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The Woman King

likesfish

likesfish

You can't park here sir
www.imdb.com

The Woman King (2022) - IMDb

The Woman King: Directed by Gina Prince-Bythewood. With Viola Davis, Thuso Mbedu, Lashana Lynch, Sheila Atim. A historical epic inspired by true events that took place in The Kingdom of Dahomey, one of the most powerful states of Africa in the 18th and 19th centuries.
www.imdb.com www.imdb.com

Brilliant looking movie just one problem.

The Dahomey empire was a slave raiding human sacrifice practicing atrocities factory and weren’t even very good at fighting 🙄
 
The American accents are going to seem a tad incongruous if the trailer for the film is anything to go by.
 
Feels don't care about your factings...

It'll all end up chucked into the 'culture wars' bucket under claims of rewriting history. It will be said:
a) the extent of Dahomey slave trading has been overblown by white men
b) Dahomey leaders only did what they had to do, to survive in an age of European colonialism.

But this is hardly the first film to gloss over reality for the sake of bums on seats and audience feels. Hollywood's been doing it for ever ('Birth of a Nation' ffs!) and as always, if some people use it as a springboard to find out more about Dahomey and learn it was really as ugly and brutal as any other empire, instead of knowing nothing about it at all, that's probably a good thing.

Still, I personally can't stand 'based on a true story' films. Tell the truth, or write something original IMO.
 
having anything come out of Hollywood that shows black Africans as non-victims and characters is rarer than rocking horse poo is one thing.

but waterboarding the truth so much it deserves a Mel Gibson award for historical accuracy:D
 
Historical dramas don't have to be 100% accurate and most aren't, they aren't documentaries, they are fiction. That doesn't mean they are worthless, they may make a particular point for which that historical backdrop is needed but then they don't have to be true to every single historical fact. Many historical films use anachronisms as an artistic device because they may be commenting on the present as well as on the past. If they are American or British and the film is in need of a reasonably large budget, the film usually won't be in a non-English language because not enough people would go and see it.

Then there is the question whether to have actors speak with their own accents or with a foreign accent which approximates the language. The results of the latter can often be cheesy and these days films where the action takes place in a foreign country, stick with English or American accents (see Dr. Zhivago or Dangerous Liaisons).

Dramatic films are art/entertainment, not historical record.
 
JimW said:
The Internet is suddenly going to be full of experts on African history.
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trouble is even the slightest most superficial reading about Dahomey points out they were slavers and practised Human sacrifice!

Hardly the good guys. Genetic quest leads to African apology for role in slave trade
now, most of "the Africans who sold other Africans into slavery "are terrible people neglecting over a century of America being racist bastards after slavery was abolished.

Now as a Fantasy movie fair one claiming its Historical makes Braveheart look like a Documentary and gives racists an Easy win:facepalm:
 
The racists are never going to be happy, this is still one of the few films set on the African continent starring black Africans regardless of its absolute liberties with history.

But if you want factual history do not rely on Hollywood
 
Artaxerxes said:
The racists are never going to be happy, this is still one of the few films set on the African continent starring black Africans regardless of its absolute liberties with history.

But if you want factual history do not rely on Hollywood
Click to expand...
Haven't seen this film only the trailer so far.I shall be interested to see how many black Africans feature in it as opposed to black Americans.There is no shortage of local talent in West Africa as the hundreds of Nollywood films on YouTube amply demonstrate.
 
Duncan2 said:
Haven't seen this film only the trailer so far.I shall be interested to see how many black Africans feature in it as opposed to black Americans.There is no shortage of local talent in West Africa as the hundreds of Nollywood films on YouTube amply demonstrate.
Click to expand...


