With an issue as prevalent and ongoing as the violence in areas of Chicago, Spike Lee‘s new film Chi-Raq has already caused a stir — and it hasn’t even been released yet. The first trailer, which debuted earlier this week, featured unexpected humorous tone in certain sections, backed by the varied cast of Samuel L. Jackson, Wesley Snipes, Nick Cannon, Jennifer Hudson, Teyonah Parris, Angela Bassett, and, yes, even Dave Chappelle. The tone on display caused a bit of a controversy, and so the director is here to respond with his own trailer (really, just a collection of snippets), but first, an introduction.
“The trailer was released and there are very humorous moments in the trailer,” he says. “Now, some people are getting it twisted and thinking this is a comedy. Chi-Raq is not a comedy. Chi-Raq is a satire — and there’s a difference between humor and comedy. In no way, shape, or form are we not respectful of a situation that is happening in Chi-Raq. In no way, shape, or form are we making light of the lives that have been murdered with this senseless violence. So, people, don’t get twisted. Don’t get it twisted. This film is about serious business. There’s many films that we can look in history or American cinema that treated very serious subject matter and had humor in them. There’s an old statement: I’ve got to laugh to keep from crying. Well, I think that is apropos with Chi-Raq. Don’t get it twisted. Don’t get it twisted.”
Check it out below and let us know if it changes your thoughts on the film.
Chi-Raq is a modern day adaptation of the ancient Greek play “Lysistrata” by Aristophanes. After the murder of a Child by a stray bullet, a group of women led by Lysistrata organize against the on-going violence in Chicago’s Southside creating a movement that challenges the nature of race, sex and violence in America and around the world.
Chi-Raq opens in limited release on December 4th.