WOMAN KING: THUNDEROUSLY cinematic

The title “The Woman King” is as compelling and complex as the film. The Hair Therapy tribe and company dominated row five for the Big Show viewing @ the Alamo Drafthouse in Woodbridge, Virginia this past September.

The movie description:

In the 1800s, a group of all-female warriors protects the African kingdom of Dahomey with skills and fierceness unlike anything the world has ever seen. Faced with a new threat, Gen. Nanisca trains the next generation of recruits to fight against a foreign enemy that's determined to destroy their way of life.

Review: Rating 5/5

The film was undeniably cinematic. The colors crisp. The shots well planned scenic. The casting with the exception of John Boyega was phenomenal. He looked promising but his accent in my opinion didn’t translate to a believable African accent. He didn’t emit the type of power or fear Daniel Kaluuya gives me when he raises his voice. Thuso Nokwanda Mbedu who played Nawi stole my heart.

I enjoyed watching this film because I felt seen and understood. It shows a woman’s ability to fight, plan, sacrifice and rejoice. While I am not a warrior I identify with the concept of going against the grain and the burden of being responsible for multiple peoples livelihood.

The film reminds us all women don’t solve problems in a mild mannered fashion and sometimes compliance is not enough to get the job done. Watching “The Woman King” with a group of amazing African American women really made it one of the most memorable movie experiences. If you missed it watch the trailer here.

The Matriarch of the Family Turns 90

My grandma Maraian Hopkinson was born in Guyana, South America September 23rd, 1932. She married my grandfather Lionel Hopkinson and moved to America when she was 45 in 1977. She was a midwife in Guyana and in order to continue that work in the US she worked as a home health aid and acquired a GED.

Eventually she became a pediatric nurse at North Shore hospital in Manhasset, NY. Grandma worked the over night shift. She left at 9pm every night and took several buses with a travel time of over an hour.

In 1987 she purchased a new contraction home in Brooklyn, New York. I was four years old and I remember the fence being installed and the trees being planted.

In 2007 she retired from North Shore hospital after 30 years of service and has since travelled to Africa and her home country. In 2010 she transferred ownership of her home to her son, Dale Hopkinson (my dad) and granddaughter (me).

Currently in 2022 Marian is 90 years old. She still lives at 1936 and enjoys listening to her great grandson,Issa Hopkinson, play the guitar when he visits.