The Geographic Fallacy of ‘Chiraq’

The term “Chiraq” used as a title for filmmaker Spike Lee’s latest movie is not only highly controversial, it is also technically inaccurate.

Even if comparing the number of victims in a war-ravaged nation with the number of victims of street and domestic violence were a fair comparison — which some argue it is not — the numbers don’t match up. For example, the Britain-based monitoring group Iraq Body Count estimates that just over 17,000 civilians were killed due to warring violence in 2014, resulting in a death rate of 51.4 people per 100,000. That is much higher than Chicago’s homicide rate of 15.4 per 100,000 people last year.

Suggested title: “Chiyanmar”

If “Chiraq” is a false term, what should Spike Lee’s movie be titled? An examination of homicide rates around the world from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime places Chicago on par with Myanmar (Burma, “Burmago”?), which had a rate of 15.2 homicides per 100,000 people for the most recent year available (2012). But there is yet another problem with applying a wholesale international label to Chicago’s homicide level. Since the city is a patchwork of communities, all with highly varying homicide rates, nearly every corner of the world can be reflected when comparing the data. The map below offers Spike Lee nearly two dozen alternative, more accurate titles for his film:

Sequel idea: “Brooklentina”

If Lee’s film is a hit, he might consider a sequel. To diversify the geographic reach of the franchise, he wouldn’t have to look much farther than his back yard for a title. With a 2014 homicide rate of 4.9 per 100,000, Brooklyn New York, where Lee’s film company is located, has a level of violence comparable to Argentina (5.5). But as with Chicago, Brooklyn has highly varying rates of homicide, which might make one label seem unfair. Here are some additional titles he could consider: