On Wednesday, director Spike Lee released the trailer to his new film, "Chi-Raq," which is an adaptation of the Greek play "Lysistrata" and takes place in Chicago's Southside, according to Time.
"Chi-Raq" is a re-imagination of the classic comedy, "Lysistrata," reported Variety. Actress Teyonah Parris plays the title role, Lysistrata, who leads a group of women organized against gang violence in Chicago's Southside.
Lysistrata and her group of women decided to have a sex strike to end the ongoing gang violence, noted the L.A. Times.
The title "Chi-Raq" is a slang term some use to compare Chicago, America's third largest city, to the Iraq war zone because of its gang violence and high crime rate. Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel criticized the title and said it disparages residents of Englewood and surrounding areas, where most of the movie was filmed, according to NBC Chicago.
Writer and director Spike Lee told his critics to see the film before judging it, NBC Chicago noted.
"A lot of things have been said about this film, by people who know nothing about the film," Lee said. "A lot of people have opinions about the so-called title of the film. Again, they know nothing about the film."
The star-studded film features Samuel L. Jackson, Angela Bassett, Wesley Snipes, Jennifer Hudson, John Cusack and Nick Cannon, who plays opposite the beautiful Teyonah Parris, reported NBC Chicago.
Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions partnered with Amazon to release the film on Dec. 4 to a limited audience followed by a release on Amazon Instant Video, according to Variety.
