Terrible Episode 4: I Watched Netflix African Queens Njinga So You Dont Have to

[@okthatscrazy]

I elect you the defender of History

[@VampireQueen696]

Him and metatron

[@ammunity6890]

The keeper of the sacred Tomes

[@okthatscrazy]

@@VampireQueen696 fr

[@vatic1091]

I second this

[@Deridus]

So it is written, so it is done.

[@neodigremo]

So, to sum up the main issues. 1) The series refuses to admit that she, and the African nations in general, were practising slavery all along and the Christian nations of Europe simply joined in. 2) The series refuses to show her as anything but "I win girlboss" and so glosses over any compromises, negative actions and complicity in bad deeds. 3) She was perfectly willing and desirous to become a Christian and instead reframes it as her wanting to not "lose the ways of her ancestors." Basically they have taken her story as a framework and inserted a modern fantasy of what they wish an African Queen would have been in that times. A disservice to an impressive woman and the people she ruled and sold.

[@firepenguin38]

I detect no lies here lol 😂😂 #facts

[@pointnemo72]

Thanks for the summing-up. Basically Hollywood living in their delusional bubble of how they see the world and its history.

[@seaofenergy2765]

I think slavery was just a thing everywhere in the world for the majority of human history, and in Europe around the medieval era serfdom was essentially slavery anyway. It was really only in the late 18th/early 19th century that (i think starting in European countries but possibly America as well) common people started getting any kind of rights, like being able to vote etc Its something many that are heavy in to intersectional politics appear to like to selectively overlook.

[@Kylephibbsky]

​@@seaofenergy2765Yes. You are broadly right. The concept of slavery as an unspeakable evil is a very recent one. It was practiced the whole world over from Asia to Europe to Africa and the Americas and Australasia. I wouldn't say that abolition was a purely European project but it was that came very much out of enlightenment humanist philosophy.

[@sabregunner1]

This

[@Longshanks1690]

You could make a drinking game out of how many times he says “That did not happen” in this series. 😂

[@LKMNOP]

That would ceate too many alcoholics!

[@hersteinnskuligunnarsson7696]

I think most of us would die of alchahol poisoning lol

[@kingquackie7284]

Dawg thats like, an execution method.

[@KevinTarka]

Please, I'm trying... I'm a 3rd of a way through the video, and I think I'm going to die. I'm srry. I do g think I can finish this drinking gamem.

[@almosteducational3729]

I tried that, I am in the hospital now

[@AzureRoxe]

I don't understand how this blatant attempt at re-writing history has been allowed, TWICE.

[@sim.frischh9781]

Wokeness. They would never dare to refuse anything to Africanism propaganda. And with Jada Pinkett Smith at the helm, they get the money for the production.

[@Pantsinabucket]

@@sim.frischh9781wokeness, or making money? Netflix likely put very little of their own money into this, it’s got a stable audience, and it generates a LOT of attention. Notice how “Queen Cleopatra” was released the same week that Netflix banned password sharing in the US? Do you not think that exploiting that controversy was a deliberate distraction?

[@captaintoyota3171]

Serously just relabel it a docudrama boom then its not misleading

[@slimjim877]

Definitely a combination of absolute laziness with the writers, and a fear of loosing money by showing africas part in the slave trade. Because heaven forbid the fact African kingdoms had an active part in slavery be shown.

[@BWolf00]

It's part of the African-American Afrocentric Revisionism Movement...Jada is one of the high priestesses leaving a myth that her daughter could be proud of. The Woman King was another revisionist arrow in their quiver.

[@hbfb1123]

One day i fear that netflix is going to make a documentary about sengoku jidai in which japan was at peace until the portuguese came and introduced matchlocks to them.

[@LKMNOP]

Don't give them ideas!!

[@danielseelye6005]

No, they would go to the Genpei War so they can do it on Tomoe Gozen and make her a Girl Boss fighting against the Patriarchy and brought peace to the Island. If they go with Sengoku Jidai, it'll be focusing on Yasuke, the Black Samurai.

[@hbfb1123]

@@LKMNOP "Akechi Mitsuhide rebelled against his old master Oda Nobunaga because he could not bare to see his beautiful country exploited through a portuguese puppet."

[@erikrungemadsen2081]

Netflix allready made Age of Samurai: Battle for Japan. It is allmost as cringe as you describe.

[@MarioL3173]

Portuguese are the new scapegoat bogeyman

[@AiLiang-hh2zg]

Congrats, you made a more accurate and interesting documentary on African history than Netflix. Hats off to you, man.

[@flasoyunda6166]

Thats a low bar

[@reeyees50]

13:35 Killed her sister, killed her brother, killed her nephew. What a class act monarch 😂

[@AJHart-eg1ys]

That's how being a monarch was back then though. And there is similar blood on the hands of plenty of European monarchs as well. I can't fault someone back then for eliminating contenders to the throne any more than I can hold it against any of the Founding Fathers that they owned slaves. Again, that was pretty much what you did if you held certain positions back then.

[@liamroarke7991]

This and Cleopatra have officially killed any faith I had in Netflix for portraying history in an unbiased way.

