Context (C3)

• What companies produced DTRT?

  Universal and Lee's production company 'Forty Acres and a Mule'
• Who did the score?

  Bill Lee -Lee's father
• What's seen as the anthem of DTRT?

  'Fight the Power' - Chuck D
• Who was the producer?

  John Kilik --> put film first despite budget, worked closely with Lee
• Who was the cinematographer?

  Dickerson --> heat bar under camera to show heat, revolutionary in how black skin was shot
• Who was the costume designer?

  Ruth E. Carter - previous collaborator
• Who co-wrote DTRT?


  Joie Lee -Lee's sister --> nominated best original screenplay
• Paramount pulled plug on negotiations when Lee refused to soften the ending 
• Universal agreed on ending for a lower budget + more creative control  
• Script viewed as “too black and too strong” --> films challenging white power seen as a threat by media + studios  
• Lee seen as a marginal to mid-budget maker of niche market films


  Lack of support from studios as they thought his projects weren’t accessible to all audiences  
• Where was DTRT filmed?

  Filmed on location in a Bed-Stuy neighbourhood  
• They had an open casting call for the community  
• Lee acted in his films as ‘leverage’, used his auteur status to attract more viewers 
• Political/cultural context:


  -Debate over decency in the arts --> battle over taxpayer funding of the arts 

  -Lee hoped DTRT would sway upcoming mayoral election, for black citizens to unseat racist right-wing Ed Koch --> wall graffiti “dump Koch” 

  -All-time high rates for crime 

  -Racially charged violence in NYC --> Howard beach, Tawana Brawley, Eleanor Bumpers, Tawana Brawley case, Yusef Hawkins, Miami riots
• What's the burden of representation?

  When marginalised groups do get represented, there’s pressure to be a ‘perfect’ character to represent them well 
• What was the 1986 Howard Beach incident DTRT was initially inspired by?

  Three black men attacked by group of white teens in Italian American middle-class neighbourhood, Michael Griffiths chased into traffic and killed 
• What was the Tawana Brawley case?

  She was raped by a group of police officers, jury decided not to indict the men as they accused her of lying in court, case reaffirmed for Black New-Yorkers that the police department was racist --> wall graffiti “Tawana told the truth” 
• Who was Eleanor Bumpers, the woman DTRT was dedicated to?


  Elderly black woman shot to death by NY police officers while evicting her 
• Who was Yusef Hawkins?

  Black teen shot and killed by group of white kids in the Bed-Stuy section of Brooklyn 
• What were the 1980 Miami riots?

  Race riots in Miami after racial violence by police officers
• What are the features of New Hollywood filming?

  -Jump cuts

  -Lack of est. shots 

  -Location shooting  

  -Made for younger audiences --> more violence/sex  

  -Cheaper, portable equipment for location shooting  
• Youthful film directors
• Auteur theory was invented:


  Authorship of films to one person 
• Rating system instead of Hays code  
• European New Wave films:

  -Broke rules of classical Hollywood

  -Rise of individualism + experimentation