Do The Right Thing

This is just a reminder that we have short writing assignment due on Wednesday (you can find it on the Schedule page), when we begin our discussion of Spike Lee's Do The Right Thing. I'm looking forward to a lively discussion of this brilliant, difficult, and frequently hilarious film, so please come to class prepared to talk. Thanks!

Ikiru Posters

Because film posters are themselves forms of interpretation, I thought that it might be interesting to highlight the first way that the whole of Ikiru was represented visually. You'll recall, of course, that Watanabe and Kimura were never at the playground at the same time (and so this poster does not reflect an actual moment in the film). And Watanabe is portrayed with a much less frightening smile than we see throughout the film; I guess the studio didn't want to scare away any viewers, because a smiling Watanabe clearly scares the hell out of Kimura in the cafe scene with which we ended class today.

You can find several other examples of Ikiru film posters, including foreign releases, here.