[@guynemer53]

I'm still mourning the loss of history on the History Channel....

[@jeremyyates1026]

​@@guynemer53you and me both. Went from great documentaries about the world wars and tons of other stuff to hey let's make up some stuff about oak island and aliens.

[@zombieregime]

LPT: no entertainment entity is obligated to represent anything in an unbiased way. If you always agree with somethings outlook, try to see the bad in it. I preemptively apologize for the many things that will be soured for you..... Also, no entity in the world is obligated to act in your best interest. Ever. There are zero exceptions to this rule. Even you can do things that are bad for you, including what you believe is right. Welcome to the juxtaposition of existence. Again, I am deeply sorry.

[@Nerathul1]

The problem with this series is that its wants to give GIRLBOSS role models for black american girls, except here Queen Njinga is somewhat directly responsible for a lot of the past 400 years or so of slavery and opression african american have faced. Without her influence there might have been less slaves in the new world.

[@pollyparrot8759]

A very inconvenient truth for the race grifters, isn't it?

[@Sabundy]

That's the entire problem with Americanizing African history. It's going to be almost entirely turned into bull💩💩💩💩💩💩

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

More slaves now than ever before in human history. More people = more slaves. It’s simple math.

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

Aside from democrats bringing in illegals to use as neo slave labor. Slavery is abolished in all white western nations. Yet, there are more slaves now than ever. Why? Because China needs laborers and hundreds of thousands of little girls are sold all over the planet. Thats the sad truth, slavery isn’t dead. It’s real, it’s happening right now, but it doesn’t push reparations for African Americans so no one in our cultural sphere brings it up.

[@misanthropicservitorofmars2116]

Actually help those in slavery right now? Nah, gotta get dem reparations from whitey, am I right brothas?

[@7591mb]

Jada Pickett Smith's African Queens series has two more entries. I hope you'll continue your analysis of the series. Your C!eopatra and Njinga content was excellent. I'd say Netflix should have had you on staff, but I don't think historical accuracy was the main consideration.

[@akirajotaro]

The worst thing is: this series wasn't the first of Netflix's terrible "documentaries" and it certainly won't be the last. Enough pseudo-intellectuals believe these lies to keep Netflix going with this. I'm still pissed at how terrible their Japanese history one was.

[@cariganpintalba9498]

I’d love to see a review of to that one. I have no idea what is and isn’t accurate about the Japanese “documentary”.

[@jeremyyates1026]

Netflix has honestly started to become similar to history Channel. History Channel went from very good historic documentaries from the revolution and the world wars to hey let's make stuff up. Ahem curse of oak island and ancient aliens anyone.

[@akirajotaro]

@@jeremyyates1026 at least the History Channel is focused on things that can easily tell to be faked. Netflix is grounded enough that people don't need to be conspiracy theorists to believe it's real, just uninterested enough to not look beyond the surface level.

[@jeremyyates1026]

@akirajotaro you'd be surprised how many actually think that stuffs real lol but yeah I agree Netflix is too close to being in between

[@Ninja_Geek]

Come for the historical commentary and knowledge, stay to see Stak lose his mind at how inaccurate and/or incomplete the information presented is.

[@Zmanath00]

It wouldn't bother me so much if they just classified these as what they are. Historical drama and not a documentary.

[@LKMNOP]

And as a historical drama they wouldn't even be able to say the usual title "Based on a true story." They'd have to use the even lesser title of "Inspired by a true story." 🤪

[@rustygribbler1380]

Bro Jada Pinkett Smith made a bunch of nonsense about Cleopatra . Egyptians are PISSED and out for her head .

[@Raximus3000]

May we see it rolling and by that i mean her going to court and explaining herself.

[@als3022]

I have been pleasantly surprised with Africa. THey have been telling the woke off repeatedly recently. Nice to see.

[@Raximus3000]

@@als3022 It is not an 100% conscensus on the populace though, the afrocentrism which is a woke idea has some followers.

[@FiberOptikAssassin]

Keep my wife's name out yo mouth lolol

[@rustygribbler1380]

@@FiberOptikAssassin whatcha gonna do cancel me after I won my very first Oscar lolz

[@DianaMayeDesigns]

She's such a complex character with a three dimensional story that includes good, bad, and very ugly things. It's a disservice to her that they didn't tell her real story.

[@EyeOfTheWatcher]

Correct and there was already a film about her that came from the people in Angola. No need to reinvent the wheel.

[@BARelement]

Hopefully that same energy with the narrow mustache guy.

[@isaiahjones9528]

I heard STARZ is making a series about Queen Nzinga and it's being made by Africans I hope they are accurate in everything.

[@BWolf00]

The problem is with the African-American Afrocentric Revisionism Movement...not Africans...but I do hope they don't make a liar out of me.

[@isaiahjones9528]

@@BWolf00 I can't disagree this is afrocentric based but it's not entirely it to blame but the people who are extremely uneducated, they speak of white washing and not telling the fool story but many on the other side are doing the same thing.

