Viola Davis Stars in the Epic Film “The Woman King”
Elise Schenck Data News Weekly Contributor In the age of MeToo and women raising their voices, this film is one that speaks to the moment, while looking back at the historical greatness of women. On [...]
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Elise Schenck Data News Weekly Contributor
In the age of MeToo and women raising their voices, this film is one that speaks to the moment, while looking back at the historical greatness of women.
On Sept. 16th Oscar and Emmy winner Viola Davis is displaying her greatness on the big screen in the new film “The Woman King, “Davis stars as General Nanisca in the epic, which also features John Boyega, Lashana Lynch, and Thuso Mbedu. Also, the film is being directed by Gina Price Bythwood, an African American woman, who is best known for the classic Love and Basketball.
In the epic film, “The Woman King” tells the “remarkable story of the Agojie, the all-female unit of warriors who protected the African Kingdom of Dahomey in the 1800s with skills and a fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen,” according to Sony Pictures.
In an age where many people from the African Diaspora are looking towards the Motherland in the spirit of Sankofa (looking back to move forward) many still feel pulled back to the continent, and the drumbeat that is the heart of the pull on the souls of those whose ancestors left the shores of Africa centuries ago. Today they are now re-discovering with immense pride its great history.
This is echoed by rh film’s star Viola Davis in a recent interview promoting the film, “I first went to Africa when I was 25, as student at Juilliard,” she explains. “[I went to] the Gambia because I was trying to find myself, to redefine myself. Not as an artist, but as a Black woman. It was like I was screaming inside: ‘I know I’m more than what you’re telling me I am!'”
As have many because of the 1619 Project and a renaissance in appreciating Black Beauty and excellence, Davis says she has now traveled extensively across Africa, including to South Africa to make The Woman King, and each time she feels that same release. “Every single day it was as if I had meditated for five hours. I had absolutely no anxiety. I had no problem sleeping. It’s the feeling of just being.”
