Viola Davis Comes to Life As 'The Woman King' in ELLE Brazil October by Mar + Vin

All reports are that ‘The Woman King’ reigns supreme at the Toronto International Film Festival, which opened on September 8 and closes on Sunday, September 18.

Gina Prince-Bythewood directed the historical epic set in West Africa in 1823. Tony and Oscar award winner Viola Davis, featured here in four covers of the October 2022 issue of ELLE Brazil, stars as Nanisca, a force of nature in Dahomey, West Africa. Today Dahomey is located in what we know as southern Benin.

Brazil’s photographers Mar + Vin [Marcos Florentino + Kelvin Yule] [IG] photograph Davis, styled by Juliana Jimenez for editorial director Susan Barbosa [IG].

As the leader of the Agojie, the all-woman army of the African kingdom, Davis’s character led a fighting force so fierce that even enemies spoke of its “prodigious bravery”.

Damoney’s 6.000 warrior women raided villages under darkness, taking captives while beheading resisters, as trophies of war. The Agojie commanded the respect of European visitors, who often compared them to the ‘Amazons’, the legendary warrior women — now confirmed as real by researchers — of Greek mythology.

The film opens in America Friday, September 16, and the formidable presence of Viola Davis will touchdown in Brazil, to promote the release of ‘The Woman King’ on September 22.

‘The Woman King’ is the first time that the American film industry has dramatized the ferociously compelling, and disruptive-to-all-psyches story of these legendary warrior women. The film takes place against the backdrop of regional conflicts engulfing the region and the looming probability of European colonization.

The film comes at an important time in America as MAGA-Republicans seek to shut down the stories of slavery and colonialism, for fear of the truths of history becoming better known to America’s kids and old people, both.

This recent Smithsonian article reminds us that dramatic liberties have been taken with the film. As we work hard to speak to the truth of the slave trade, historians agree that the film is not telling a factual story in many areas.

I can’t believe that Viola Davis won’t work to discuss these realities — or post a well-researched counter narrative.

In our already-fraught state of race relations in America, the Smithsonian argues that:

“ . . . the kingdom’s involvement in the slave trade doesn’t align as neatly with the historical record. As historian Robin Law notes, Dahomey emerged as a key player in the trafficking of West Africans between the 1680s and early 1700s, selling its captives to European traders whose presence and demand fueled the industry—and, in turn, the monumental scale of Dahomey’s warfare.”

Make no mistake that the right-wing will seize upon these alleged discrepancies, which is why AOC will explore them in-depth out of the gate.

Just as Southenerns have rewritten the alleged glory of the Confederacy to be factually incorrect, they should understand — and have no issue with — factual changes in the history of Dahomey for the purposes of a dramatization of this African nation’s powerful women warriors.

As we really rev up this The Wokes channel, I am consolidating content from all over the website. Much of it is a decade old or even older.

Ever since Charlottesville and then the murder of George Floyd in 2020, followed by my then move to Virginia in an effort to better understand the American story, I’ve read stories about lynching and burning people in alive in America that sent me into a deep depression.

I’ve wept so many tears post-George Floyd that I contracted an eye infection and the Black doctor who treated me said “Miss Anne, you have to stop weeping. No matter what I give you to stop the infection, it won’t work if you keep crying.”

I saw a broadcast today of a youngish man speaking from Texas, and he said something that rang very true to me. His argument is that when the newspaper images from lynchings — often a form of entertainment in America memorialized on postcards — or images in the Smithsonian collections are shown online by websites like Anne of Carversville, people are going to recognize faces that are in family albums all over America.

So I understand that if AOC writes about real history vs the storyline in ‘The Woman King’, that I have a one-to-one obligation to share the American horror stories that have upset me so deeply and should not be buried from the facts of racial history in this country. This is the promise I make for Anne of Carversville.

It’s a fact that I won’t win any popularity contests — as truth-tellers always upset people on all sides — but this is the best way forward for me and the readers who trust me. Just know that the land below me was a Confederate rest station/hospital during the Civil War.

Now that is a trip for a Yankee like me!