[@BWolf00]

@@isaiahjones9528 Sure white-washing has been done, but (edit: I believe) it's more ambivalent and less a conspiratorial endeavor...a school book editor removes/reduces history to a back story, another editor for a new book reduces the back story to a line and date...the masses now believe the "sanitized" history. Don't get me wrong surely there has been the blatant white-washing, but by-in-large it's based in the history written by the victor...or the race/ethnicity of the educator...or ethnic identity, like how God's "image" always seems to reflect the race/ethnicity of the worshiper's society. What I see different is the constant distortion of both current and historical events...Rosa Parks, Malcolm X, Trayvon Martin & George Floyd (BLM), the Hollowood Black-washing, Roots, The Woman King and now Jada's African Queen "Docmentaries" (which should be called "mocumentaries"). These efforts seem to be currently and actively constant in everything; politics, culture, education, media, entertainment...at least to these American eyes and ears.

[@IXScasualty]

Having nearly worked at STARZ as a teenager (which I ended up leaving before even getting to LA), I can’t say I’m entirely hopeful…

[@ibrahimihsan2090]

Accuracy in everything is incredibly difficult. Most people will make at least some mistake when making documentaries.

[@rodrigocordeiro1138]

Hello relatively new sub hear. Thanks for the grate video. You haven't mentioned this and maybe i only noticed because i'm Portuguese, it rely bothers me that they used the Portuguese republic flag instead of the monarchy flag of the time.

[@claudiafernandes1150]

I can not believe this... in the last episode I talked with a Dutch and he was like 'since they are giving Njinga the superhero treatment I am actually curious to see how they will portray the Dutch since we were allies" my response was that giving any European nation any sort of good or accurate representation didn't seem to be important for Netflix and how they would probably paint the Dutch as her bitch.... I am so sad to be right

[@EyeOfTheWatcher]

They was allies up to a point until it was no longer in Njinga's interest, but make no doubt about it she was partner with the Dutch because it severed her purposes for a time.

[@FredCunha-mk6nw]

As a Portuguese person, I don't think I need to add anything historically beyond what you said in the video. Only that every time I've talked about this with people, it never ends well. Being bullied and ostracised by your ancestors' actions is... less than pleasant. Yes, they did horrible things. But they weren't the only ones, certainly not the worst ones. Tell that to Morgan Freeman, though...

[@bonefetcherbrimley7740]

What happened with Morgan Freeman? Also hello!

[@FredCunha-mk6nw]

@@bonefetcherbrimley7740 Hello there. Morgan Freeman is heavily... displeased, to keep it more polite, with Portugal and Portuguese in general because of beliefs that are showed in this Netflix "work". Although he's had it for his whole life, essentially, they are the same as that of the people that made this "documentary" about Njinga. That we invented slavery, that we committed genocide which makes no sense. How do enslave a people you've committed genocide to? But he's unbudgingly firm in this position, no matter what and sadly, as I've seen from this Netflix... piece... he is not alone.

[@Raximus3000]

@@FredCunha-mk6nw So, a privilaged actor who is not that smart is incapable of learning history. I wish he and Tomas Sowell debate each other.(yes it would be an one sided slaughter)

[@GnohmPolaeon.B.OniShartz]

Folks forget there was a big period where Europe basically trashed on Portugal instead of taking credit. The money came from somewhere, yo. Theyve recently been doing similar pushing England away from the Dutch east indies as if the brits had absolutely nothing to do with it. Or how England was seemingly the only impirialists if you ask Americans at least. Humans have a real hard time being objective of their ancestors.

[@FredCunha-mk6nw]

@@GnohmPolaeon.B.OniShartz Or just being objective in general. If it's not fitting to an according narrative that somehow benefits them, then it's wrong, no matter what History says. It's not like these African Kingdoms didn't talk about this themselves. In fact, we partly only know about some of these depraved and complex histories because of their more primary sources.

[@willek1335]

Angola and Portugal needs to get together for a law suit against Netflix.

[@mansamusa8410]

Should benin sue the creators of the woman king

[@willek1335]

@@mansamusa8410 I've not see it, so I don't know. What part of it was wrong? What do you think?

[@vansan2120]

Angola would never go against it, it make portuguese look bad and they feel special about having an amazing Queen. Portuguese in other hand, are not willing to fight American wokeism

[@clarenceonyekwere5428]

Who wants to sue that "hey Netflix should have portrayed us as slavers or slave trade"

[@mansamusa8410]

@@clarenceonyekwere5428 exactly why would Angola sue someone for not portraying them as evil slavers ,screw you netflix how dare you not portray us as bad people .

[@Just_some_dude_guy]

Fun fact: all of the excuses they make to njinga also applies to Portugal and Netherlands. Both nations were engaging in excessive slave trade at that time because both were under a Spanish attack, all while the Portuguese dominions in Brazil were under Dutch attack. So, technically, Njinga, Portugal and the United Provinces of the Netherlands were all using the slave market to fund their independence wars. However, they will never portray this fact, since it doesn’t agree with the narrative they were going on. Even worse, it glosses over her actual victims, the African people SHE enslaved.

