“The Woman King’ is an upcoming movie that stars Viola Davis who plays Nanisca. Viola leads an all-Female African Dahomey Warriors in defense of the West African kingdom Dahomey, present-day Benin between the 18th and 19th centuries as they set out to stop colonizers who aim to own Africa. The film also stars Lashana Lynch, John Boyega, and Thuso Mbedu, with Gina Prince-Blythewood at the helm of Direction and written by Dana Stevens.
The Oscar and Emmy awards winner Viola Davis’ as we have seen so far in the trailer has done justice to her role. After months of training in martial arts and weaponry, weight management, and sprinting for four hours a day, five days a week, she really stepped into becoming a real-life African Agojie general for the historical epic “The Woman King.”. “I offer you a choice: fight or we die,” Davis as Nanisca states. “We fight for our ancestors, we fight for the future.”
Well, the trailer has had people from the Ghanaian movie scene talking, especially in liking her to Yaa Asantewaa. Apparently, some did go too far to say the film is a Yaa Asantewaa rip-off which is very far from the truth. That is also not to downplay the impact of Yaa Ansatewaa in any way. Even though it is evident that Yaa Asantewaa never physically participated in a war by holding a gun or any weapon, her influence in tactics and mobilization could not be overlooked.
Viola Davis, who also produces the film, called the role “transformative” when speaking with Vanity Fair. “There’s always a vision you have for your career, but there are very few roles as an actress of color,” Davis said. “Dark skin with a wide nose and big lips. I’m just going to continue to say it. Those stories are extraordinarily limited…It is hard to be an artist, hard to be a Black artist, and even harder to be a Black female artist.”
Acheampong Magazine | @attakaay
