Viola Davis is not just the star. She's the beating heart of the movie. The rest of the main cast are all women. Did you know you were making something that would be game-changing if it was done right? "I needed people to be able to go to this movie and just be enthralled by these warriors"
The historical epic The Woman King, in theaters today, is set in the Kingdom of Dahomey in the 19th century. The kingdom’s elite all-female fighting force was evidence of its enlightened attitude toward women, but its participation in the transatlantic slave trade is a stain on its history. Director Gina Prince-Bythewood and economist Leonard Wantchekon, a descendent of the women fighters, explain.
This episode was produced by Avishay Artsy, fact-checked by Tori Dominguez, engineered by Paul Robert Mounsey, and edited by Amina Al-Sadi and Noel King, who also hosted.
Transcript at vox.com/todayexplained
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