[@miguelsilva1446]

Holy shit i didn't think about that😂

[@bulldowozer5858]

Netflix not completly denying African involvment in Slavery challenge [impossible]

[@SgtRocko]

This clearly was another programme made by people with an agenda, who had to have STUDIOUSLY avoided talking to even a single African historian. Children in African schools are taught better history. When I lived in Ghana I was constantly told - PROUDLY - by my neighbours "Look on European maps, they didn't know what the rest of our country was like because we didn't LET them anywhere but the forts". And their ethnic groups remember VERY clearly who sold whom to the Europeans. None of them ever said that Europeans raided, they knew it was the victors of wars selling the losers. It was in Africa where I was first told that more slaves were sold to the Islamic East than to the Christian West. A lot of the conflicts in Africa now are between the same ethnicities that were sparring back then. The Europeans were hideous for buying the slaves... but truly, they were even more hideous for the imperialism that happened centuries later which drew maps that exacerbate conflicts & continue to cause bloodshed. God help us if echt narcissist Jada attempts to portray THAT complicated period of history - she can only portray single issues in the most simplistic and LAZY manner possible.

[@ir9567]

Or maybe what those sweet Arabs did to us and continue to do so.....

[@LobstersLobsters]

Atlantic slave trade was 12mil africans over 400 years Muslim slave trade was 11-15m over 1200 years. Responding to false history like this netflix show with equal amounts of whitewashing doesn't help anyone. Europeans exploited cultural traditions and manipulated groups to enslave each other, intentionally creating power imbalances to then exploit for cheap slaves. The Atlantic slave trade was industrialized compared to the Muslim slave trade and far far far different in nature from African inter-tribal slavery. You can see this in the numbers. 12 million Africans over 1/3 of the time. The industrial nature amplified the scale and brutality of slavery on the African continent. That drive for maximally cheap labor to produce sugar and cotton didn't come from the Arab/Muslim world. It came from Europe and the Americas. The multi-generational removal of young and fit Africans robbed their continent of stability and health, leading to ongoing instability and conflict. Slavery has different forms, all terrible.

[@NoPantsBaby]

It's amazing how they want to Retcon African kingdoms as not being slaver kingdoms so DESPERATELY.

[@EyeOfTheWatcher]

Some where and so where not, so each should be approach by a case by case basis and not doing blank approach. Life is complex and it seems like Neflix and others seem to think that people can not handle the actual facts.

[@fringer6]

I wish the "Noble Savage" archetype would just end. It's been used as a vessel for inaccurate narratives for decades. Preferably, if something isn't deemed accurate, it should have to have a large disclaimer at the beginning, informing the audience that it's historical fiction. It wouldn't deter the idiots, but it would at least inform the ignorant.

[@charlotteluker2146]

I’m pretty new to this channel, but thank you for defending history and holding massive corporations like Netflix to a standard of historical accuracy that is blatantly neglected anymore

[@YCCCm7]

At first I was giving them the BOTD all the way, to be nice. "Oh hey, that's an odd couple of details to leave out. Certainly gives a bad look" type mentality, but no, at this point this is clearly just full blown revisionism. Holy shit.

[@Almost3331]

Thank you for covering this kind of topic. There are a lot of media personas who will cover topics such as this, but is it always framed to cause outrage/rage bait for political jousting. It is so refreshing to see someone who is well learned and only gets upset with history being rewritten. I feel like I actually learn when watching.

[@palehorseman8386]

I think that Jada and her crew really want to find Wakanda

[@pollyparrot8759]

Whilst they're looking let's hope they also find a few brain cells and a hefty dose or two of reality, truth and common sense.

[@palehorseman8386]

@@pollyparrot8759 sigh... that ship has sailed my friend.

[@pollyparrot8759]

@@palehorseman8386 Sadly, I think you're right.

[@EyeOfTheWatcher]

They actual believe in stuff that some people taught that was running a long con on people. Just like I tell people about Marcus Garvey is that just because he was one way with certain people that does not mean he was like that with others. I gave specific examples to a Marcus Garvey supporter about what he did specifically in my state that cause him not to be well like among the black population at that time and they just stopped replying because they could not handle the actual truth about a person that they held in high regard.

[@MasterRazzer76]

This is like if a dictator made a documentary about himself and being very dishonest by leaving out the flaws and terrible acts.

[@naerbo19]

I feel this is an accurate representation of the fantasy series.

[@Firellius]

Don't apologise for speaking passionately to this subject, it's part of why I've been watching this entire series. All the passion with which you speak of African history makes me all the more interested in it. Makes me wish we'd get better documentaries on it.

[@tanuki88]

Congrats on the massive success with this series

[@justacutie.]

I'm Portuguese. We study about the colonial era but we don't study this type of stories (that are interesting). One year mentioned is 1640, that year is the restoration of the independence (we were under Spain control during 60 years) I wonder if the approach to these negotiations and lots more was different since 1640

[@atilaohuno1471-_.]

In Brazil, the focus of this period is the sugar cane cycle, the Dutch invasion of northeastern Brazil, colonial slavery, the Quilombo dos Palmares and the expansion of the Bandeirantes into the interior of Brazil in search of Indians to enslave

[@mordreek]

I am shocked, shocked that a show that was about agenda pushing horribly mangled the history of the subject matter. Truly, who could have seen this coming?

