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The acception of modern day Lysistrata portray in Chi-Raq Lysistrata is a ancient greek play written by Aristophanes. Truthfully I was shocked to see that there was a modernized film based off this original greek play. The 2015 American movie, Chi-Raq, directed and produced by Spike Lee was a good modern day allusion to the ancient story Lysistrata. Spike Lee said to a New York Time reporter, “It is not comedy, it is satire. Aristophanes satirized Greece over 2,000 years ago. Satire has always been a way to deal with serious subject matter, and we wanted to honor the original source” (Tillet).
There are many similarities and differences in these works and will be discussed throughout this essay. Though both literary works show Lysistrata as a strong independent women who is not afraid to stand up and fight, I think Lee’s version showed us more depth to the true side to Lysistrata, with other characteristics that help the audience relate to her.
Violence is upon the men in the story between two sides.
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In Chi-Raq their is violence between two gangs called the Spartans and the Trojans an obvious parallel to the original play. Both stories include women being fed up with the violence and the treatment of women, therefore they start a agreement of celibacy. These two literary works keep the same original themes. The film did a excellent job of continuing the theme of sexuality and battle of the sexes. In Chi-Raq, Lysistrata shows much empowerment and some may even say manly leadership qualities.
The women, lacking political ability, must weaponize their sexuality, and they do so not out of mad political ambition but out of a commonsense desire to restore peace. In Lysistrata, she tells the women, 'Absolutely, by the Two Goddesses. If we sat around at home all made up, and walked past them wearing only our diaphanous underwear, with our pubes all plucked in a neat triangle, and our husbands got hard and hankered to ball us, but we didn't go near them and kept away, they'd sue for peace, and pretty quick, you can count on that!' (Aristophanes 798).
There are many similarities that are carried and shown in Raq-Chi. In Lee’s film, most of the dialogue is said in rhythm, or in the modern day culture rap. The text is written in pugnacious, witty, and whimsical rhyming verse, which the characters perform with a lyrical vigor that flows with the mighty current of heightened, emblematic speech. This is a very creative way to continue the original dialogue of rhyming. The original play Lysistrata had the two choruses of the old women and the old men to sing and narrirate to the audience. Lee’s film a character named Dolmedes talks to the audience on occasion to help us understand what some characters don't, this way to still carry the same style by having characters narrate to the audience.
I feel as if the film Chi-Raq gave the audience more of a feel for diverse sides to Lysistrata. In Lee’s Film the last straw that set Lysistrata’s mind that she must do something about the violence surrounding her was the death of Tyshawn. Tyshawn was a little girl killed because she just so happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time in a area with so much ferocity. We start to see a whole new side to her where she wants to be a strong independent women that leads peace to this area. She becomes so confident that she can make things different.
The Character’s Lysistrata’s, determinism and power is shown more in the Chi-Raq film compared to Aristophanes’s Lysistrata. Her persona is shown through her interactions with the other characters. It seems that by reading this play and watching the movie that the writer, Aristophanes and the director, Spike Lee had different reasons for what they presented in the two works. Reading Lysistrata, the reasoning behind putting these women in charge of making peace almost seems like a joke. As if the men had failed so much the women are now taking charge. It known that women didn't have much power or rights in these times so it's hard to think Aristophanes wrote this actually meaning that women had power to end a war as great as the Peloponnesian War. This is where these two literary works alter their true purpose. I think Lee really directed this film in order of Lysistrata was a strong independent women that truly makes a change after seeing too much destruction.
I think that both literary works resembled similar themes with the main one being battle of the sexes. I do think some of the things Aristophanes wrote could be considered sexest. I dont think its fair to let the women think the only thing they can hold over men or have any control is by using our sexuality. It's not shocking that there are many bad reviews for the movie Chi-Raq considering its trying to convert this ancient story into modern day. Then again, “Lysistrata,” easily Aristophanes’ most performed play, has always spurred debate, and “Chi-Raq” could be seen as part of a historical tradition of African-American adaptations that have set off unanticipated controversies. I’m not sure if Lee was intending to come off as humorous, but ultimately, it just doesn’t feel funny. With gender relations boiling down exclusively to sex, the relationships feel flat and off-base.
The plot insists that sex is the only power that women wield over men. Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq and Aristophanes’ Lysistrata are both examples of allusions to the original ancient greek play. Even though both pieces of the works share very similar themes, they are different. Even the character Lysistrata, is shown as more of a strong minded powerful women in Chi-Raq than in Lysistrata. It was surprising to me that Spike Lee decided to come out with a adaption to this ancient greek play because the original is very vulgar and so far out there. Lee wasn't as graphic as he could of been though the movie still shocked society and got some backlash from many critics. He specifically chose the film to be specifically about the african american culture and explains that “For the purposes of the play please consider that Greece existed as Ebonia in Africa and was populated by warring Negro tribes” (Tillet).
Lysistrata portray in Chi-Raq. (2021, Dec 03). Retrieved from https://studymoose.com/lysistrata-portray-in-chi-raq-essay
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