Last Thursday, I went to go see Chi-raq and it was surprisingly good. From online reviews from non-critics, I went into the movie expecting it to not be very good, and some other scholars brought up some points after the movie about the absurdity, oversimplification, and breadth, but not depth, of topics presented. While I understand those viewpoints, I don’t think it did a terrible job of bringing up important topics of conversation.

First of all, I wasn’t too bothered by the absurdity of the movies premise because 1) it’s movie and 2) it’s supposed to be satirical based on another work of satire. I actually thought the use of a narrator and speaking in rhyme was a nod to the play the movie is based on. I think it also serves as a good reminder of how the movie isn’t an accurate reflection of reality. The whole plotline was grandiose, but I don’t think the intention of the movie was ever to be a realistic portrayal of what could happen. I mean, “Operation Hot and Bothered” is clearly not supposed to be the proper response to a group of women in a federal armory.

All that being said, I definitely felt weird at certain parts of the movie. I think the scene that was the most unsettling to me was actually the funeral service. I haven’t been to any large services, so I’m not sure how they normally go, but it seemed odd to have dancers and all of this upbeat music. While I don’t dispute the fact that guns played a role in the death of the child, I found it sort of disrespectful to the mother to turn the funeral service into a charged speech about gun violence. Especially during a time of mourning, the last thing I need is for someone to be yelling and everyone else around to be cheering. I don’t know why it stuck out so much to me, but the scene was definitely memorable.

One thing about the movie that could be considered both good and bad was the number of issues it brought up: gangs, gender, guns, race, poverty, etc. It was definitely hard to try and figure out the main point of the movie, but perhaps that was the point the whole time. Instead of focusing on one issue, it used a lot of buzzwords and names that are starting points for conversations. While the overall message of the movie was muddled, I think it got across the point that there are lots of issues facing American neighborhoods that some people don’t view as big problem, whereas we focus our attention on outside “threats” that don’t have tremendous impact on our daily lives.

I completely understand those who think that the movie failed to provide good solutions and a clear message for change, but I wouldn’t go as far as to discount the whole thing. If there was a definitive and relatively straightforward way to fix all of America’s problems, there would be no need for political discourse. To me, the movie simply brought up some issues, and encouraged people to look to the past and to think creatively about how to approach solutions for those issues.