[@JB-yb4wn]

I am as a shocked as you! Makes one want to get out their quill and pen to compose a letter of moral outrage to the producers of this jeremiad! Utterly outrageous! 😆

[@MichaelOnines]

Your winnings, Sir.

[@bnine6669]

They did alright I thought, no worse than ottomans or the others they’ve made. It’s usually expected as they love a good protagonist. Also it’s hard to cover everything about a figure as dynamic as njinga in a few episodes when half the content is re-enactments. She should’ve gotten 2 seasons and skipped cleopatra, and chose the one eyed queen who defeated Augustus, I forget her name but she’s an awesome figure.

[@als3022]

@@bnine6669 Yeah that's why they are lying by omission so much.

[@BWolf00]

"Truly, who could have seen this coming?" Anyone watching Jada, either for one hour or over the years. I pose one question, given Jada's propensity for "entanglements", what are the odds that Jaden, "their" first born first male child...named after Jada...is Will Smith's son

[@KapralkijGames]

Portugal should sue Netflix for defamation

[@VampireQueen696]

God....can netflix just stop? Please!?

[@hologaming6163]

Prob not

[@VampireQueen696]

@@hologaming6163 one can only hope...

[@kevinrwhooley9439]

Netflix also has a docuseries series creatively called 'Roman Empire', which looks into the lives of Julius Caesar and the emperors Caligula and Commodus. Maybe that might be worth an in-depth analysis?

[@micke1888]

This series was amazing, and to clarify, I meant yours and not the one Netflix created. Please analyze more bad documentaries/docuseries.

[@visualartsbyjr2464]

So I was right, Netflix has turned into The “History” Channel.

[@allendepacheco3419]

I think it's actually worse than History Channel. At least with history channel, it talk about conspiracy theories like ancient aliens and 2012 apocalypse that an average Joe would assume it's just false info. Netflix on the other hand is simply mixing historical fact with blatant misinformation to the point that an average Joe would think most of it is true. If someone didn't see this video and saw the documentary, they can accept the document at face value. History Channel misinformation can't be taken seriously due to how crazy it is, but Netflix can be taken seriously which promote the spread of these type of misinformation.

[@ibrahimihsan2090]

Must be financially struggling.😂

[@houjous5131]

I feel like these 'documentaries' are meant to make Jada Smith feel better about herself...

[@sagashistoriquesafricaines140]

Jada be like " She had Male concubines. Let's green light this shit!!!"

[@mrcheeto1006]

"Wow she's just like me! Fr fr"

[@williamaycock579]

I appreciate your willingness to subject yourself to things like that for me. I’d be busy yelling the whole time.

[@Zmanath00]

You should start putting out a companion video to these, describing the nuances of their history

[@SharmClucas]

I can't find the story again to double check if my memory is correct, but I heard that one of the supporting actresses in this went to this area of Africa after filming and was horrified to discover how completely wrong the "documentary" was and now wishes she'd never been a part of it.

[@BWolf00]

That sounds more like the Woman King actress Lupita Nyong'o who had a principle part, researching her character she learned more about the Agojie women warriors and rejected the role.

[@SharmClucas]

@@BWolf00 That's probably the story. I really couldn't remember it well and trying to look it up didn't work.

[@BWolf00]

@@SharmClucas If you didn't already know, while The Woman King is not a documentary it too suffers from African-American Afrocentric revisionism. In that case instead of the Agojie fighting to end slavery they were fighting to preserve their slavery hegemony.

[@SharmClucas]

@@BWolf00 That explains why I got them mixed up. The problems in retelling are almost identical.

[@BWolf00]

@@SharmClucas I dare say that this theme will be replayed again and again throughout Jada Pinkett's African Queen series. Edit: I should say themes, as this channel/review points out, slavery is hardly the only legacy being revised.

[@bulldowozer5858]

It's nessecary to call out their inaccuracies as often as they appear, as these lies by omission or actual lies shall not be permitted to fester unchallenged.

[@shaneshay6420]

I love your series on shining a light on history that gets, let's say a special treatment. This makes me want to go and research this whole thing myself, which if I'm not alone is amazing. People should be more interested in historical accuracy and what it can teach us for the future. Anyway, thank you for your amazing content. Hope you keep making great videos in the future.

[@sedevri864]

You are doing the work that is needed. Keep up the fight for truth.

[@jsjth2]

It's all about rewriting history, one entertaining(they wish) lie at a time.

[@davidunderwood9728]

Its incredibly ironic they can't show her actually doing badassery because it goes against their narrative.

[@1003JustinLaw]

Netflix should make a docu-drama starring the no-no-moustache man and his weird-wave Yahtzee party, how they fought for human rights and economic prosperity while struggling with the threat of outside enemies who wanted to slaughter his people, how he went to great lengths to protect the vulnerable populace in his country by hiding them away in guarded camps but still it didn’t keep them safe from the foreign agents who killed them and blamed their death on him.

