Image from: http://livinginweather.tumblr.com/The mise-en-scene in Do The Right Thing is used to really make the viewer believe that the film takes place on the hottest day of the year. Spike Lee conveys realism through the setting, props, and costumes used in the movie. The film took place in a Brooklyn neighborhood which created scenic realism because the movie contained things like sidewalks, apartments, no front yards and a community made up of mostly African Americans. Each of these things made it believable that one was watching a Brooklyn neighborhood.
To convey heat, Spike Lee not only had many of the characters speak about the extreme heat, but he also made the viewer see the heat. The bright red building that the three older men sat and chatted in front of really conveyed heat because its bright color seemed to cause the light to radiate from it. The fact that the men also sat around an umbrella and often wiped their faces with handkerchiefs made it seem as if they were sitting in extreme heat. All the characters were wearing summer clothes such as shorts and tank tops which made it believable that this was the hottest day of the year. One prop that made it particularly believable was the fire hydrant. During one scene some of the characters open the valve on the fire hydrant to let the water spray into the street for all the children to play in. Since it is very common for children to play in water on a hot day, this prop really made it seem like it must be hot. Another thing that always attracts children on a hot day is an ice cream truck. During one part of the movie all of the kids are gathered around the snow cone cart and then proceed to run after the ice cream truck when they hear it go by. These props are all things that are very typical on a hot day. When all of the various elements of mise-en-scene come together it becomes very believable that Do The Right Thing does take place on the hottest day of the year.