I knew about the Dahomey Amazons, after posting this article about powerful West African women several years ago. Let me be clear that no one challenges the history of these ferocious women. The challenges come around the avoidance of confronting African participation in the slave trade. This is NOT a new topic in America’s race war of facts.

In the film Nanisca disapproves of the slave trade after experiencing its horrors personally. She urges Ghezo to end Dahomey’s close relationship with Portuguese slave traders and shift to production of palm oil as the kingdom's main export.

The Smithsonian says history is well documented that in real life:

In truth, Ghezo only agreed to end Dahomey’s participation in the slave trade in 1852, after years of pressure by the British government, which had abolished slavery (for not wholly altruistic reasons) in its own colonies in 1833. Though Ghezo did at one point explore palm oil production as an alternative source of revenue, it proved far less lucrative, and the king soon resumed Dahomey’s participation in the slave trade.

WEST AFRICAN QUEENS OF DAHOMEY, NOW BENIN. THESE FIERCE FIGHTERS WERE ALSO CALLED THE DAHOMEY AMAZONS. THIS IMAGE IS LIKELY TAKEN 1900-1912. PHOTO: FRANCOIS-EDMOND FORTIER.

What we know for sure is that Viola Davis — and all that she stands for — reigns supreme. Davis is always at the center of swirling cultural vibrations and all women — not only women of color — should be thrilled with this historical, cinematic narrative.

Those of us who are deep researchers into the facts of history know that the patriarchy is real and has had dramatic impact on the lives of all women. We also know that there is strong evidence of African cultures where women had much more power and influence than those women who landed on American shores on the Mayflower. Their societies were often notably more egalitarian, until slave traders, colonizers and Christianity got involved in their affairs.

To be continued . . . Anne

YEEZY Gap Begins National Rollout. It Gives Me Nightmares

What is the fashion industry saying about last weekend’s YEEZY Gap release in Gap’s NYC Times Square store — and about the future of the entire deal? The retailer announced it was expanding the physical offering to 45 of its stores across the U.S. at once. If it happned, it’s quiet time on the Internet.

Highsnobiety

Without judging, Highsnobiety says that Kanye has entirely subverted the brand. They title their new analysis Why the YEEZY Gap Collaboration Is a Truly Historic Moment in Fashion.

We quote: “The collection whose imagery is chock full of edge, darkness, and downright menace was released by the GAP. Let me rephrase that — it was released by the motherfucking GAP, the gold medal Olympic champion of staid mall Americana, the most inoffensive, mind-numbingly bland brand that has ever graced the face of Earth.”

Now maybe this is one more reason why Gap fired CEO Sonia Syngal after 2½ years at the helm. We doubt it’s that simple, but it can be said that Ye’s major difficulties doing anything on a schedule — which is the wheaties GAP and most of big retail runs on — didn’t help the red ink in Gap Inc. headquarters.

Much of the industry — who was super enthused about the partnership initially [not AOC; just sayin] but the most ardent fans of the deal — now question exactly what Kanye and his posse can deliver.

Gap Inc. Revenue Is $46 Million a Day, About 25% from Gap Brand

Ye was hootin that YEEZY Gap sold $14 million woth of black hoodies when they dropped — and that may be true. Gap refused to comment.

But let’s be clear that Gap Inc. sells $46 million worth of clothes every day and Gap stores is estimated to be about a quarter of the total. Depending on how many days the black hoodie collected revenue — and considering all the fanfare that was pent up waiting for it — and countless websites in America promoting it, $14 million may have been great or disappointing. We don’t know.

Ye says it broke all records for sales in one day. But Kanye can be quite like his much-admired pal Donald Trump. Exaggeration is fundamental to the big sale. We just don’t know the facts.

Ye says they only ran the commercial once. But everyone from Vogue to Business Insider was promoting it. And yes, Gap does have an affiliate program, and everybody wanted a piece of the action. The question is was it worth it to the affiliates.

It’s difficult for Ye to process the idea that bloggers and large websites out there — like even ELLE magazine — are delivering customers to Yeezy Gap to be part of the action.