[@The_Helmet_Head]

Sweet I just got done watching episode 3 and was waiting for your episode 4 😂

[@funifin]

Same! I finished 3 and was like well dang I wonder went the next one will post got off work and boom here we are. A great day indeed

[@The_Helmet_Head]

@@funifin literally thr exact same thing here 😄

[@Longshanks1690]

It is perpetually frustrating that Stayuki keeps describing the history of a woman I actually want to see brought to life. Njinga sounds like a fascinating character, born with a tenuous connection to the throne she had to spend her whole life fighting tooth and nail to keep, balancing tradition and modernity in a new era where she represented an underdog faction. Yet, against the odds, through her sheer ruthlessness and savvy political skill, managed to secure her place against the powerful interests aligned with the Portugese who were determined to get rid of her. And throughout all of this is the background of the slave trade, something she had no moral opposition to but wished to use to maintain the power others would seek to take from her. There’s a lot of complexity and powerful motivators going on here that I’d love to see presented properly… but that’s never going to happen, because telling the truth about African Girlboss Kween is blasphemy, apparently.

[@HellbirdIV]

That's exactly the thing, and honestly, you know the worst part of it? It's sexist. Really. Think about all the documentaries made about great MALE rulers in history, from Alexander to Genghis Khan, Julius Caesar to Qin Shi Huangdi, Shaka Zulu to George Washington - bad documentaries will certainly show bias and cut out the complexities of the real history, but the truly great documentaries and docu-dramas always go out of their way to show these men in full, for good and ill. Julius Caesar was a great leader, a master tactician and politician.. and he also carried out an extermination campaign against the Gauls we today can't consider anything but a genocide, in order to control his conquests, and he well and truly drove the Republic to its end for his own ambitions. Qin Shi Huangdi was the first man to unify what is today China, a semi-mythological figure because his reign serves as the start of a Chinese identity... and he was absolutely insane, had his own family members murdered to secure his power and poisoned himself with mercury trying to pursue eternal life. Both the good and the bad of these great men of history gets presented, in as full as the documentaries can manage, to show them as complex, flawed human beings who nevertheless had a tremendous influence on the world as we know it today. But if the historical leader was a *woman* ? Oh, no we can't show anything *too* untoward! We can't make her look weak, or cruel, we can't make her appear *unlikeable* ! She's a Role Model™ for Brave Young Girls™! Black girls need someone to look up to! Oh, the person we chose was a literal *slaver* ? That's okay, we'll just pretend she wasn't instead of like.. asking ourselves why the fuck we picked a slaver to begin with..

[@EyeOfTheWatcher]

There is already a move about her that was made with the support of the Angolan government, it was well balance.

[@aaroncraft2474]

You should do a review on Gods and Generals and Gettysburg. And how they really glorify the American Civil War and the Myth of the Lost of Cause.

[@samuelakande9669]

I am actually learning more from your commentary than the whole documentary

[@Roguecipiter]

Netlfix turned documentaries into docufantasies

[@thechronicler1453]

You and Metatron are the two mighty warriors fighting against these disgraces

[@weareharbinger914]

The idea that Africa was totally chill and had no wars of slavery before Europeans arrived is so incredibly laughable.

[@laisphinto6372]

slavery wasnt even that much of a big deal and just seen as another trade product ,but i think the europeans a very rich trade partner with massive demand for it made african kingdoms overreliant on slaves because the one african kingdom that traded with the europeans became massively rich and a defacto empire . it was a bit short sighted but better you selling the slaves than your rival selling you and him getting all the european wealth and weaponry. when the europeans stopped trading with the africans it nuked their Economy that was built towards the lucrative slave trade and quick shifting was Impossible that made them weak for direct european takeover

[@ir9567]

@@laisphinto6372 Ghana? But the Arabs centuries before were making the most out of African slaves..

[@EyeOfTheWatcher]

@@ir9567 The Ghana of today is not the Ghana of the past, totally different location area for the most part. While slavery was going on in west Africa before Islam came, it did expand massively due to the influence of Islam. Slavery is evil regardless who does it, in my view point, as you are depriving a person of their freedom. Not all of African ethic groups participate in slavery, but there was enough who did that cause those who refused to be almost be wipe out or go into hiding (there was one ethic group that move their people to live on the water to avoid enslavement and there is one group that their whole identity change that they are know to today by the word meaning those who resents).

[@nickverbree]

We all appreciate you suffering through this so we don't have to

[@lukeclarke267]

Stand up for history, not re-written docu-drama garbage (This is not a documentary, regardless of what they label it) to sell THE MESSAGE.

[@jensphiliphohmann1876]

20:55 _...she's given back her sister and everyone is happy..._ I'm a bit confused: Is this sister another than the sister who was captured, found guilty of espionage and killed?

[@AJadedLizard]

Something I appreciate about your videos on this is how fascinating Njinga actually was. Like, she's a truly impressive person and I'm interested in reading more about her, and her complexities just add to that. So, thank you for the context you've provided here.

[@jensphiliphohmann1876]

11:50: _...is because they didn't want to complicate her character further._ Of course. It didn't serve the narrative that black = good and black + female = even better. Villains can only be European or some corrupt spineless African collaborators, the black queen must be a stainless hero.

