The Woman King: The Movie This “Strong Dark Skin Black Woman” Chooses NOT To See
The movie “The Woman King” has recently made its debut and it seems that millions of people are almost as excited to view the film as the actors who star in it. It looks to have everything we like, action, history, love and triumph. Moreover, let’s not forget the star-studded cast to include several black women like Viola Davis whose characters are warriors with ripped 6 packs, armed with swinging swords, determination and killing all the “bad guys”. No weak, downtrodden, sad whipped women here. They appear to be a force to be reckoned with.
I would be so hype to see this movie too, if it wasn’t such a big lie.
When I was growing up, I, like many dark skinned women, experienced some form of colorism within our communities. “You’re too black, too crispy like burnt toast” is what I’d hear often from my black peers. Over time, we grow up, remember these things and sometimes laugh, sometimes cry. But in my example my goal has been to not raise my son to behave that way or allow jokes like this to be said in my presence. We grow, we learn, AND also admit it’s still a problem in the Black community. A problem many may forget or overlook as focus is placed more on racism from those outside of our race.
Racism has gotten much of the limelight, but let’s bring it in for a moment and look back at the problem of colorism. It’s still alive and kickin’. It resurfaces often through music, jokes within our families, our neighborhoods (poor, middle and upper class) and alas in this case, movies. Not only that, the stereotype that is often placed on dark skinned black women is just as frustrating. You’ll often see many of us portrayed as “strong” attitudinal, ghetto, aggressive, loud and masculine.
When I first began to see the trailer’s of “The Woman King”, I thought immediately, “no way”. I saw dark skinned women screaming, fighting looking very masculine with swords/spears and it was a hard pass for me. This particular narrative in my opinion had been overdone and only perpetuated the many stereotypes many like me have tried so hard to overcome and ignore.
So you can imagine when I was introduced further into the history of the story behind the movie how upset I had become. The entire story is a far cry from the accuracy of the real history of the Dahomey Kingdom. It is nowhere near as triumphant and glory-filled as Hollywood wants us to believe. These people were African slave traders. They sold fellow Africans into slavery, engaged in human sacrifice, had their own black slaves, and often fought other nations to keep their slave trade in production. Why? Because it was about money. Slaves made this kingdom prosperous. They didn’t want to give up their royalty. They wanted to stay on top. That’s what they were fight for, not the slaves.
What boggles my mind is why would fellow black people want to celebrate, make and view a story such as this one when it is so untrue? For all I know the Dahomey Kingdom played a part in selling my descendants to the highest bidder for goods and that’s how me and my family came to America. To read that another dark skinned woman thought this movie would be good to provide a door of opportunity to showcase other women of color as “bad a$$’ warrior’s fighting the “enemy” is beyond me, when it is a lie and denies the truth of our history. For creativity? To display heroism?
If I want to see “bad “a$$” women jumping hurdles overcoming obstacles, I can look in the mirror, or up the block or think of my mother or other women I know. We’re women that have struggled and had to overcome some things both publicly and privately. But we also take accountability of our actions, our wrongs, decisions we’ve made that have placed us in those situations. We don’t continue to keep playing victim and blaming others because if we do, it doesn’t help us to move forward and succeed. It continues to keep us weak.
While they are making millions of dollars from this movie our communities are in the same positions as before still dwelling on being slaves and stolen from Africa. Remember the old saying “if one of us makes it, we all make it”? Well, many have made it and I’m wondering when will more sharing be done? When there is talk of reparations, and people see this movie and get upset and/or possibly not bother to open up a history book, who’s going to share their profits and pay them back for their descendants being slaves?
Changing a story to fit one’s own warped narrative doesn’t help our community; it hinders it from growth and truly moving forward. This movie does not appear to lend an opening of accountability but twist the story to sell and fit what is of popular thought at this time. Yes, we can relate some issues within the black community to problems from our past, but sis, it is 2022. The things that held back your great-great-great-great grandma, grandpa and alike have likely not been the same things that may have held you back. It’s time to dive into the real culprit and I don’t think any of us will find the all the answers through the tv or the big screen either, not with movies made like this.
“My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge” … – Hosea 4:6
“Therefore my people are gone into captivity”…-Isaiah 5:13
Overall, I think this movie is an embarrassment to “the culture”. In real life we all should be broaching more truth–filled and emotion-less conversations.
-Missy Anne
