I saw a new Spike Lee movie today in the St Louis area that would make Smokeybear's head explode. It's called "Chi-Raq" and is a retelling of the play "Lysistrata" by Aristophanes, in which the women of ancient Sparta went on a sex strike in order to dissuade their husbands from incessant warfare. Spike Lee's version takes place on the south side of Chicago after a little girl is killed in a drive-by shooting. A *fine* sista played by Teyonah Parris (whom you no doubt saw last year in "Dear White People" -- you didn't? I guess it was just me) decides to withhold sex from her man, a gang member played by Nick Cannon, to stop the constant gang violence between the Trojans and the Spartans, who sport purple and orange as their gang colors. (Choosing red and black would just be asking for trouble.) Lysistrata stirs up the black women of Chicago and eventually women all over the world to withhold the cootchie and to chant "No peace, no pussy!" The movie also stars Samuel L. Jackson as a kind of commentator named Dolmedes, Wesley Snipes as a one-eyed gang leader named Cyclops, Jennifer Hudson as the grief-stricken mother of the dead girl, Angela Bassett as a kind of "wise older Negress", and John Cusack in a fascinating turn as a radical Catholic priest clearly based on Father Pfleger.
It was a powerful movie, full of rap, dancing, sex, and leftwing politics. I think I'll see it again in Chicago next week!
In the interest of racial harmony, I enjoyed BJs from an older black MILF (40+, big fake tits, former cheerleader, great conversationalist) at Dollie's last night and a beautiful young black girl (slender with perfect B cups -- not a Papi type) this afternoon at Cheeks.
Yeah I am sure gang members would just go along with no sex from their woman. When the KKK puts out a movie I will watch Lee's racism and theirs together.
I look forward to watching it on Netflix in 2 months when it comes out. Theaters are not efficient for my time, but thanks for your raving review. I listened to Nick Cannon on Howard Stern last week and he gave his account of how the movie came to be. Of course being Chicago hood lifestyle there will be a huge slant towards progressive thinking, which is stereotypical of entertainers anyway.
I have not seen the movie. Thanks for telling us about it. I do like Spike Lee. Usually in his movies no one is completely right and no one is completely wrong. Conflict ensues just because things are the way they are. You can't pin it on any one person or any one side. I suspect that this new film will be the same way.
Lysistrata is a familiar theme. Consider this, I say that the Abrahamic Faiths with their rejection of Liturgical Sex, is a kind of Reversed Lysistrata. The idea was to take social power away from women simply by refusing to fuck them, except in the approved marital and procreation intended mode. And then from this you also get the more extreme position of male celibacy.
A very funny movie about a guy who decides to give up sex for Lent, and about why the women decide that they have to break him.
The reason for my rave (not "raving") review is that "Chi-Raq" is visually and aurally fascinating, retelling a story from Greek mythology in a modern and accessible setting. I am in general a fan of art that cleverly reimagines older art. Other favorite examples (the list is of course endless) include:
* Shaggy's "Angel", based on an earlier song called "Angel of the Morning"
* the Fugees' version of Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly"
* the cinematic reimagining of Austen's novel "Emma" as "Clueless"
* the cinematic reimagining of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" as "10 Things I Hate About You"
etc. etc.
I'm not a huge fan of Spike Lee, though I saw almost all of his movies from "She's Gotta Have It" (1986) to "She Hate Me" (2004), but he's always interesting. After some flops in recent years, he's back big time with "Chi-Raq". The sound track has too much hip hop for my taste, but if you love Chicago and yearn for racial reconciliation as I do, you can't help but be moved by Nick Cannon's song "Pray 4 My City" with which the movie opens. Here's an excerpt:
Please pray for my city
Too much hate in my city
Too many heartaches in my city
But I got faith in my city
It's Chi-Raq and I love that
You can't take away from my city
Some can't relate to my city
They die everyday in my city
Ummmm "raving" is used correctly in my post above. Another sensitive remark to my obviously direct and common sense approach, as in "a raving beauty!" Glad you liked the movie. Nick Cannon has me intrigued as he stated he was the only guy that was getting laid in the movie.
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Lysistrata is a familiar theme. Consider this, I say that the Abrahamic Faiths with their rejection of Liturgical Sex, is a kind of Reversed Lysistrata. The idea was to take social power away from women simply by refusing to fuck them, except in the approved marital and procreation intended mode. And then from this you also get the more extreme position of male celibacy.
A very funny movie about a guy who decides to give up sex for Lent, and about why the women decide that they have to break him.
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0243736/
SJG
BBC Proms 2010 Bach Day 11 - Passacaglia and fugue bwv 582
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bXwHORPe…
* Shaggy's "Angel", based on an earlier song called "Angel of the Morning"
* the Fugees' version of Roberta Flack's "Killing Me Softly"
* the cinematic reimagining of Austen's novel "Emma" as "Clueless"
* the cinematic reimagining of Shakespeare's "The Taming of the Shrew" as "10 Things I Hate About You"
etc. etc.
I'm not a huge fan of Spike Lee, though I saw almost all of his movies from "She's Gotta Have It" (1986) to "She Hate Me" (2004), but he's always interesting. After some flops in recent years, he's back big time with "Chi-Raq". The sound track has too much hip hop for my taste, but if you love Chicago and yearn for racial reconciliation as I do, you can't help but be moved by Nick Cannon's song "Pray 4 My City" with which the movie opens. Here's an excerpt:
Please pray for my city
Too much hate in my city
Too many heartaches in my city
But I got faith in my city
It's Chi-Raq and I love that
You can't take away from my city
Some can't relate to my city
They die everyday in my city