[@mansamusa8410]

I mean can actually calculate who's committed more genocides in history spoiler alert it isn't Africans its Europeans you don't get to claim you have the highest iq and than not take responsibility for everything wrong with the world

[@vahaneloyan]

Have you ever heard of the Queen of Kush who defeated Augustus ? Maybe Netflix will do a “documentary series” on her. I wonder if they’ll do an ant-slavery angle on that, too.

[@bnine6669]

That would be awesome !! But you’re right producers always want the lead to be shown as a protagonist, which takes away from the complexity of the characters.

[@vahaneloyan]

@@bnine6669 Netflix will shit all over it.

[@ianmacdiarmid1249]

Strictly speaking, she didn't. They invaded Egypt and sacked three cities. The new prefect of Egypt marched south and defeated them. The resulting peace treaty had Rome giving up some claims and exempting Nubia from tribute to Rome, but it wasn't a defeat for Rome.

[@vahaneloyan]

@@ianmacdiarmid1249 she forced them retreat for a short time.

[@KashTube-n8y]

@@vahaneloyan She didn't. When the Prefect actually marched against her she started making overtures for peace. When he retreated she raided the lands. Then the Prefect defeated her.

[@NewGuy2534]

Next you'll know they'll make a movie about Dahomey and leave out the slavery, plantations and human sacrifices they did.

[@Mewton87]

I would very much like to see you do a series on the 300 movie I know it's not technically a documentary but it sure as hell kind of comes off like one to me and I've always wanted to see scrutinized. Either way love your content😊

[@someromaboo]

Idk, diegetically it is implicitly a propagandist tale, it is told by a Spartan to motivate other Spartans for a battle. I guess it could be fun to compare it to history in a fantasy vs reality kinda way.

[@ntfoperative9432]

Eh, while it is fun to point out the inaccuracies, don’t take it too seriously, unlike this, whose primary purpose is to teach, 300s primary purpose is to entertain

[@darquemode1165]

These Netflix African Queens 'documentary' series are documentaries like Spinal Tap is a documentary.

[@rancor6858]

thank you for doing this. love the content

[@saoghail9769]

Netflix's motto: Because fuck history.

[@jonathonrodriguezthomas6457]

This was a very informative series to watch, I am wondering though how Netflix's Age of Samurai holds up against actual history.

[@TG-vn7is]

Queen D: You've taken many of my people as slaves! Portuguese: You gave us a "chair" as a gift and said you had many more "chairs"!

[@snelhestarna]

I know i shouldn't have expected anything more after the Cleopatra series. But that "ambush", where they just jogged in while hollering was so bad it became funny. All in all, excellent work with this episode Stak! How about looking into some older history channel style documentaries on the nazis in ww2? Like about overhyped wunderwaffen or the veneration of certain "clean" Wehrmacht generals that was fairly common?

[@johnr797]

I hope they make an African Queens series about the most powerful queen to rule over Africa, Queen Victoria.

[@csx00]

This is irrelevant, but I wanted to say that I'm a fan of your podcast, and KZbin channel. Podcasts aren't my go-to for entertainment, so tbh yours is the only one I listen to. Listening to you and Gabby discussing history is very entertaining and gives me a "Sherman and Mr. Peabody" vibes, which I love. Thank you for all your hard work in spreading historical facts.

[@SJJensendk]

Sounds like Netflix being Netflix.

[@alexutzcel]

The amount of history gymnastics that was required to write this.... thing, is mindblowing.

[@ellielhessan]

Thank you for your sacrifice... hahaha.... I wouldn't last 5 minutes watching the abomination masked as documentary by Netflix. The first time I saw Cleopatra's trailer, I knew this docuseries is the worst produced by Netflix, and you have sacrificed yourself to watch it for us. Now, again, you did it.. respect. Also for fellow history lover, know that Netflix has done this twice and frame other cultures as bad, there's no telling what they can or will do in the future. if this trend doesn't stop, I really don't know who will they paint as bad guy next time.

[@Luna334443]

Netflix did one on the Last Czars - watching this has been incredibly educational

[@mr.flibblessumeriantransla5417]

Excellent analysis. History is never as theatrically crisp and cookie-cutter as people imagine, and such blatant mischaracterizations actually do a disservice to the legacy of individuals by turning them into props of modern vanity.

[@MohamedGX]

It's a real shame. Netflix used to really care about truth and complexity. Black mirror especially the first 2 seasons was amazing.

[@electricangel4488]

As a dutchman i am offended no dutchman would ever skirt around the topic of a trade good. its be very basic. ''Guns for slaves, your crown secured for slaves, your only economic value is slaves. The price is negotiable our interests arent'' kzbin.info/www/bejne/h5uUlJp4fpqlmqs < thats a dutch trade delegation

[@domenicoallegri3935]

"Rise of the Empires: Ottman" (also on Netflix) would be an interesting series to analyze. Like this series despite having a documentary approach makes a lot of stuff up or dramatize it in a cringy way. Not to mention a lot of Turkish propaganda

[@bosertheropode5443]

I think it was alright, Constantine was portrayed in a good light if I remember correctly.

