Chi-Raq

Set in a violence-ravaged neighbourhood of Chicago, the film follows a group of women who, led by Lysistrata, take inspiration from the ancient Greek comedy by Aristophanes and withhold sex from their partners until the men agree to put down their weapons and end the gang warfare tearing their community apart. Told in a heightened, stylised manner complete with rhyming dialogue, the story weaves together grief, activism, and dark humour as the women's movement gains momentum and attracts national attention. The film uses the absurdist premise to mount a pointed critique of gun violence and its devastating toll on Black American communities.