MovieChat Forums > Chi-Raq (2016) Discussion > Do you see Lee's films as being more for...

Do you see Lee's films as being more for black people or white people?


I have the strong impression Lee's recent films including this one have not been big hits with black people, although I could be wrong.

I'm white and a film buff. I'm a fan of Lee's although some of his films have been better than others and a few I did not see. I thought Chi-Raq was great. I saw it at home, so can't comment on the audience. But I think if it had been a bigger hit with black people it would have played for longer in theaters here (New York) as our population is 25 percent black. Not to mention Lee is a New Yorker.

It was a risk to take an ancient Greek play and turn it into a musical/rap about gang violence. Uneducated people might have been confused by this. In addition, the movie features young or young-ish black actors such as Nick Cannon, but although it has some rap numbers it also uses old soul music that many people under the age of 40 have no familiarity with. I seriously doubt very many black people under the age of 40 went to see this film unless they are film students.

There are a lot of racist white people who will see no film with a black cast, but there's also a strong percentage of white people around my age (middle age) who grew up in the heyday of the "auteur" filmmaker and we see Lee as one of those people.

In short I think this film probably appeals mostly to educated black people over 40 and educated white people over 45 who remember Lee's films from their young adulthood or who are film buffs and are aware of his history as a risk-taking black filmmaker. No wonder the movie didn't do that great at the box office.

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[deleted]

as I said "There are a lot of racist white people who will see no film with a black cast"

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I didn't like this movie either. I am white and I found this very boring and like he was trying to use the technique of Romeo and Juliet somewhat with the annoying rhyming.

I liked HE GOT GAME and GIRL 6 a lot. Also CLOCKERS and of course DO THE RIGHT THING. To lesser extents I liked MALCOLM X and SUMMER OF SAM.

I don't think he has ever done anything Oscar worthy except maybe HE GOT GAME because it has so much heart so when he and that no talent tramp Pinkett bitch about the Oscars it makes me laugh.

He called you a little piece of chicken.
--Travis Bickle

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Racist and sexist.

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Great. Works for me. Doesn't change a damn thing I said and backs up what I said in my other posts about quotas

He called you a little piece of chicken.
--Travis Bickle

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Did you finish high school? Romeo and Juliet had nothing to do with this film, which is an adaptation of Aristophanes' play, Lysistrata (that makes it an ancient Greek work). Clearly, that part of the film went right over your head, which is fine. There is plenty of room for different tastes; however, making everything about race seems ridiculous.

We've been Spike Lee fans since Do the Right Thing, and we are white academics, who have friends and students of all races and ethnic origins. We appreciate the way Spike Lee looks at all people, which felt true to our experience living and teaching for most of our lives in two metro areas of the Mid-Atlantic. We've always considered his films as appropriate for everyone. As with all filmmakers, Lee does not spin gold every time; yet, he nearly always makes us think.

Put puppy mills out of business: never buy dogs from pet shops! 

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I was talking about the film with DiCaprio and Claire Danes and the technique the director used, you self-important monkey. I don't care how smart you and whoever "we", think you are. Tongue punch my dirt hole, ass hat! Movie SUCKED and your taste is in your ass!

*All they make are unwatchable movies from unreadable books.

--Clarence Worley

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This film is for everyone. I think it would be useless to make a film with this topic with the intention of having it seen by only a part of the population.

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No, this film is not for educated people. It'd work best for the uneducated who mistake this film as deep and real satire. It's neither.

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