Spike Lee's Red: GIRL 6

Spike Lee has multiple signatures — including the dolly shot, and breaking the fourth wall — and also loves experimenting with techniques such as distorting images for long periods of time.

But he also repeats several smaller motifs, such as a striking red which shows up in a frame-covering brick wall in Do The Right Thing, as part of the complex colour theory Malcolm X, and centres many shots including the dolly move in Clockers.

In Girl 6, red is in almost every scene, whether as a single pop or covering the whole frame, whether bold, decorative, sexy or silly.

Here are our favourite ways Lee incorporates red in this 1996 film about sex work and social violence.

Wardrobe

This is Lee’s first of three collaborations with Sandra Hernandez, who also does Get on the Bus, He Got Game, and 25th Hour.

The wardrobe department particularly loves Jenifer Lewis, who has stunning suits of many colours in addition to this red stunner.

Props and Vehicles

The film really makes the most of that red Thunderbird, making sure Caller #1 (Peter Berg) is always in it, even when he’s not actively driving it.

Shoplifter (Isaiah Washington) is often playing and/or chewing on something red, which draws our attention to his hands and mouth.

Locations and Set Dressing

Girl 6 makes use of a lot of red in wall art, including iconic sports and film posters.

The Carmen Jones poster is possibly a touchstone for how Nope uses classical Black film frames and posters in its set dressing.

Makeup

As sex work is a big part of Girl 6’s plot, appearance and makeup play a big role — everything from clothes to wigs to lip colour to nail polish.

It’s a big part of the way the film depicts how the women dress for each other and themselves, while faking everything for the callers on the other end of the line.

Takeaways

When every single department head understands the assignment, your motif will look incredible.