The Woman King: Review

The Woman King is a movie about the powerful Agojie female warriors tasked with the protection of the kingdom of the Dahomey. The movie lasted for 2 hours and 15 minutes and was filmed on location in South Africa. Those who are students of history will have their intellectual appetite whetted to do further research on the Kingdom of Dahomey which is now Benin in West Africa. The storyline follows an African Kingdom that possess the only female army in Africa in 1823. Academy Award winner Viola Davis plays the leader of the female army. She is however haunted by her past but somehow manages to inspire her army. She is loyal to the cause and has earned the respect of her king who allows her a seat on his council of advisors. Bravely, as the king’s general, Nanisca strongly urges him to avoid the slave trade and find alternative methods of riches such as palm oil. In the movie the kingdom of Dahomey was a tributary of the Oyo Empire and had to present that kingdom with tributes of various kinds including females. The characters in the movie except for King Ghezo of the Dahomey kingdom are all fictional characters. The Kingdom of Dahomey lasted from approximately 1600 until 1904. The growth of Dahomey coincided with the growth of the Atlantic Slave Trade. The kingdom of Dahomey was complicit in the slave trade and was a major supplier of slaves to the Europeans. The director and producers of the film were deliberate in not exploring more of this rather complicated relationship in the movie. It can be argued that this decision took away some of the authenticity of the movie but perhaps it was done to appeal to a wider audience. The Woman King is rated PG-13 for sequences of strong violence, partial nudity and some disturbing content. The production budget of the film was about $50million. The Woman King has already surpassed that amount at the box office in North America, with global box office receipts close to $100 million. The film was released in September of 2022. For those who have watched the movie you cannot help but fall in love with Viola Davis who plays the role of General Nanisca the commander in charge of training the next generation of female recruits to fight against a foreign enemy and protect the kingdom of Dahomey. The movie was rather emotional at times as General Nanisca was haunted by her past as was evident in the nightmares or dreams which she experienced. The Agojie warriors are fearless as they are feared. It should be noted that these female recruits are required to vow to remain spinsters and childless. Interestingly, the pledge of the Agojie warriors did not address sexual encounters or relationships either of the same gender or of the opposite gender. In fact one of the main characters, Nawi had a brief sexual encounter with a male character whose mother was of the Dahomey kingdom and whose father was a European. In what can be described as a complicated plot, the character of Nawi was taken to the palace of the king after her refusal to marry a hushand which was chosen by her father. Nawi was played the stunningly beautiful South African actress Thuso Mbedu. In a rather interesting twist in the plot Nawi turned out to be the daughter of General Nanisca who was raped and had her daughter given away to an orphanage. The revelation that Nawi was General Nanisca’s daughter emerged as both ladies were in the pool while having a heart to heart discussion which at times was testy. The film overwhelmingly had female representation at both at the levels of director and producers. This was refreshing given most times in Hollywood women either shy away from the role of director or are discouraged from taking on these roles. The movie was brilliantly directed by Gina-Prince Bythewood. Of the four producers of the film only one is male in Julius Tennon; the three female producers are Cathy Schulman, Viola Davis and Maria Bello.

Intrigue and Sub Plots The female Agojie warriors of the Dahomey kingdom were an anomaly. The movie addressed a number of themes such as gender equality and feminism. In fact, the feminist philosophy is the overarching theme in the movie. Feminism is the belief and practice in the social, economic, and political equality of the sexes. There was also the issue of bi-racial relationships. The character Malik played by Jordan Bolger a product of a Brazilian Portuguese father and a mother from Dahomey fell in love with Nawi. There was also an epicene character who was the male eunuch. This character was in charge of the wives of King Ghezo played by John Boyega. A eunuch is a man who has had his testicles removed. Eunuch comes from the Greek eunoukhos, meaning "bedroom guard." In history a eunuch was a man whose job was to guard the bedroom door of a royal woman to protect her. These guards were castrated to make them less threatening to the women they guarded. Later, some men underwent castration so their high voices would not deepen during puberty, and these eunuch singers became famous in opera houses. There also the issue of jealousy. The main wife of King Ghezo, Shante played by Jayme Lawson was obviously jealous of the respect the king had for General Nanisca, in fact in one scene both women had a bad-tempered verbal exchange in the palace. Yet another theme which was hinted at in the movie was that of body shaming or lookism. The main wife of King Ghezo, Shante employed this form of bullying against General Nanisca without success. Lookism describes prejudice or discrimination against people who are considered physically unattractive or whose physical appearance is believed to fall short of societal ideas of beauty. The movie was not short in action. In fact there were epic and blood-letting scenes of war between the Oyo and the warriors of the Dahomey Kingdom led by General Nanisca. It was clear from the onset that the movie was strong of female empowerment and gender equality. The name The Woman King is perhaps a bit of an oxymoron. It was interesting to learn that in the 1800’s an African kingdom was as progressive in gender roles given how strong and pervasive patriarchy was and still is on the African continent. Unfortunately, in some African countries today the voices of women are muted. Another theme which was explored is that of respect; it was refreshing to see between a powerful man in King Ghezo and an equally powerful woman in General Nanisca strategizing. It must be said that General Nanisca has a seat on King’s Council. Do you recall how groundbreaking it was when Condoleezza Rice was named the first woman in US history to serve as National Security Advisor for President George W. Bush, or when Madeleine Albright was nominated to be the first woman Secretary of State by President Bill Clinton? The cinematography which is a vital component of filmmaking was perfectly done. The visuals were sharp and brilliantly reinforced a commanding narrative to a much appreciative audience. The most satisfying part of the movie at least for me was the moment King Ghezo extended his hand to General Nanisca and announced her as the Woman King thus fulfilling the legend of the twin kings. At that moment she joined him on the throne as an equal in the kingdom of Dahomey. King Ghezo’s character was believable and the performances of Viola Davis and Thuso Mbedu are worthy of an Oscar Award. The cinematography added much graphic value to the emotional experience which is very much part of this epic movie in The Woman King. Although the movie is over 2 hours in duration you will be thoroughly entertained and even be inspired as the plot and themes move quickly to avoid boredom. If you have not seen The Woman King as yet make plans to do so now. In the word of Gina Prince Bythewood, the biggest eye-opener was how much misinformation there is about these women and this culture given that so much of their history was written from the colonizer’s point of view. Wayne Campbell is an educator and social commentator with an interest in development policies as they affect culture and or gender issues. waykam@yahoo.com @WayneCamo © #TheWomanKing #AcademyAward #Oscars #WestAfrica #Feminism #genderequality