Written by Anne Gervase

Thumbnail and header images by Sony Pictures

As a black African woman, there are very few times in my life that I can recall feeling represented in the media. From movies to the dolls that I played with as a child, I did not see my skintone, and even when I did they did not have my hair texture. I was not represented in the world around me, despite knowing that there were many others who looked like me. This lead to me believing that I somehow had to change my natural state of being to be considered desirable and ‘beautiful’ in the eyes of others. However, this narrative was challenged with The Woman King a movie based off an all-female warrior group (the Agojie) that protected the Kingdom of Dahomey (located in modern day Benin) set in the 1800s. With a cast composed of mainly dark-skinned women who wore their natural curls in a variety of styles, The Woman King represented me and so many others.

But this film goes beyond simply representing black women. The Woman King also shows us a view of African customs that are rarely portrayed. The colonization of African countries by the Europeans created the idea that Africans were uncivilized and savage in their way of life, and in need of saving. The portrayal seen in the movie is significant because it is not from such a colonized and derogatory perspective. The Woman King depicts a population of powerful people who have traditions, customs, and a culture that matter just as much as those of the rest of the world. It challenges the stereotype and perspective of the pre-colonial Africans who were impoverished, incapable and uncivilized without the Europeans, as if needing them for survival. In modern movies, we do not often see history from strong and strong African countries. Examples of movies that mostly depict poverty stricken African countries and play into this negative depiction include Blood Diamond and The Constant Gardener.

One may ask why such a story would matter coming from American media. Firstly, I believe that when people are given a platform, they should use it to better the world and to share stories with their broad reach. The US has a massive platform when it comes to media, and American productions are watched around the world. For instance, I remember being in Tanzania and only watching American TV shows during the day, not even those produced within my own country. The films on their giant platform should aim to address a wide variety of topics, stories, peoples, cultures, and perspectives. Secondly, this story is relevant to anyone of African descent living in a predominantly white country. The Woman King may allow people to begin asking and/or answering questions about themselves, such as ‘who am I?’ and ‘where do I come from?’. A friend of mine who watched the film with me said that the movie incited curiosity within them about their heritage, and made them proud to see figures of their descendants portrayed as powerful. Lastly, the movie being in mainstream media tells all Africans no matter where they are that they come from powerful people and that they should embrace their culture. Sitting in the theatre, I rejoiced at the songs and music in the movie that reminded me of those that I had heard on the playground or at family gatherings. I laughed at the characters that reminded me of a mixture of family members from their accents, to their jokes and facial expressions. Representation matters.

However, the movie has received criticism for glorifying a tribe whose economy was built on trafficking fellow West Africans and selling them into the Atlantic slave trade. Admittedly, the trailer of The Woman King does appear to portray the female warriors (the adgojie) as having the goal of fighting against and stopping the Europeans who wish to sell their people into slavery. This is not the case within most of the movie, but does eventually become a goal towards its conclusion. The movie does also address the morality behind selling their own people.

Watching this movie as an African, all I could think about was how empowered the movie would make so many people feel and how important of a story it was to tell. However, I was soon reminded that the viewpoint of people of African descent might be very different. People of African descent watching a movie about a kingdom that was built off the back of slave trafficking may invoke animosity in honour of their ancestors who were forcibly removed from their home countries. They may not want to celebrate a tribe that brought their people into a country that viewed them as property. This movie may not empower some people, but may invoke sadness and confusion as to why the world is rejoicing over a film that praises a tribe that sold people into the slave trade.

From my viewpoint, I still think it is an important story to tell. History is written by the victors, so this is not a side of history that is often heard. I think it is safe to say that throughout history a horrible number of atrocities have been committed against people. And yet, we continue to listen to the victor’s side of history that often ignores their own atrocities. I believe that all stories deserve to be heard, even if just to gain a different perspective. Hearing a single story repeatedly is dangerous for it only leaves us with assumptions and stereotypes about the world around us. The Kingdom of Dahomey did commit an atrocity.

However, The Woman King itself allows black women, especially those that are dark-skinned, to see themselves in the mainstream media. It tells them they do not have to fit into the character that the media and society has made for black women, such as ‘the angry black woman’ or ‘the sidekick’. For example, the extraordinary Serena Williams was depicted in a cartoon by the Australia’s The Herald Sun as throwing a tantrum and with Jim-Crow era charictures after calling out a referee in 2018. The ‘sidekick’ or ‘token black friend’ has long been seen in films where a black character’s role in the film revolves significantly around the white character, and they do not have a story of their own that is explored. We see this in films such as High School Musical, 10 Things I Hate About You, and Scream 2. To have a movie with an extremely talented cast of black women whose characters depicted diverse personalities shows other black women that they are powerful, beautiful, and should not change anything to fit into the eurocentric version of ‘beauty’. Representation matters.

The Woman King: Representation Matters

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