The Misguided Attempt to Boycott "The Woman King"

There are some in the Black community who don't want you to see the Viola Davis film. They are wrong.

Many movie audiences both Black and White have eagerly awaited the release of the Viola Davis movie “The Woman King.” The film tells the true story of a group of warrior African women from the Dahomey kingdom and their fight against White European slavers.

While most of the Black moviegoing community are excited about the film, a vocal group of Black critics are calling for the film to be boycotted. Why? Because while the Dahomey Kingdom fought with Whites who came to Africa to enslave Africans, the Kingdom traded Africans into slavery to Europeans, and also owned slaves.

Even though the movie deals with these issues, it is not enough for some, and they are calling for the boycott. Those who favor the boycott say that the slavery issue has been “whitewashed” both literally and figuratively. Literally because the two women who wrote the screenplay are White.

Leonard Moore, a Los Angeles lawyer and producer says:

“Time to Boycott the Woman King movie. The film is about the Dahomey & Benin that traded slaves into the transatlantic. This may be the most offensive film to Black Americans in 40-50 years.”

Noted Black historian Nikole Hannah-Jones tweeted:

“It will be interesting to see how a movie that seems to glorify the all-female military unit of the Dahomey deals with the fact that this kingdom derived its wealth from capturing Africans for the Trans-Atlantic slave trade.”

Despite the controversy, there seems to be a number of reasons not to boycott the film.

One reason to avoid boycotting the film is that the film does address the controversy. It does not ignore it. That’s a credit to everyone involved.

Moreover, one film can’t discuss the intricacies and inconsistencies of the Dahomey to anyone’s satisfaction.

It’s a movie. Movies can be inaccurate and irresponsible, with the facts. Just because the film doesn’t discuss problems in depth and provide solutions doesn't mean that a boycott is warranted.

Furthermore, how many movies feature real-life stories of Black women who are bold and courageous, and who aren’t being victimized by circumstance? Too often, even in the few roles that make it to screen and earn critical acclaim, Black women are often depicted being mired in unhappy and unpleasant situations. They may prove to be strong and resilient, but more often than not, during the course of the film or television show, they need rescuing.

This sad trend has been changing in the last few years and “The Woman King” is a stellar example of that change. There isn’t a good enough reason to boycott this film because of a historically complex issue that could never be fully articulated or resolved during a two-hour movie.

Let’s learn to appreciate the difference between history and art.

History is the way things were, whether we like it or not.

Art is whatever the artist wants it to be.

They are often mutually exclusive. We shouldn’t expect art to substitute for learning the who, what, where, when, and whys on our own time.

When we do, we short-change the artist and inevitably, ourselves.