Cohesive Paper on Lysistrata and CHI-RAQ

Introduction

The book Lysistrata was written by Aristophanes during the ancient Greek to depict an outrageous mission set by Lysistrata to bring an end to the Peloponnesian War between the states in the ancient Greek though denying the men conjugal privileges. On the other hand Chi-Raq is a film that aims at achieving peace between the gangs in Chicago that have led to the death of many young children and radicalization of the youths. Spike Lee and Kelvin Willmott, the writers of the story, bases the film on Lysistrata by Aristophanes by employing Lysistrata a character who organizes a meeting with other women to deny their men sexual privileges until peace is achieved.

Similarities and Differences in Themes

In both stories, the authors have described very many themes that appear similar. First is the theme of war wherein both stories, war is the main reason as to why the sexual privileges are denied the men. The theme of war appears in Chi-Raq through the gang-related violence that has claimed the lives of many children and the youths (Mueller n.p).  On the book Lysistrata they are portrayed through the introduction of the Peloponnesian War (Aristophanes 38).

Sex is the other most common theme through the two stories with Lysistrata calling women to use sex as a weapon against men. Aristophanes in the book Lysistrata portrays the theme of sex from the beginning to the end by having the women and wives of both Athens and the Spartan soldiers deny their husbands any sexual privilege until peace is achieved (Aristophanes 90). Consequently, in Chi-Raq the sexual privilege is denied men to ensure there is calm between the gangs in Chicago (Mueller n.p). Although denying men their sexual pleasures are ridiculed at first but achieve the primary goal by attaining peace between the gangs.

The themes employed in both stories appear slightly different but set to achieve peace in the end. The theme of war is found in both stories, but in different dimensions wherein the Chi-Raq, the idea is employed to show hostility between two gangs named Spartans and Trojans (Mueller n.p). On the other hand, Lysistrata engages the theme of war to show the violence between Athens and Sparta both states in the ancient Greek (Aristophanes 55).

The theme of power is found in both stories but from a different angle. In Chi-Raq, there is the struggle for power and control of the gangs in Chicago where each gang wanted to rule the city (Mueller n.p). On the other hand, Aristophanes brings out the theme of power in Lysistrata to show the state that was mighty forgetting that the two states both belonged to Greece (Aristophanes 33).

Similarities and Differences in Characters

Lysistrata is a character found in both Chi-Raq and Lysistrata by Aristophanes. In both stories, Lysistrata is portrayed as a charismatic and brave woman who is willing to break the cycle of violence (Aristophanes 16). In Chi-Raq, Lysistrata is in a relationship with one of the gang leaders named Demetrius and leads seventy-five other women into taking over a military camp for three months to make sure that their points are made clear and peace is brought back into the city.

The journey of Lysistrata in both stories is hard and filled with a lot of violence that they have come in direct contact with. In Chi-Raq, Lysistrata is the girlfriend to one of the gang leaders making her experience a violent life (Mueller n.p). Consequently, the violence rate increases from one time to the other. Lysistrata has experienced her boyfriend being shot at while performing, their house being set on fire while the two are having sex and she has also witnessed an innocent girl being killed as a result of a stray bullet. Consequently, to achieve the peace agenda, Lysistrata goes through a lot of struggle and can step on different people including the Army general and to take over the Amy camp.

In the book Lysistrata by Aristophanes, Lysistrata is a character filled with bitterness as a result of the endless violence that have claimed their husbands time and lives while driving the economy through the ground through the higher budgets required during the war. Also, the fact that she is the least feminine makes her Lysistrata gain the respect of men (Aristophanes 16).

There are many differences between the character of Lysistrata depicted in the book by Aristophanes and the one in the film, Chi-Raq. The first difference is that the one employed by Aristophanes is not married and does not easily flirt with men making her easily respected by men and can make a point( Aristophanes 35). On the other hand, Chi-Raq employs Lysistrata as a character who flirts with men and found attractive by her beauty and charming making her irresistible to men (Mueller n.p).

 

 

                                    Works Cited

Aristophanes and Jack Lindsay. Lysistrata. Auckland: The Floating Press, 2012.

Mueller Adell. Chi Raq 2015 Nick Cannon, Teyonah Parris, Wesley Snipes. Published on Feb 27, 2017. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yX8ktuDMWYw