There’s Not a Film as Audacious or Urgent as Spike Lee’s ‘Chi-Raq’

GameStop, Inc.

chi-raq-0001

Following each public display of violence, be it police brutality or mass shootings, a bevy of talking points come hurtling from the hard-right angles of social media and the press. “What about black-on-black crime?” “You know, Chicago has strict gun control laws and the highest murder rate.” Of course, these arguments aren’t genuine and serve to act as a deflection towards any call to action. They exist only to be parroted by those who don’t want their belief system to shaken in the least, who find the bloodshed of the status quo more than acceptable. Well, Spike Lee has seemingly heard every single argument in the book of talking points and isn’t going to sit back idly. His latest film, Chi-Raq, is a film that wishes to disrupt the comfort zone of every viewer – liberal and conservative, black and white. Spike Lee has never been a filmmaker to shy from controversy, and he certainly doesn’t with such an audacious and urgent film as Chi-Raq. This is a film that is politically urgent, blending its multiple social messages with a heart-breaking personal drama and numerous moments of bombastic comedy.

Inspired by the Greek play Lysistrata by Aristophanes, Lee transports the story to present day Chicago, but with its mounting death toll from violence on the streets is now referred to as Chi-Raq. After opening with a hip hop song which shares the title of the film, the lyrics represented on screen as an image of the United States is constructed of guns, Lee lets us know loud and clear what’s on his mind. “This is an emergency!” the screen proclaims like an official warning issued by a wartime office. We’re then taken into a club, where a rapper who has taken up the moniker of Chi-Raq (Nick Cannon) performs his music to a packed house. Chi-Raq is part of the Spartan gang and dons the purple to let everyone not paying attention to his lyrics know his affiliation. The Spartans are in a constant and deadly feud with the Trojans, led by Cyclops (Wesley Snipes), and that violence seeps into everything they touch, including Chi-Raq’s performance that evening.

The war raging in the street has real collateral damage, with children slain in broad daylight for the sheer misfortune of playing when the bullets happened to flying. But the cultural motto of “No snitches” leaves the grieving mother Irene (Jennifer Hudson) and local priest Mike Corridan (John Cusack) with little resources to bring a killer to justice. The tears of a mother having lost her young child nor a $5,000 reward is able to coerce anyone to speak up.

With the looming threat of violence permeating through every day in Chicago, Chi-Raq’s girlfriend Lysistrata (Teyonah Parris) takes a bit of inspiration from her neighbor Miss Helen (Angela Bassett) and begins to stage a sex strike that will deprive the gun-wielding men of any intercourse before there is peace. “No peace, no pussy,” the women loudly proclaim. The women’s call to action (or inaction depending on your perspective) takes a turn when Lysistrata and company stage a bloodless coup at a Chicago National Guard armory, using their female assets to disarm the troops under General King Kong (an over-the-top David Patrick Kelly).  Before long, though, the strike extends throughout the world and all men are soon feeling the pinch of “No peace, no pussy.”

Spike Lee and co-writer Kevin Willmott have given the dialogue of Chi-Raq a sense of poetry, each line delivered with a rhyme and rhythm. It’ll be interesting to see how audiences react to the big tonal shifts of the film. In one scene, you could be cracking up as Samuel L. Jackson provides the lively on screen narration as Dolmedes. In a few seconds later, you could be holding back tears as the pain of violence is unflinchingly presented, its ripple effect unending. Lee and Willmott don’t keep the film focused solely on gun violence, they lay attacks on the growing militarization of local police, income inequality, unemployment, an overwhelmingly patriarchal society, and the lucrative black market created by lax gun laws in the areas surrounding Chicago. Much of this sprawling indictment of multiple levels of society is presented in one impassioned sermon by Cusack’s Father Corridan. The sermon is powerful and haunting. Like much of Chi-Raq, it’s a scene that is thought provoking and highly entertaining.

The women of Chi-Raq aren’t a prop that facilitates a plot. These are varied and individual characters that use their minds more than their sex appeal, but know full well that macho minds driven by sex and violence won’t hear their voices of reason. Teyonah Parris is a firecracker on the screen in a performance that lives up to Dolmedes’ extremely generous descriptions. Both Jennifer Hudson and Angela Bassett are wonderful in grounding the absurd scenario with its emotional weight. In the corridors of power, however, there are just men. It’s a statement about shutting women out of varied aspects of power and governance, and we as a society are poorer for that.

There’s just so much going on Chi-Raq that it demands your attention. It’s colorful in its presentation and characters. Quite often it’s hilariously outrageous. But it’s also an incredibly somber film, one that’s willing to look deeply into societal ills, contemplate solutions, and asks the audience to think beyond what they assume to be the answer. Chi-Raq is a work of incredible urgency with a timeless source. This is a film of such audacity in all manners of its presentation that it could only come from Spike Lee. As we all know, Spike Lee is man with a lot to say and given the opportunity he will speak his mind. He certainly does with Chi-Raq, and we’re all better for it.

