What is feminist power? Who decides? Aristophanes’ Lysistrata and Spike Lee’s Chi-Raq
Join us in a discussion of Aristophanes’ ancient Greek comedy Lysistrata and Spike Lee’s modern film adaptation of the book Chi-Raq. The class will focus on the Aristophanes comedy and will use Spike Lee’s film as a point of modern reference and comparison.
About the book:
“Aristophanes’ comic masterpiece of war and sex remains one of the greatest plays ever written. Led by the title character, the women of the warring city-states of Greece agree to withhold sexual favours with their husbands until they agree to cease fighting. The war of the sexes that ensues makes Lysistrata a bawdy comedy without peer in the history of theatre.” – Premise Goodreads page
About the film:
Spike Lee’s 2015 Chi-Raq is designed to provoke and make us think about the nature of women and power. In the film, women in Chicago’s South Side go on a “sex strike” to curb gang violence. The film borrows from Lysistrata, Aristophanes’ comic account of the Peloponnesian War.
Additional information: film review