THE WOMAN KING Star Viola Davis Defends "Fictionalized" Story Following Claims of Historical Inaccuracy
First of all, whenever Hollywood makes a film that they say is based on a true story, how many times does that film actually tell the true story? It’s incredibly rare! There are almost always changes made to the story to make it more interesting for audiences. Hollywood doesn’t exist to give us history lessons, it exists to entertain audiences.
The Woman King is a film that was made to entertain audiences, and it was inspired by actual events, but it doesn’t give us an accurate depiction of the history of the events that it was based on.
Viola Davis plays General Nanisca in the film, the badass leader of the Agojie, the all-female warriors that protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey in the early 1800s. In the story, they fight to liberate themselves from the domineering Oyo Empire and push back against the emerging slave trade.
The movie is being criticized on social media for its portrayal of certain historical figures and events, specifically Dahomey's part in the trade deeply enough. In the film, Nanisca challenges John Boyega's King Ghezo, who became incredibly wealthy through the part he played in the slave trade.
A lot of criticism seems to focus on how the film doesn’t address the Dahomey Kingdom’s involvement in slavery and glosses over the fact that King Ghezo didn't cease exporting people until 1852. Because of this #BoycottWomanKing has become a thing.
In a recent interview with Variety, Davis defended the “fictionalized” they came up with for the film saying: "You're not going to win an argument on Twitter. We entered the story where the kingdom was in flux, at a crossroads. They were looking to find some way to keep their civilization and kingdom alive. It wasn't until the late 1800s that they were decimated. Most of the story is fictionalized. It has to be."
Producer Julius Tennon, Davis' husband, added: "We are now what we call 'edu-tainment'. It's history but we have to take license. We have to entertain people. If we just told a history lesson, which we very well could have, that would be a documentary. Unfortunately, people wouldn't be in the theaters doing the same thing we saw this weekend. We didn't want to shy away from the truth. The history is massive and there are truths on that that are there. If people want to learn more, they can investigate more."
When a movie like The Woman King is made, the hope is that people go out and learn about the true events on their own. I do that all the time with these kinds of historical movies and films based on true stories!
One of my favorite movies of all time is Braveheart, and while that film is based on a true story, there is so much about the film that is not true to William Wallace’s real history. It gets so much wrong, but the film is so damn good! Taking creative license is just something that Hollywood has always done when making these kinds of films.
Have you seen The Woman King yet? If so what did you think!?