‘African Queens: Njinga’ review: Jada Pinkett-Smith’s Netflix series on the original Woman King

When the West African kingdoms of Matamba, Ndongo, Luamba and Congo were colonized by the Portuguese, foreigners misunderstood the country as “Ngora” and named it Angola. Bantu(opens in new tab) A word meaning “king” as the name of a region rather than the monarchy it represents.

This is a kind of misconception exploited by the “Mother of Angola”, the legendary Queen Nzinga.

African Queen: Bike, A new four-episode documentary from Netflix, executive producer Jada Pinkett-Smith and documentary production company Nutopia, explores the life and reign of Queen Njinga, an African queen who successfully fought against the Portuguese slave traders and influenced the nation. Explore the true story of

Queen Njinga was a formidable warrior as well as an excellent tactician. Not only did she resist the Portuguese invasion of Ndongo for more than 30 years of her reign and dealt a serious blow to the West African slave trade during her reign, but she went from princess to queen regent, and not one but her. transformed into the ultimate Ngora of the two kingdoms. She was baptized and given the name “Ana de Souza”, but her real name was “bicycle cart”(opens in new tab)or “King’n Zinga” remained.

Given the constraints of budget and schedule, Pinkett-Smith made a wise decision to choose documentary over fiction.The result is a docudrama mini-series African Queen: Bikeis a collaboration between Pinkett and writer Perez Owino (Bound: African vs. African American) and Nene Iuji (Tudor House Productions). The team made extensive use of reenactments and, with the help of a hand-picked group of experts, filled in the missing pieces of the story of Ngingham Bandianade Her Queen Sousa.

Bike vs. Nzinga: Which Is Right?

Mispronouncing Queen Njinga’s name was a common mistake among Westerners. It has been suggested that he signed the document using various spellings, such as and “Zinga”. The language spoken in Angola is “Nzinga” with a silent “n”.

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The Portuguese invasion of what is now Angola took place 30 years before Nzinga’s birth in 1583, when the people of Matamba were kidnapped and enslaved to work on sugar cane plantations in Brazil. The Portuguese managed to infiltrate the territory using competition between the local nobility. Many nobles were willing to betray neighboring kingdoms to avoid being ruled.

The series begins with an adult Princess Carrot played by Adesuwaoni (The Witcher: Blood Origins), already a fierce warrior and favored by her father, Ngorá Kia Samba. Her brothers, Princes Mbande and Kiluanji, warn of betrayal from the Portuguese-influenced northern kingdoms, but the princess suggests they go to sources and deal directly with the Portuguese. doing. Before either scenario can unfold, Ngola is killed by a traitorous general.

It is well known that Nzinga came to power after the death of his brother Mbande. But the docudrama sheds new light on the circumstances surrounding her brother’s bloody ascension prior to her reign, including the brutal treatment of her family and the underestimation of the Portuguese military.

Reproduced in English, the series features key moments in the lives of Nzinga and her sisters, balanced with interviews with prominent groups of historians. Professor of Art History at Yale University Images about missions in the early modern Congo and Angola, Professor of Legacy and Memory of Slavery at the University of London, Europeans in Africa: The Hidden History, Luke Pepera, Ghanaian anthropologist, Africa: written from historyamong other things, are featured and provide historical context.

African history told by Africans

Unlike most contemporary Western documentaries that rely solely on American historians to narrate (or misinterpret) aspects of African history, Pinkett Smith and the Nutopia team work with prominent Africans such as Rosa Cruz e Silva. We ensured historical accuracy by calling on the historians of The Angola Archives (1992-2008) provide an accurate account of everything from European politics in the region to daily life as monarch of an African kingdom.

one of the most exciting voices African Queen: Bike It belongs to Queen Diambi Kabatusuila, the current female king of the Bakwa Runtu tribe.The traditional ruler of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s coronation ceremony, she breaks down everything from her ancestor worship to the practice of women of royalty taking their male consorts with them, but Shaw Rumor has it that she killed each of her lovers after putting them to bed.(opens in new tab).

Scripts sometimes take liberties. For example, writers Owino and Iuji consciously included that both Nzinga’s father, the King, and his successor, Mbande, suffered from depression. A lot has been written about Ngola Mbande’s failure to take the initiative and Njinga’s having to step in and consult him on numerous occasions. The series also addresses the theory that Mbande’s mental state may have led to his suicide. It is possible that he poisoned his brother.

Slavery in Africa

It is also well known that Nzinga was a formidable warrior, working for the Portuguese and forming an alliance with the Ngolan marauders Imbangala, who were active participants in the slave trade. However, her alliance with her warriors has made her the most powerful person in the region, allowing her to provide refuge to formerly enslaved people, giving hope to communities across the region, Powered by numbers.

The docuseries does a great job exploring the minefield of politics and violence Nzinga had to navigate in order to stay in power. Despite their opposition to enslavement, the Ndongo do not shy away from the fact that they enslaved many of the people they conquered. I work hard to point out that I was not exposed to the horrors of chattel slavery that I had practiced over the years.

African proto-feminism in the spotlight

African Queen: Bike Not only does it shed new light on one of the most formidable and misunderstood heroes of African history, African proto-feminism(opens in new tab).

In this series, before Nzinga came to power, the most powerful woman in the kingdom was gap, or spiritual advisor to the throne who served as advisor to Nzinga’s father and her previous brothers. Later, in negotiating with her Portuguese, Nzinga demands recognition as the “Queen” of her own country (at least 200 years before her). Dahomey Women Fought the First Battle).And most of her reign was ruled by Nzinga and Her sisters Kambo and Funji named Queen Kambo regent before her death.

4 episodes of season 1 african queen Well written and incredibly informative. However, replays can be redundant. Some wonder if he can tell this story in three episodes. Likewise, medium shots and close-up shots are used almost constantly, making it almost impossible to visualize the metaphor of Queen Nzinga’s imperial vastness.

Some of the violence depicted may be too much for younger viewers, but this tale of Queen Ninga’s tale is informative, and the demon’s performance holds the story together. ”black trauma burnoutPinkett Smith and her team should be applauded for speaking the truth about slavery. 12 years of slaverylevel of brutality.

Instead of portraying Queen Ninga as an emotionless resistance fighter, through the passionate performances of the demons, this docudrama depicts a woman who loved her family fiercely and more for the future of her country and her people, a woman who spent most of her life in war. Reveal the warrior. And in the name of survival, I made choices that no one else would.

African Queen: Bike It will premiere worldwide on Netflix on February 15th.(opens in new tab)