Anytime Costumes

Leave a Reply

FanboyNation
Animation/Anime Interviews Animation/Anime News Animation/Anime Reviews Film/TV Interviews Film/TV News Film/TV Review
‘Insidious: The Red Door’ is Available on Blu-ray Today

‘Insidious: The Red Door‘ Dips in Quality where, ‘The Conjuring‘ Left...

‘Mr Jimmy’ Director Peter Michael Dowd – Interview

‘Mr Jimmy‘ Producer, Director and Editor, Peter Michael Dowd talks about...

Michael Jai White Talks About His Latest Flick, ‘Outlaw Johnny Black’ – Interview

Martial Arts and Action Legend Michael Jai White Talks About His...

Event News Event Reviews
ScareScape Announces To-Die-For Specialty Haunted Treats

Experience To-Die-For Specialty Lattes, Signature Cocktails, Sinister Sweets, and More at...

AGBO Announces Third Annual ‘No Sleep ’til Film Fest’

AGBO Announces Third Annual Global Filmmaking Competition for Emerging Creators, “No...

‘A Black and White Cookie’ Brings Color to Old Racial Tensions

‘A Black and White Cookie‘ Brings Color to Old Racial Tensions...

Automotives Football MMA, Kick Boxing & Boxing Professional Wrestling
Olympic Runner Colleen Quigley ‘On The Road to Paris’

Team USA Olympic Runner, Colleen Quigley is On The Road to...

Paralympian Swimmer Ahalya Lettenberger On The Road to Paris

Team USA Paralympian Swimmer, Ahalya Lettenberger is On The Road to...

Ultimate Women of Wrestling Comes to the Globe Theatre – Interview

Ultimate Women of Wrestling Comes to the Globe Theatre on Sunday,...

Adult Continuity Comics on the Can Cultural Junk Drawer Future Comic Rock Stars Is That Racist? Revisiting the Reviled THAT'S NOT ROTTEN! The B-Reel The Cantina Scene This Week in Crowdfunding What the HELL Did I just...?
Adult Continuity: Saw – A Hardcore Parody

“Saw: A Hardcore Parody” is the result of two things that...

Fantoy Comics Presents: Harry Potter and the Pahrump Saga (sooner or later)

Oi, roboscabs; you're fired!

Fantoy Comics Presents – Harry Potter and the Pharump Apocalypse!

Like how you'll all be watching reality shows and 2 Broke...

Music Interviews Music News Music Reviews
Songwriter and Poet, Tamara Mechael Talks About Her Career in the Arts

First Generation Assyrian-Chaldean, Songwriter and Poet, Tamara Mechael Talks About Her...

Louden Swain Headlining Los Angeles Show at The Echo

Press Release – Louden Swain are headlining Los Angeles show at...

Shira Elias Talks About Her New Single ‘Earth Sun’ and EP ‘Services’

Shira Elias talks about her new single ‘Earth Sun‘ out now...

Enabled Gaming Gaming News Gaming Reviews
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League
Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League Gameplay Trailer

The first Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League gameplay trailer was revealed during...

Wonder Woman Game
Wonder Woman Game Announced By DC and WB Games

Wonder Woman game will feature the iconic hero in a 3rd...

MultiVersus
MultiVersus brings Batman, Arya Stark, Bugs Bunny, and More

MultiVersus is bringing Shaggy, Harley Quinn, Jake, Batman, Arya Stark, Bugs Bunny,...

Comic Creator Interviews Comic/Graphic Novel News Comic/Graphic Novel Reviews Manga News Manga Reviews Novel/Novella Author Interviews Novel/Novella News Novel/Novella Reviews
Chris Clews Is ‘Raised on the 80s’ and Shares Those Life Lessons

Chris Clews was ‘Raised on the 80s‘ and Shares Those Life...

Roye Okupe Brings Authentic African Representation to HBO Max and Cartoon Network

Nigerian-American, Roye Okupe brings authentic African representation to HBO Max and...

Steve Niles and David Dastmalchian Team Up for a Criminal Macabre/Count Crowley Crossover at SDCC

Steve Niles and David Dastmalchian Team Up for a Criminal Macabre/Count...

Apparel/Personal Maintenance News Apparel/Personal Maintenance Reviews Entertainment Product News Entertainment Product Reviews Food/Beverage Reviews Hardware News Hardware Reviews Mystery Box News Mystery Box Reviews
Harry Potter: Magic Caster Wand Demo

The new ‘Harry Potter: Magic Caster Wand‘ is ready to ship...

Chef Jen Peters and Matthew Clayton Bring us the ‘Good Flour’

Canadian Super Chef Jen Peters and Matthew Clayton Bring us the...

Pop Insider 2021 Holiday Gift Guide
Pop Insider 2021 Holiday Gift Guide

The Pop Insider 2021 Holiday Gift Guide is now available to help...

Gaming Uncensored Toon-In-Talk
Episode 38: Hamid Rahmanian

Join Whitney Grace as she speaks with artist Hamid Rahmanian, who...

No Preview
Toon-In Talk Episode 37: Niki Smith

Whitney Grace interviews graphic novel writer and artist Niki Smith about...

Toon-In Talk Episode 36: Rob Paulsen

Rob Paulsen takes some time from his busy voice acting schedule...