I really enjoyed Chi-Raq. By NO means did I feel like it demeaned black women nor do I feel as if he was making a mockery of Chicago's state of black on black on violence.
Anybody who has EVER seen a Spike Lee Joint knows that you are NOT in for a straight up narrative (I.e Boyz In The Hood) And that Spike tends to drive his points home using precise dialogue and imagery. He CERTAINLY didn't make this movie to cater to Cacs and he didn't blame black people exclusively. He used Angella Basset and John Cusak and the film's Moral Mouth Pieces, who spoke on how the absence of black fathers, unfair and prejudice employment practices, under-regulated gun laws, and an overall sense of hopelessness at the systematic oppression of our race has all made a lethal cocktail that poisons the black community. He used Wesley Snipes and Nick Cannon as metaphors of the symptoms demonstrated by this poisoning. Young Black Men who simply CANNOT see a future for themselves beyond Violence and death. He used Jennifer Hudson as a metaphor for the sadness that becomes the disease of the poisoning. Her daughters murder represents what will be ultimately lost in the black community, Life. And finally he used Teyonah Parish as the Heroine. The Woman who uses her Mind, Body, And Soul to fight against this systematic oppression, utilizing her intellect and determination to stand up against the doubts, fears, and retaliation of not only the System, but her own people. This movie is actually a fantastic representation of what The Black Woman can accomplish, and how the Black Woman is ultimately the PILLAR of the black community, even when Chiraq confesses that he was the one who killed the child, Lysistra REFUSES to rebuke or give up on him. She calls him by his NAME and remarks that he is finally taking the steps to becoming a man..
#TPC