The Woman King

Last night I got a booster and flu vaccine, and today I've had chills and arm aches. But before all that, I did manage to see The Woman King, the new movie about the women warriors of Dahomey. They're called the Agojie, and they're the basis for the Dora Milaje in Black Panther.

King Ghezo, played by John Boyega, is a real person, but most other characters are fictional and dramatic license has been taken to make a compelling movie. Viola Davis is General Nanisca, who leads the army and often tries to advise the king. There's some talk about a myth of equality between men and women, and that the King can choose to appoint Nanisca to rule beside him, but I didn't catch everything they said about this. We also see other members of the army, and Izogie trains the new recruits including rebellious girl Nawi. Though most of Dahomey's enemies in battle are other African tribes, some European slave-traders do arrive to make deals with King Ghezo. A wealthy Portuguese man arrives with his half Black friend Malik, whose mother came from Dahomey. Malik is sickened by the slave market he sees at the port, but keeps quiet with his friend until he meets Nawi and starts to feel loyal to his mother's homeland. Nanisca too hates the evils of slavery and tries to convince the King to stop the practice and take up palm oil farming instead. All these racial and economic tensions explode into dramatic battles, where we can see the Agojie in fierce combat. There's a lot of compelling character development and triumphant feelings in winning their freedom.

SPOILERS

Real history is not that neat, though, and the King only did the palm oil experiment for a short time before resuming the slave trade. Knowing how palm oil today destroys rainforest and animal habitats, I didn't actually find the farming option a very positive alternative. In any case the movie ends without telling us further information about Dahomey's history. The Woman King has been criticized for historical inaccuracy, but I understand why the writers did it. Modern audiences cannot root for a country or an army complicit in slavery, so they choose to stop at a hopeful bright spot.

If you want the complete history, you can watch documentaries about Agoije on The Smithsonian channel (on Paramount+) but if you want a well-acted, well-made movie pushing Hollywood out of its comfort zone, you can watch The Woman King. I especially like that the African characters work to save themselves instead of relying on a white savior. Being half-white, Malik does try to rescue Nawi and convince her go to Europe with him, but she's got to stand with her sister warriors. She worked too hard to just escape.