Complex sentence: Lee portrayed the neighborhood as a vibrant cosmopolitan community where successful African Americans thrived, focusing not only on Nola and her struggles, but also on local children, residents and graffiti, revealing the struggles of the neighborhood and the people in it to the world.
Split into simpler sentences: Lee portrayed the neighborhood as a vibrant cosmopolitan community where successful African Americans thrived. In the film he not only focused scenes on Nola and her struggles, but spent time shooting local children, residents and graffiti, revealing the struggles of the neighborhood and the people in it to the world.