Date 05/11/2015 - News People
At first glance, Chi-Raq seems like a focused look at escalating gang violence and homicide in Chicago but theres a twist. Spike Lee and co-writer Kevin Willmott adapted Chi-Raq from Lysistrata, a Greek play by Aristophanes. In both the original and Lee's adaptation, Lysistrata (played on film by Dear White People's Teyonah Parris) is a powerful member of her community who convinces other women to join her in withholding sex from their partners to convince them to stop fighting.
