Mara Jos Vargas Ramrez

Literature and Media

American Film Auteurs
25th Hour: ethical, ethnical and class ambiguity
The film 25th Hour, of auteur Spike Lee, leaves a bittersweet taste and an unfulfilling
feeling after watching it. It is able to challenge the viewers preconceptions about topics
such as crime, race, class, masculinity, friendship, punishment and ethics, for it presents
ambivalent characters with ambivalent traits in atypical scenarios developing and
interacting in reversed ways.
25th Hour is a far cry from Hollywoods typical sentimental response to modern tragedy;
it lacks strong heroes, evil villains and, of course, a heartfelt moral to tie it all together
(Blumenfeld, 2004, p. 110). That is to say that Lee plays with stereotypes and prejudices
regarding controversial topics and creates a piece in which it is hard to pinpoint who is
ultimately guilty, what is right or wrong and what each person stands for.
This instance can be observed in the main protagonists. The three of them are criminals in
their own way: Monty is a drug dealer going to jail, who, at the same time, has moral
values and is loyal to his loved ones. Frank is a Wall Street broker who makes money out of
other peoples losses and Jake desires his underage student. Despite their flaws and their
questionable behavior, they are still quite relatable and likable characters, which the
audience doesnt want to see going down.
Hence arises the thesis statement that the ethical, ethnical and class background and
behavior of the protagonists of 25th Hour, especially Monty, accentuate empathy and
questioning of the system from the audience; as opposed to the case of other Spike Lee
films such as Do The Right Thing.
Caadas (2009, cited in Smith, 2012) wonders if perhaps a mainstream
audience will feel more sympathy if the dealer is a clean-cut representative of
the white majority just a normal, white young man who has made a mistake
for which he is going to be cruelly punished. While the quantification of

sympathy is a complex business, it is clear that Lees film is interested in the

effects of positing racial reversals (Smith, 2012, p. 13).
In 25th Hour, Lee places a white young handsome man from a working class upbringing
with moral values in a role that is often occupied by non-white people in the social
imaginary. Lee appropriated these stereotypes for the purpose of an inversion of popular
culture stereotypes about crime particularly drugrelated crime and class and race
(Caadas, 2009). This change arises not only sympathy and compassion from the audience,
but also a questioning to the penal system and sentencing guidelines to the American war
on drug, that undeservingly sends, as it is presented throughout the film, a good person
whose mistake was making some bad decisions in his life, instead of a regular thug who is
better off the streets.

Bibliography
Blumenfeld, L. (2004). 25th Hour: A Complex Reflection in the Face of Smoke and
Mirrors. Mercer Street, 109-116.
Caadas, I. (2009). Spike Lee's "Uniquely American [Di]vision": Race and Class in 25th
Hour. Bright Lights Film Journal, Issue 63.
Smith, D. (2012). True Terror: The Haunting of Spike Lees 25th Hour. African American
Review, 1-16.