That may be a good thing, because magazines and websites like Highsnobiety need revenue. But for Kanye to think that only his reputation, prodigious talent and one commercial sold his alleged $14 million worth of Perfect Black Hoodies is the typical analysis from a meglomaniac. Lots of little people make things happen, Ye.

Other analysis out this week on YEEZY Gap offers differing views of the business opportunity. The Complex article is quite good.

Chaos and Creation: Inside the Making of Yeezy Gap New York Times

Will Yeezy Save Gap Complex

YEEZY Gap Gives Me Nightmares

I’m far and away not a Gap customer. But I do get bad dreams just looking at this YEEZY Gap Engineered by Balenciaga images. Years ago, a guy dressed exactly like Ye’s above, tried to kill me over my support for Planned Parenthood. I’ll never forget that black-stocking face flying across the hood of my car and onto the windshield, after making my life hell for almost a year.

He also was wearing a black hoodie — but make no mistake, he was a white guy. And of course, we have the Guardians from HULU’s Handmaid’s Tale, keeping all the women in line. When Kanye was running for president in 2020 and talking about shutting down Planned Parenthood to end abortion rights for women. Kanye bought into all the right-wing propaganda about IUDs being murder and also Plan B. He spread more disinformation about women’s reproductivehealth than Donald Trump — and that is damn difficult.

It occurs to me that white nationalists might really like YEEZY Gap, as it’s so dystopian. From polo shirts and khakis to YEEZY Gap. Now that might be just too obviousa deviation from their ‘all American college guy’ carrying tiki torches while shouting “Jews will not replace us”.

But nothing feels like an over-reaction at this point. I can see white nationalists making YEEZY Gap their own. THAT would be one heck of a headache for Gap Inc.

Just yesterday, Rolling Stone had an article: Neo-Nazi Marine Plotted Mass Murder, Rape Campaigns with Group, Feds Say. They wrote: “While tasked with protecting the nation, Matthew Belanger was plotting a killing spree against minorities and to rape “white women to increase the production of white children,” according to federal prosecutors.”

The far-right neo-Nazi America group is called “Rapekrieg.”

I think many younger kids — think Uvalde — will be terrified by Kanye’s dystopian Gap garb. I honestly hope they don’t see it or the ads either. I do want to see Gap thrive again financially. So it’s not as if I want this project to fail. I just don’t understand why it has to be so dark, when America is already so dark.

Actually, maybe I’m not overreacting. DesignTaxi says that in the new YEEZY Gap video game you shoot white doves out of the sky. If you fail to kill them, YOU lose speed and fall to the ground from the sky.

I don’t think this is true, but I haven’t played the game. I watched it being played on YouTube and no avatars caught any doves. There were doves flying around. And I saw no doves being shot from the sky. It didn’t look like much to me. But then, I am not the YEEZY Gap customer, as I keep saying. The idea of dead peace birds really upset me for the last 15 minutes, though.

Just to explain how deeply I am affected by Jan. 6 and all the right-wing rhetoric about controlling women’s bodies, I actually woke up from a deep sleep last summer and saw an apparition of Sen. Lindsey Graham, standing in the doorway. There was a soft light shining over his head and I could see that he was holding a huge syringe, as he stood there staring at me. It was very clear to me as I tried to process this ‘dream state’ that Lindsey Graham intended to kill me with a lethal injection.

As he walked towards me, I woke up. Wow, what a night that was. ~ Anne

Past Ye — aka Kanye West


 
 
 

Remove Kanye from Coachella Petition Just Shy of 50,000 | Kanye on Ellen Blows My Mind

As the Remove Kanye from Coachella Petition cross 49,000 on the way to 50,000 signatures on March 29, Kanye’s honoring of Vladimir Putin’s throwing his opponent to the mat is chilling. Note though, that in Ye’s tweet, he is comparing himself to Putin’s style.

