The Neighborhood, Race, and Gentrification in In the Heights and Do the Right Thing

 Research Question:

How do Lin-Manuel Miranda, Quira Alegria Hudes, and Jonathan Chu’s In the Heights (2021) and Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing (1989) use the representation of urban space to expand on the sense of belonging within their respective communities. How do such representations intersect with larger notions of race, immigration, and gentrification?

Audience

This research kit is intended for those interested in the representation of urban space in cinema, for academic purposes or otherwise. Those enrolled in or teaching courses related to urban history, film history, film analysis, immigration, or the study of Latinx, Black, and Asian communities in the United States may find this kit particularly helpful. Of course, this kit is designed to provide supplementary material to both relevant films, so taking time to view both will be helpful in unpacking its contents. Prior historical knowledge of the film’s settings is not required, though it may similarly be helpful.

Overview

Joost J. Bakker. “Do the Right Thing Graffiti in Amsterdam.”

After watching In the Heights and Do the Right Thing, it became increasingly apparent that directors Jonathan Chu and Spike Lee, respectively, were very intentional in how they chose to represent urban space. Watching these films sparked my interest in the historical representation of urban areas in film as well as the two relevant neighborhoods in New York City – Bedford-Stuyvesant (“Bed-Stuy”) in Brooklyn and Washington Heights in upper Manhattan. Throughout both films, the neighborhoods and communities within are completely alive—ripe with interaction and familial-style relationships where everyone seems to know each other. Though both of these films are produced in the United States and are focused on areas in America, many of the community members present are Latinx, and both films frequently pay homage to areas in Latin America, thus allowing me to intersect these interests with my current studies. It is also impossible to study urban space without paying particular attention to the effects of gentrification, defined in the context of Latinx communities by Gabriela Cázares as the displacement of working-class residents to make way for the affluent middle-class. It would be a mistake to not include such a critical component of the modern urban landscape.

Though there is a decades-long gap in the release date of both films, the messages ingrained within them are as relevant as ever—especially when considering the recent national reckoning based on race as a result of the murder of George Floyd. While there are some difficulties in comparing two film that were released so far apart, they remain similar in many respects–most notably for their depiction of the urban space as a crucible for exchange among local inhabitants. Additionally, the larger themes of immigration and gentrification have been subject to increased academic study and have remained personal interests of mine. Both films are ripe with content concerning these themes. Film has historically functioned as a representation of power and has repeatedly served to reinforce societal power dynamics. This is particularly true of Western film (of which In the Heights and Do the Right Thing are included), where representations of urban space have echoed common sentiments of their respective eras. Films, of course, also contain political themes, and the two films relevant to this question contain either latent or explicit political discourse throughout. In the Heights, an adaptation of the musical directed by Lin-Manuel Miranda directed by Jonathan Chu, was an American major motion-picture. Both films attempt to portray their relevant communities in as authentic a way as possible. Rather than appealing simply to the “white gaze” that has dominated many areas of Western film, both directors were depicted communities that they found homes in themselves. This allows for the political messages (including a large amount of criticism) ingrained in both films to carry more significance, as they are transmitted by members of the communities themselves.

Spike Lee (2012). Source: Agência Brasil.

The notion of race is central to Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing, where the central character, Mookie, and others attempt to navigate the racism endemic to 1980’s New York (and the United States at large). The neighborhood of Bed Stuy serves as a crucible for the larger racial tensions that plagued the United States, and each scene is ripe with interactions that underscore the underlying notion. Additionally, immigration is intertwined with other political themes throughout the film. The climax of the film occurs as Mookie throws a garbage can through the window of Sal’s Pizza after the killing of Radio Raheem via police violence, allowing the surrounding mob to destroy the store. Throughout the film, it is argued whether Sal and his sons (who are Italian) truly represent a pillar of the community, which is majority Black. As described by Marilyn Fabe in her book Closely Watched Films: An Introduction to the Art of Narrative Film Technique, “[Do the Right Thing] implies that underneath a thin surface of affability between blacks and whites in America lurks a mutual hatred, resentment, and distrust that makes outbreaks of violence between them inevitable.” As seen in the clip below, gentrification is also mentioned in the film, and Spike Lee wisely plays on the political wide-reaching political nature of the issue. In this scene, character Buggin’ Out (played by Giancarlo Esposito) lambasts a white man who stepped on his new Jordan sneakers, accusing him of being a part of the wider trend of gentrification for moving into the majority-Black neighborhood. The white man says that he has just as much right to live in the neighborhood as anyone else, to which Buggin’ Out replies that he should “go back to Massachusetts” (the man is wearing a Boston Celtics jersey). To this, the white man replies that he was born in Brooklyn, much to the chagrin of the surrounding crowd.

Lin-Manuel Miranda. Photo by Gage Skidmore.

Similarly, the 2021 film adaptation of In the Heights contains larger themes of racial tension and social mobility. The central character, Usnavi, an immigrant from the Dominican Republic, struggles internally with his desire to rise beyond his current station and eventually return home to carry on his father’s legacy. In the Heights pays homage to Do the Right Thing in many ways, from having the setting in the middle of New York heat wave, the repetition and praise of notable Latinx figures over the radio, having Vanessa’s shoes splattered with paint (see below: Your Jordans are F***ed Up!) and including community members playing with fire hydrants. Honoring Do the Right Thing shows just how significant the film was (and still is) to the American political landscape.  Washington Heights is depicted in a much similar fashion to Bed-Stuy, with community members often coming together to have block/dinner parties, gathering at bodegas, and frequenting the local pool. A figure similar to Mr. Señor Love Daddy is represented by Benny, who works the dispatch.

