Gina Prince-Bythewood wants the public to join her on a journey through West Africa, where the historic kingdom of Dahomey protects its land and people with the help of the Agojie, warriors trained from a young age to be the best of the best in everything fighting. She thinks of them as the Dora Milaje, the ferocious soldiers who protect Wakanda black Panther… Especially because the Dora Milaje were inspired by the real Agojie. And in the hands of Prince-Bythewood, the story of the Agojies told the woman king turns out to be a critically acclaimed Oscar nominee, and a possible vehicle for Viola Davis to earn your second statue.
In the film, now in theaters, Viola Davis plays Nanisca, a veteran leader and general mentor of the Agojie warriors. The whole king woman problem admires and respects Nanisca for the battlefield experience she brings, which is reflected in the numerous scars found on the woman’s body. When we talked to Davis about adding scars to her body and what each of them means to her character, she spoke to Gossipify and exclaimed:
I think the scars were a badge of honor. Because he proved that he lived a life and survived. And I think a lot of people feel like I’m not your scars. I believe you ARE your scars. I do. And not just the scars on our body. The scars that were in her too from being a rape survivor. And that’s one of the things I wanted to convey to Nawi at the time is that your scars are your pride. I’m your badge. I am your sword! You use them as fuel for warriors.
We can say that the women of Agojie in the woman king proud to have come out on the other side of the battle, damaged but still intact. As Viola Davis says, it’s visual proof that you’ve lived through life and endured hardship, but figured out how to prevail. But as Davis points out, that’s not a lesson to be learned in the West African kingdom of Dahomey. As she points out in our interview:
I think it’s a great message for women today. Because I think sometimes we want it to be that easy, we don’t want scars. But I think the moment, I mean, God takes me from this earth, I want a lot of battle scars. It means that I have fought, and I have fought to win, and I have been brave enough to fight.
Amen! If you need more reasons to see the woman king in theaters this weekend Beyond What’s On shown in the original trailer Lily our opinion because it can help convince you. we too spoke to director Gina Prince-Bythewood and producer Cathy Schulman in FilmBlend ReelBlend Podcast earlier this week, and her insights into the film are also a great way to process what you’ve seen after the fact. The film stars Davis, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim, John Boyega and a brilliant newcomer named Whicho Mbedu, who could participate in the Oscar race if there was justice in this world.
Source: Cinemablend