Two months before the election on Sept. 16, 2020, as he sought to be president of America, Kanye — like his good friend Donald Trump — felt totally comfortable celebrating Putin’s style of getting his point across. I don’t mean to be the armchair psychologist with no degree, but I note as an educated woman that Kanye steps into the Putin image metaphorically, writing “Rule Number one: Listen to Ye.”

Now Kanye West will tell you that he wouldn’t hurt a fly, but if you are seriously practicing ubuntu in the universe, you don’t 1) identify with Putin — although Kanye’s right-wing evangelicals loved Putin as the world’s top backer of Christianity as God ordered it; 2) write “Rule Number One” which is more authoritarian talk and 3) and order us to “Listen to Ye.” Kanye’s hubris is just staggering.

This single tweet from 18 months ago is toxic masculinity running amok.

We’ve lived with Kanye stalking his ex-wife Kim Kardashian and Pete Davidson with so-called harmless threats of killing Pete in the name of Kanye’s art. I’m almost finished watching ‘jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy’ on Netflix.

I’ve also watched many interviews of Kanye in the last few weeks, including this one on Ellen. It blew my brain cells to pieces.

Note how Kanye is as persecuted as Trump in his mind. It’s our fault that we don’t understand that he is one of the greats. He regrets that we honor Steve Jobs who is dead, when we’ve got Kanye West in our presence. What the hell is wrong with all of us mere mortals that we can’t see his glorious intellect and understanding of everything that matters.

Kanye ONLY WANTS TO DO WHAT’S BEST FOR US. Why do we not accept him as our savior!!!!

Apparently, the GAP bought into this hype. Or Kanye scared the wits out of them in a few meetings. Watch the video.

How in the world Kim Kardashian lived with this man refusing to take any medication is beyond my comprehension. You can say what you want about Kim Kardashian {I’ve long respected her], but if ANYONE is acting like a saint, it’s her. And she would NEVER have the audacity to say that God talks to her in the shower, telling her to shut down Planned Parenthood.

After the Will Smith Oscars Assault, Does Coachella REALLY Want Kanye West on Stage?

I would like to think that after watching Will Smith slap down Chris Rock on the Oscars stage Sunday night, people would take the Remove Kanye petition seriously. And I remind the owner of Coachella, non-Trump-supporting, conservative Christian billionaire Philip Anschutz that Kanye West has put you on notice that he intends to bring Travis Scott up on stage to perform under Kanye’s protection.

A decade ago I supported Kanye West. Within the last year we wrote two very flattering pieces on Travis Scott, one of them his on-hold Dior Men’s collab. AOC promoted Scott’s Cactus Jack Foundation. I wrote nothing but wonderful words about Travis Scott.

Dior took the same path as Coachella in putting a hold on Travis Scott until the 500 lawsuits against him are resolved. But Kanye says no way is Coachella keeping Travis Scott off his stage.

Just as Will Smith took over the Oscars Sunday night, drowning out all the other important message of the evening with his violent machismo, Kanye West says he intends to have Travis Scott perform under his banner.

If he had a gun handy, would Will Smith have shot Chris Rock instead? IMO, very possibly.

We see these arguments play out in gun deaths all over America every day. And contrary to what some social activists are saying, it IS our free speech right to comment on the Oscar event as white people. In our case, AOC rides the butts of white men far more than Black men, who have no lock on machismo-driven behavior.

When I see Black activists arguing for muzzles put on he mouths of anyone but members of the Black community — well, I don’t mean to be a smart a## — but it sure sounds like segregation to me. Seriously!

My issue has always been with America’s testosterone-driven, Bible-toting, gun-loving culture.

These past and promised acts are just as lawless as the January 6 insurrection. Ye doesn’t have to abide by the laws of America, just as the Proud Boys don’t have to abide by them. And they carried big Christian crosses to the insurrection against the US Capitol.

Kanye West honestly believes his favored relationship with God — who sees his tremendous genius — makes him not answerable to the lowly laws of America or Philip Anschutz, owner of Coachella. Kanye will do as he damn well pleases.

Watch the Ellen video and you explain to me how to rein in Kanye West. I can’t imagine this man in a corporate GAP meeting. ~ Anne