Annotated Bibliography

Fabe, Marilyn. “Political Cinema: Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing.” In Closely Watched Films, 1st ed., 191–206. An Introduction to the Art of Narrative Film Technique. University of California Press, 2014. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt7zw19h.16.

This is a secondary source (book chapter) that analyzes Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing through an expressly political lens, commenting on the overarching political themes and social dynamics present throughout the film. It is helpful in understanding Spike Lee’s political motivations behind crafting the film the way he did, allowing the reader to understand how this intersects with the larger communities of the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood and New York City at large. It argues that “[Do the Right Thing] implies that underneath a thin surface of affability between blacks and whites in America lurks a mutual hatred, resentment, and distrust that makes outbreaks of violence between them inevitable” (191). It also describes the “dialectical form” of the film in which a “constant play of opposite modalities clash against one another.”

MacDonald, Scott. “The City as Motion Picture.” In The Garden in the Machine, 1st ed., 147–222. A Field Guide to Independent Films about Place. University of California Press, 2001. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/j.ctt1ppphb.11.

This is a secondary source (book chapter) that describes the presentation of the city—both in its dynamics and representation of physical space—in the context of independent cinema. It is useful in understanding how filmmakers attempt to place different elements of cities and urban life into their films and their motivations behind doing so. MacDonald argues that the developments of the modern city and cinema have been essentially interlocked. Much of the source is dedicated to expanding on the development of various forms of cinema in New York City. It also provides analyses of several important films.

Cázares, Gabriela. “Resisting Gentrification in Quiara Alegría Hudes and Lin-Manuel Miranda’s ‘In the Heights’ and Ernesto Quiñonez’s ‘Bodega Dreams.’” American Studies 56, no. 2 (2017): 89–107.

This is a secondary source (journal article) that orients the title productions through the lens of gentrification. Though the source was written before In the Heights was adapted to film, the similarities between the original musical and film adaptation maintains the usefulness of this source for purposes of this kit. Cázares attempts to shed light on the importance of community networks networks “necessary in combating high levels of poverty and general lack of resources due to private, state, and federal disinvestment” (89). Seeing the relevant works through a larger political lens, Cázares analyzes barrio communities and their commitment to finding ways to build solidarity to resists displacement as collectivites.

Snyder, Robert W. “A New Neighborhood in a New City.” In Crossing Broadway, 1st ed., 196–222. Washington Heights and the Promise of New York City. Cornell University Press, 2015. https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7591/j.ctt1287d7w.10.

Bedford-Stuyvesant Neighborhood, Brooklyn. Photo by Eli Duke.

This is a secondary source (book chapter) that provides a general analysis of the Washington Heights neighborhood in New York City and its recent history. This source aids in understanding the political implications of the area’s representation in film and provides useful background knowledge for In the Heights. Snyder argues that “In the Heights acclaims the hard work and communal feel that define the neighborhood, with all of the freemed by the contrary tugs of the Caribbean and New York City, past and present, the community and the individual” (221). He argues that the play is very much part of the larger Broadway tradition and that “the play is very much in tune with the real world of Washington Heights” (222).

Gibson, Casarae L. “’Fight the Power’: Hip Hop and Civil Unrest in Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing.” Black Camera 8, no .2 (Spring 2017). Published by Indiana University Press: 183-207.

The is a secondary source (journal article) that describes the political messaging in Spike Lee’s Do The Right Thing through a larger paradigm of political activism and protest. The article is primarily oriented around the use of hip-hop throughout the film–particularly Public Enemy’s song “Fight the Power,” which appears throughout the film. As this kit is primarily oriented on political themes, this helps to unpack the film in these contexts. In this article, Gibson contends that “hip-hop drives the narrative of Do the Right Thing in which Lee places at the center a racial uprising that embarks on a historical trajectory of Black American challenging American democracy and inequality.

Jon M. Chu, director of In the Heights. Photo by Eva Rinaldi.

Helmriech, William B. “From Washington Heights to Hudson Heights, From Soho to Soha: Gentrification.” In The New York Nobody Knows: Walking 6,000 Miles in the City, 231–95. Princeton University Press, 2013. https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctt3fgwzv.12.

This is a secondary source (book chapter) that describes the effects gentrification on the Washington Heights neighborhood in New York City, among others. Helmriech opens the chapter by discussing the young people who gentrified New York City en masse before providing a general history of gentrification in the city.

Zukin, Sharon. “Restaurants as ‘Post Racial’ Spaces. ‘Soul Food’ and Symbolic Eviction in Bedford-Stuyvesant (Brooklyn).” Ethnologie Française 44, no. 1 (2014): 135–47. http://www.jstor.org/stable/42772447.

This is a secondary source (journal article) that describes restaurants in their relation to larger notions of race and “symbolic eviction” in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York. It pays particular attention to “soul food” restaurants that helped establish a “Black identity” within the city. However, Zukin argues that recent upticks of transnational migration and gentrification in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood have expanded the environment for other forms of restaurants. “Keywords” described in this article are “restaurant, post-racial space, ghetto, gentrification, and soul food.”

In the Heights – First 8 Minutes

Do the Right Thing – Your Jordans are F***ed Up!