Spike Lee has received a lot of backlash for his film Chi-Raq, even though the director insists that disgruntled viewers are missing the point of the film! He visited Sway’s Universe where he defended the intent behind his art. “This film was made to save lives and this other sh*t people are talking about is a distraction. Let’s focus on what the movie is about.”
Lee went on to allude to the fact that Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel knew about the surveillance video that incriminated officer Jason Ban Dyke who shot and killed Laquan McDonald. Meanwhile he urged Lee to change the title of Chiraq, but his stance is unwavering and that was evident during a Q&A this past Wednesday at Northwestern University.
DNAinfo:
Before the question-and-answer session got started, Lee, who took the stage with two Chicago activists, used the platform to rip prominent Chicagoans who condemned his film. Lee went after Mayor Rahm Emanuel, rapper/activist Rhymefest, along with rappers King Louie and Chance The Rapper for their remarks about the film.
“To be fair, your mayor didn’t tell me to not do the movie. He wanted me to change the title,” Lee said. “He said the movie would hurt city’s economy. You had three major events while we filmed the movie here, the NFL Draft, Lollapalooza and The Grateful Dead had three shows at Soldier Field.”
As for Chance The Rapper calling the film “exploitive and problematic” on Twitter last year, Spike addressed it by calling Chance a “fraud” and labeling his tweet a “punk a** move.” You mad, Spike?!
It appears as though Spike Lee will not catch a break with this one, but art is supposed to make people feel some type of way. It’s supposed to confuse you and make you think! However, it’s unfortunate that the hate Lee is experiencing is caused from a lack of understanding. The movie has a message of spreading peace before it’s too late. Some of y’all should think outside of the box! Matter of fact, f*ck the box! Let’s chat, Roommates!
TSR STAFF: Talia O. @theclosetratchet on Instagram & @tallyohhh on Twitter!
Source: https://www.dnainfo.com/chicago/20160303/englewood/spike-lee-calls-chance-rapper-fraud-rips-local-critics-of-chiraq
