‘The Woman King’ sits somewhere between the cringe of 'Coming to America' and the fantasy of 'Black Panther' in Hollywood’s troubled history of stories about Africa.

Dr. Aje-Ori Agbese, professor in the Communication department of the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley, joins host Kai Wright to discuss Hollywood’s spotty history with stories about Africa and the cultural significance of the new blockbuster hit.

Companion listening for this episode:

Somebody, Sing a Black Girl’s Song (5/16/2022)

An intergenerational meditation on Ntozake Shange’s iconic Broadway play, "For Colored Girls Who Have Considered Suicide/When the Rainbow Is Enuf."

“Notes from America” airs live on Sunday evenings at 6pm ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts. To catch all the action, tune into the show on Sunday nights via the stream on notesfromamerica.org or on WNYC’s YouTube channel.

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Notes from America airs live on Sundays at 6 p.m. ET. The podcast episodes are lightly edited from our live broadcasts.

‘The Woman King’ Isn’t a Biopic. So What?

Notes from America with Kai Wright