Good point, I will be honest and say I haven't paid much attention to it beyond reading up on the history aspects and seeing it pop up in various Culture War feeds
 
I saw the trailer at the cinema and went 'tick, tick, tick' at every box. I think it's cool that this is what mainstream cinema looks like now but I'm not likely to watch it. The idea of kickass black ladies standing their ground against evil white men is very appealing to me but the impression I got was that it was all the movie was about, sort of like exploitation cinema. If someone sees it and tells me I'm wrong, I'll reconsider my current position.
 
ska invita said:
you're doing it wrong!!! we need more strong opinions on the thread now!!!1!
actually watching the film before commenting is for wimps - fight the culture wars and fight them hard
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Oh yeah sorry mate...

Ok so I've watched the trailor, which just about covers the whole fillum, and I can honestly say that this film rocks. It's full of scantily clad georgeose black women which is rare for a film outside of the adult movie industry and even though some of the fight scenes contain a few obvious overacted routines, it's as historically accurate as the derge of viking offerings that have been on screen in recent years. In fact I would go as far to say that this is what actually happened. I bon't believe the academic books on this subject as they were all written by white slavers.

Turn the lights down low, pump up the sound bar to 11 and watch as these beautiful men and women romp around in nothing more than a cheesecloth.

I'd eat my tea off Jayme Lawson's satchel.

How's that mate, is that any better?

*I haven't really watched the trailor. They spoil the fillum so I'll just wait for it on Real Debrid.
 
friedaweed said:
Oh yeah sorry mate...

Ok so I've watched the trailor, which just about covers the whole fillum, and I can honestly say that this film rocks. It's full of scantily clad georgeose black women which is rare for a film outside of the adult movie industry and even though some of the fight scenes contain a few obvious overacted routines, it's as historically accurate as the derge of viking offerings that have been on screen in recent years. In fact I would go as far to say that this is what actually happened. I bon't believe the academic books on this subject as they were all written by white slavers.

Turn the lights down low, pump up the sound bar to 11 and watch as these beautiful men and women romp around in nothing more than a cheesecloth.

I'd eat my tea off Jayme Lawson's satchel.

How's that mate, is that any better?

*I haven't really watched the trailor. They spoil the fillum so I'll just wait for it on Real Debrid.
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Good point about the recent slew of Viking films. Don't recall much controversy over most of those ignoring the thrall slave class.
 
JimW said:
Good point about the recent slew of Viking films. Don't recall much controversy over most of those ignoring the thrall slave class.
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IIRC Slavic = Slave comes from the era of 'Viking' enslaving of Eastern Europeans. Vikings did human sacrifice too, it is understood.

We dont even know if slavery is alluded to in this Woman King film or not as no one on this thread so far has actually seen it
 
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ska invita said:
IIRC Slavic = Slave comes from the era of 'Viking' enslaving of Eastern Europeans. Vikings did human sacrifice too, it is understood.

We dont even know if slavery is alluded to in this Woman King film or not as no one on this thread so far has actually seen it
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We know and it does. According to the Wikipedia synopsis, slavery is central to the plot.
 
Didn't some Native Americans tribes also enslave other tribes and sell them off to the grey beard?

I bet Pokinmehontis is just a jazzed up feel good rewriting of history too😔
 
friedaweed said:
Didn't some Native Americans tribes also enslave other tribes and sell them off to the grey beard?

I bet Pokinmehontis is just a jazzed up feel good rewriting of history too😔
Click to expand...


I mean yes, Pocahontas is famous for being absolutely unrealistic and nothing like historical events.

For one thing Pocahontas was like 14
 
Artaxerxes said:
I mean yes, Pocahontas is famous for being absolutely unrealistic and nothing like historical events.

For one thing Pocahontas was like 14
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But Neil Young wanted to sleep with her and find out how she felt????

Fuckin'ell I very got loads of his records :facepalm:

It's been a revelation this thread. A revelation I tell thee.
 
Artaxerxes said:
I mean yes, Pocahontas is famous for being absolutely unrealistic and nothing like historical events.

For one thing Pocahontas was like 14
Click to expand...
Not sure you watch a Disney film for hard hitting realism. Terrence Malick‘s The New World is a more realistic take on Pocahontas and the actress who plays her was around the age of 14.
 
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