, Mookie is the hero, Raheem is the donor, Smiley is
the helper
Levi-Strauss’ theory link? – Binary oppositions shown through Sal and the Black community,
the police and the community
Neale’s theory link? – Heavily follows the social commentary genre by exploring common
themes
Tasker’s theory link? – Mother Sister openly doesn’t like Da Mayor, but at the end has a
change of heart
Proairetic code link? – The long fight against racism which is the reason for the already boiling
racial tensions
Symbolic code link? – The Black community wearing red, the Koreans in blue, and Sal’s family
in black during the riot sequence
Semantic code link? – Radio Raheem’s boombox and Fight the Power being a symbolic and
literal representation of the oppression of black people
Hermeneutic code link? – Mookie’s relationships with people in the film and the way he acts
towards them
Syntactic approach link? – Links with the narrative and thematic features of the social
commentary genre
Semantic approach link? – Uses more cinematic techniques in order to engage the audience in
the film and make the messaging more hard-hitting
Bazin’s theory link? – Focus on racial politics, focus Mookie almost solely throughout the film,
external voice of Senõr Love Daddy
Hypodermic Needle Theory link? – Had been a lot in the media about the racial struggles and
police brutality, influencing the audience’s opinion of the film
Conventions of the social commentary film genre? – Tackles real-world issues, challenges
audiences to think critically about society, uses storytelling to highlight injustice. Common
themes include racism, class struggle, police brutality, media manipulation, gender inequality
and war
Spike Lee signatures? – Double dolly shot, focus on racial politics, squeezing the frame,
external voices which start each story, conversational descriptions, visceral use of written
dialects
What award did it win? – MTV Movie Silver Bucket of Excellence Award in 2006
Where is it on BFI’s greatest films of all-time list from 2023? – 24 th
What was the response to DTRT? – Gained a good response from the Black community and a
bad one from the white community
Why is Lee controversial? – He allegedly objectified women or made them uncomfortable on
set and his films are critiqued for contributing to ethnic stereotypes
Who was president in 1981-1989? – Ronald Reagan
What were Reagan’s views? – Opposed the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prevented racial
discrimination. He tried to veto the Civil Rights Restoration Act
What was the US’s most urgent problem in 1989? – Drug use
