Chapter 1 of 20 · 2'42"
It's dawn in Bed-Stuy, and the local DJ opens the day. He greets, jokes, and delivers a heat-wave forecast: the color of the day is black, a Jheri curl alert is in effect, and there's a water shortage. "The last on your dial, but first in your hearts, and that's the truth, Ruth," he signs off.
Mister Señor Love Daddy Signs On
❝ Monologue · 29 lines The DJ's Heat-Wave Forecast
❝ Monologue · 5 lines Smiley names the fallen
Short flat sentences about the dead land harder than any speech.
It's the start of a hot day in Bed-Stuy. Mister Señor Love Daddy opens his radio show with his signature call, greeting every Mr. and Mrs. on the block. He delivers a joke forecast—today's color is black—and warns of a Jheri curl alert and a water shortage. Then Smiley faces the camera to say his piece about Malcolm X and Martin Luther King.
The film opens with a voice that belongs to the neighborhood. Mister Señor Love Daddy is both a joker and the block's conscience: the same broadcast that cracks jokes about Jheri curl and showers also delivers a forecast of pure heat and the color black, and warns that people who don't show up for work will get a pink slip. "The last on your dial, but first in your hearts, and that's the truth, Ruth," he says, and the greeting is the film's thesis—this place, this block, these people. When Smiley appears to name Malcolm X and Martin Luther King and note that both are dead, the warmth turns serious. The joy and the grief are set side by side before the story even starts, and the heat hangs over everything.
A1–C2 is the CEFR scale. Cards above the level you pick fade, and playback will not auto-pause on them.
“The last on your dial, but first in your hearts, and that's the truth, Ruth.”
A self-mocking boast that turns on balance and rhyme; it sounds like a signature.
Informal
“There's also a water shortage, so keep those showers down to one minute.”
A trivial rationing rule delivered like a broadcast order, with a wink.
Informal
“That's what I'm talking about.”
A catch-all cheer of approval that works in almost any conversation.
Informal
“Two minutes, if you're showering with a friend.”
A water-shortage rule gets a sly second clause: two minutes, if you're showering with a friend. Civic advice with a wink.
Informal
Wake up. Wake up, wake up, wake up. Up you wake, up you wake, up you wake. This is Mister Seсor Love Daddy, your voice of choice. The last on your dial, but first in your hearts, and that's the truth, Ruth. Here I am. Am I here? You know it. It you know. This is Mister Seсor Love Daddy doing the nasty to your ears, your ears to the nasty. I's only play the platters that matter. The matters they platter, and that's the truth, Ruth. From the heart of Bed-Stuy, you're listening to We Love Radio. Doing the yin and the yang, the hip and the hop, the stupid, fresh thing, the flippity-flop. I have today's forecast for you. Hot! The color for today is black. That's right, black. So you can absorb some of these rays and save that heat for winter. So you wanna get on out there and wear that black and be involved! So that's a Jheri curl alert. That's right, Jheri curl alert. If you have Jheri curl, stay in the house, or you'll end up with a permanent plastic helmet on your head forever. All right, we're going to say hello to Mr. And Mrs., any Mr. And Mrs. And if you're careful to stay out of this heat you might live to be that old yourself. There's also a water shortage, so keep those showers down to one minute. Two minutes, if you're showering with a friend. Damn. It is hot! ...and get that pink slip, so get up, get up, get up and get on out there. You better get on out there... That's what I'm talking about. We don't wanna see anybody losing their jobs 'cause ain't nobody got no money as it is... All right. Now we're going to talk about it. We're going to rock 'n' roll...
Good morning. My name is Smiley. This is Malcolm X. And this is Martin King. Now they are dead, but we still have to fight against apartheid.
Do the Right Thing: your progress
Chapter 1 of 20 · about 57 min to go
Up next · 02hot as the devilThe scene: Morning Shift at Sal's PizzeriaMister Señor Love Daddy is the block's voice, so opening on his show introduces the neighborhood as a living community before any story starts. His jokes and warnings set the heat, the mood, and the people.
It's half joke, half nag. He tells people to get up and get out there, then says he doesn't want anyone to get a pink slip, because nobody has money as it is.
It's slang for a termination notice, the paper you get when you're fired. The DJ warns listeners that skipping work in the heat could cost them the job.
He holds up two assassinated Black leaders and notes that both are dead, then says the fight against apartheid goes on. It's the film's first clear statement that the struggle is unfinished.
The film cuts to the street, where the day's heat and tensions begin to play out among the neighbors. The DJ's warnings about the heat and about work set up what's coming.
