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In the making of 'Chiraq,' KUprofessor Kevin Willmott exploresrace relations through film co‐written with Spike Lee
Posted: Wednesday, September 9, 2015 3:15 pm
Ryan Wright | @ryanwaynewright
Growing up inJunction City,filmmaker Kevin
Willmott rarely saw black people in film. Hedidn’t know of any film schools in Kansasor any classes he could take.
To satisfy his interest in film, he and hisfamily went to the movies every weekend.Although the majority of the movie castswere white, he remembers one castingthat would change his life.
“[The theater] showed Gordon Parksmaking ‘The Learning Tree,’ and he was
shooting it in Fort Scott, Kansas. When I saw this black man in this cowboy hat fromKansas, making a movie in Kansas about black people in Kansas, it was like ‘Oh, myGod,’” Willmott said. “That’s when it’s like you could see yourself being a filmmaker. Itwas a reality.”
Today, Willmott, a professor in the department of film and media studies, works withone of the most recognizable black filmmakers in Hollywood — Spike Lee. Theirnewest film, “Chiraq,” premieres in December.
Willmott wrote the original “Chiraq” script 13 years ago, but the initial idea for the filmcame about when Willmott was in a production of the ancient Greek comedy“Lysistrata” in college during the 1970s. The women in “Lysistrata” withhold sex to
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University associate film professor Kevin Willmott works asideSpike Lee on the set of "CHIRAQ".
Posted on Sep 9, 2015by Ryan Wright
9/21/2016 In the making of 'Chiraq,' KU professor Kevin Willmott explores race relations through film co-written with Spike Lee - The University Daily Kansan: Arts An…
http://www.kansan.com/arts_and_culture/in-the-making-of-chiraq-ku-professor-kevin-willmott-explores/article_5304ef94-55a6-11e5-a3ca-4b1729f18bce.html 2/3
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stop the Peloponnesian War; likewise, “Chiraq” is a satirical, modern retelling wherewomen use this same tactic to stop blackonblack violence in Chicago’s inner city.
“The play with its antiwar, antiviolence themes could be adapted into something thatcould be adopted today,” Willmott said. “Gang violence was a problem when I wrote[“Chiraq”] 13 years ago and now it’s even a bigger problem.”
Lee, a fan of Willmott’s prior work, asked Willmott if he had more scripts shortly afterthe release of “C.S.A.: Confederate States of America” in 2004. Willmott gave him“Chiraq,” but their original attempt to create the film failed. Over a decade later the tworeconnected to try again.
“When he [Lee] called me he said, ‘Let's set it in Chicago and call it Chiraq,’” Willmottsaid. “We both rewrote it and it was a real give and take, back and forth. I’d writethings, he’d write things. It’s really both of our scripts.”
While making the film, Willmott worked directly with former gang members to gaininsight on the problem of blackonblack violence.
“Blackonblack violence is something that comes out of the fact that most of theseneighborhoods [in Chicago] are devastated,” Willmott said. “You go to theseneighborhoods and there’s no businesses, no stores — it’s like it’s Germany in ‘44.”
After visiting several neighborhoods in Chicago, Willmott said he realized that moredevelopment in these neighborhoods would lead to less violence.
“America has a huge problem not investing in black neighborhoods," he said. "If that[investment] would happen, I think you would see a big turnaround with this kind ofstuff."
After he earned his bachelor's degree in drama from Marymount College in Salina, heparticipated in activism work. He was a crucial part to the integration of the JunctionCity Fire Department in the 1970s, which had never had a black firefighter beforeWillmott and his colleagues launched a protest.
“Chiraq” is a step toward a different kind of activism. The film’s title is a nickname forChicago, which is alludes to its high murder rate.
When Lee announced in April that the film would be shot in Chicago, residents andeven the Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel thought the film would exploit the problem,but Willmott said that was not the case.
“I think the mayor and people in Chicago thought this as another ‘90s gang movie witha lot of violence, so I think they’ll be pleasantly surprised when they see the film thatit’s got a really positive message,” Willmott said.
Wilmott remembers one incident in particular as a catalyst for his future interest inrace relations and productions, like "Chiraq," exploring the issue.
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9/21/2016 In the making of 'Chiraq,' KU professor Kevin Willmott explores race relations through film co-written with Spike Lee - The University Daily Kansan: Arts An…
http://www.kansan.com/arts_and_culture/in-the-making-of-chiraq-ku-professor-kevin-willmott-explores/article_5304ef94-55a6-11e5-a3ca-4b1729f18bce.html 3/3
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On April 4, 1968, when Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated in Memphis, a 10yearold Willmott sat in front of the television in his family's living room in JunctionCity.
The day after the assassination, Willmott eagerly raised his hand in class to discuss it.His teacher replied, “We won’t be talking about that.”
“That’s really when I understood that I was black in a political or social way,” Willmottsaid. “You knew you were black, but Dr. King’s assassination really taught me thatbeing being black had social and political ramifications.”
With “Chiraq,” Wilmott hopes to address these issues and, hopefully, reduce them, buthe admits the American society has a long way to go in regards to racism.
“It will always probably be a problem,” he said. “It’s not very optimistic sounding butbecause of human nature, you always have to be willing to combat it, fight against it.It’s always going to be a problem."
Posted in Arts And Culture, Arts And Culture on Wednesday, September 9, 2015 3:15 pm.
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