“This is an emergency! This is an emergency!” So begins the trailer of Spike Lee’s new movie, the controversially titled Chi-Raq.Ever since the go, this movie was mired in controversy. Mayor Rahm Emanuel came out hard against the independent movie that was filled in the city.
The main criticism coming out of city hall against the production was that the title and message of the film would harm the city’s tourism. Naturally, director Spike Lee as well as star and Chicago native John Cusack came out and said that the film was not meant to hurt the city and wouldn’t hurt the city.
The speculation around the film seemed to die down once filming wrapped. But the controversy was ignited once again when the trailer came out late last week.
As described in the trailer, the plot of the film revolves around a group of Chicago women who decide that until their husbands and boyfriends decide to put down their guns and stop killing, they will not be having sexual relations. The overall tone of the trailer is actually quite humorous.
Samuel L. Jackson seems to be hamming it up as a sort of narrator who plays to the camera, Angela Bassett is fiery in the trailer, and there are numerous key terms and phrases that are meant to elicit laughs.
That made a lot of people upset. Lee was accused of making light of the gang violence situation in Chicago and making a film that treats it like a joke. Lee released a video explaining the trailer and attached it to a new advertisement that featured more serious scenes from the film in a hastily cut fashion.
Lee’s major response was that the film has a humorous approach, but is not filled with gags. “Chi-Raq is a satire. There is a difference between humor and comedy…. There’s an old saying in show business: I’ve got to laugh to keep them crying,” Lee said.
It may seem like a standard defense to say that audiences shouldn’t judge a film before they see it. But, I think Lee is a special case and that we should actually be predisposed to give Chi-Raq the benefit of the doubt.
Consider Lee’s most seminal work, Do the Right Thing. The film came out in 1989 and sparked a debate about race relations all over the country. Some hailed the film as visionary. Others claimed that it was a call to violence and would instigate racial tension.
No matter what a person may personally think about the movie, it got a conversation started. Lee managed to strike a nerve with people. I think often people only remember Do the Right Thing for its controversial elements.
But it’s a movie with a lot of serious, intense drama as well as a lot of humor – not gags, mind you. There are times were Do the Right Thing plays like a quirky character piece and forgets the impending drama.
That approach makes the drama matter that much more. This is a trait that Lee uses in a lot of his movies. Jungle Fever, Mo’ Better Blues and Red Hook Summer use this approach to lure the audience in with humor and then lay some hard truth and drama on the laps of those watching.
You catch more flies with honey than with vinegar. Yes, audiences shouldn’t judge a book by its cover. But when the cover is enticing and has a great track record, I have no problem giving a filmmaker like Lee the benefit of the doubt.
Hopefully Lee can do for the southwest neighborhoods of Chicago what he did for Bed-Sty, Brooklyn.
Brian Laughran
Editor-in-Chief