Assembly In Lysistrata And Chi-Raq

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What is an assembly? An assembly is defined as “a group of people gathered together in one place for a common purpose.” Another definition is “the action of gathering together as a group for a common purpose.”In both Lysistrata and Chi-Raq, we witness the creation of an assembly. In both the text, Lysistrata, and the movie, Chi-Raq, we have a group of women who are tired of seeing their loved ones at war with each other. Lysistrata, the main character, is able to form this assembly of women because each of the women, including Lysistrata, share a common purpose. In fact, as we see in the definition, a common purpose or goal is the main basis for forming an assembly. A common goal is what changes individual refusals into assembly. So the …show more content…

There are things that can make it it difficult for an assembly to remain focused and effective. One of the things is the sacrifice that the group makes as part of their cause. Sometimes, the sacrifice is too big for some members of the assembly to make. In Chi-Raq, when the Trojan and the Spartan women are meeting, Lysistrata proposes that they agree to not have sex with their men until they negotiate peace and stop the killing. Not having sex represents the sacrifice that women must be willing to make for the cause in order for the assembly to have an effect on the men. When Lysistrata makes this proposal, all the women immediately disagree with the idea. One of them even exclaims, “No, I can’t do this” (Spike Lee, Chi Raq). Even in the text, Lysistrata, we see the same thing occur, Kleonike, a character in the text, makes a statement saying, “Try something else. Try anything. If you say so, I’m willing to walk through fire barefoot. But not to give up SEX-there’s nothing like it, Lysistrata!” (Aristophanes, Lysistrata, p.33). If every member of the assembly aren’t willing to follow the conditions, this makes the assembly weak and less effective. Sometimes, having all the women follow the conditions can be difficult which can make keeping the assembly focused