Netflix has come out with another great original based on the book, “Nappily Ever After,” one of a series, by Trisha Thomas. The film “Nappily Ever After” released on Sept. 21, 2018, by the director Haifaa al-Mansour — a Saudi Arabian Woman. From a majority black cast to a powerful message, she created a groundbreaking movie on many fronts with an amazing soundtrack to accompany it.
The movie follows the lead character Violet Jones — played by Sanaa Lathan — through the challenges she faces as a black woman in today’s world. The story begins with a young Violet being taught to be perfect by her mother. Cutting to a much older Violet, the story continues to show how her mindset to be perfect affects her relationship with Clint, her boyfriend of two years. From there onwards, Violet struggles to let go of the person her mother raised. She struggles to discover who she truly is.
An intersectional group of people that face a lot — if not the most — discrimination, would have to be black women, and this movie does an exceptional job at bringing their challenges to light.
“It really goes back to how sad, how tragic it is for a little black girl—and it’s only just starting to change—to have to read stories like Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Rapunzel, and Cinderella, and it’s not her, and then you’re told as a woman that you’re not beautiful.” Sanaa Lathan said in an interview with Vanity Fair.
One of Violet’s priorities — instilled by her mother from a young age — included having straight hair. The director made sure to reflect the challenges — both internally and externally — black women face involving their natural hair. Internally, society teaches them to hide their natural hair, because it’s not “professional,” it’s “difficult to manage” and it’s “unattractive.” Moreover, externally, they receive hateful comments from classmates, coworkers and even strangers.
Another theme that played a significant role in the movie is the advertisement industry. The film openly showed how most product advertisements are sexist: from makeup to beer commercials.
With Violet being an advertising executive in the movie, she herself had commercial ideas that degraded women and boosted the ego of men. These ads intend to make women feel insecure about themselves as well as overly sexualized and contribute to the current rape culture present in our college and work environments. And the director used Violet’s job as the perfect platform to convey the message to the audience.
Although I could go on pointing out the fantastic messages this movie brings up, they might involve some spoilers. So, I’ll let you guys find them on your own once you watch the movie.