[@domenicoallegri3935]

@@bosertheropode5443 I don't know that much about the fall of Constantinople. So I am not talking about the first season but there are a couple of details which I found a bit misleading (such as the use of huge cannons as main weapons and the arrival of Venetians in the end) . But I know a lot of the campaign against Vlad. And the way the show was made is terrible and made in order to make the Turks and Muhammad a lot better than they were. Not to mention the whole theme *They won with diplomacy against a murderer is outright ridiculous*

[@bosertheropode5443]

@@domenicoallegri3935 I only watched a bit of the first season, it was relatively decent as far as I remember. I have no clue about the second one.

[@domenicoallegri3935]

@@bosertheropode5443 First It does not mention that Mehmed sign a treaty with a few other countries (before the fall of Constantinople) for them not to give Vlad any men to retake the kingdom while he is in exile before this all thing. And the whole series is basically Mehmed the general who never does any evi who fight against a genocidal terrorist and completely wins a war (while in reality they just have a coup EXACTLY AS there have been dozens against previous Voivodas. Not to mentions Turks kill a lot of cattle and civilians while looking for the Romanian army). Also it never mentions the war against Moldova and that Vlad had to split his forces. Plus in the end Vlad is killed and his head is brought to Constantinople while in reality we don't know what happened to him.

[@bosertheropode5443]

@@domenicoallegri3935 Turkish propaganda basically

[@Fatherofheroesandheroines]

Jada Smith and reality are not in the same universe.

[@courier6516]

I wanna see him go over the new "all quiet on the western front" instead of doing a bad history, give him a break and let him break down ww1

[@OmniCheeksss]

This is more of a CW drama than a documentary

[@quinnlewis8454]

There's another serious called Rise of Empires: Ottomans. I think you would should do that one next

[@Quincy_Morris]

It’s not just lying by omission (bad enough) but it looks like they are depicting events which are the opposite of what happened. It’s not ahistorical. It’s anti-historical.

[@wonkothesane182]

I'd love to see you cover The New World; that 2005 Pocahontas/John Smith movie. Growing up in Hampton Roads and working next to the Jamestown settlement, knowing the bare bones of the real history, that movie pissed me off but I'd love to see you pick it apart. (Plus my friend was head chef at a restaurant Colin Ferrell would frequent during filming and she said he was atrocious, which makes me dislike the movie even more.)

[@isaiahjones9528]

This whole docu-series is a I am woman I can do no wrong like men mentality with a piece of I can defeat any man mentality and a side of I am a strong woman mentality. You know I have great respect for women in history across all races and nationality but this is stupid Jada Pickett and other women who made this truly completely ignore the barbaric acts women leaders did during these times just like men did. I mean every leader that was a man from warlords, rebels, kings and emperors did some things that would make you think on was it necessary, but they are completely saying in this documentary that black women can do no wrong or women are better because they are not barbaric. The tee warrior is in there for a reason, "war" is in warrior which means that a person goes and does wars maybe not like a soldier but they still did wars. This is really ridiculous!!! I can understand filling out certain things that we don't know by detail to detail on but erasing what we do know of a person is stupid. Let's get real Nzinga did things like a man so that people could respect her she had 70 young men concubines who she would force to fight for her in order to have sex with them then kill them, that's what you call a succubus. And to go a step forward she also forced her concubines to dress in womens clothes and for her dress as a man she would even have people call the concubines women. So if no one's calling this out or showing this in the documentary then what they are saying is that it does not matter. You basically have a black woman who is a queen purposely femenise and kill black men, but they are not talking about that side of her, either show all of her story or nothing at all.

[@bnine6669]

Oh lord they leave out tons of stuff in most documentaries, when half the program is re-enactments and it’s only a few episodes, there’s gonna be alot left out, same with every other Netflix documentary, ottomans, Rome, Japan. If you focus too much on the atrocities committed there won’t be time for the more influential things that occurred, because historical figures were all about atrocities 😮 Njinga was a very interesting and complex woman with a fascinating history, I thought they did an alright job of telling her story, I wish there more seasons about her so they could’ve gone into more depth but it’s Netflix and we only got a few episodes. If Americans were more interested in history these shows would get bigger budgets, more seasons, and better production, but most are to ignorant to understand the value of our forebears stories, much less the capacity to understand it.

[@isaiahjones9528]

@@bnine6669 Facts

[@danbaumann8273]

"a power fantasy." Yeah.. Pretty much all it is.

[@vaflerdeig1818]

Could you make a video about the heavy water sabotage and the nazi plans to build a nuclear weapon? I think it is a very interesting subject and not enough people talk about it

[@samuelloomis9714]

They turned a complex character into a one that's 1D and aligned with moddern morals. They even avoid3d anything complicated, detracting from the feats she accomplished. A missed opportunity for a great story.

[@Lorisa25]

I want a movie about what and who she really was b/c it sounds fascinating AF I also want it to follow some of the African 'priests' she enslaved & had sent away b/c WHAT

[@TheScienceNerd100]

Went to my home page at the right time, seconds after this video went live

[@JC-gv6sq]

Great breakdown of the series, got to wonder where they got their experts from, it's too detailed and targeted to not know the real history and a blatant attempt to frame only the message they want to show. You can't do that with someone who only skimmed a history book looking for standout points to showcase.

[@Zentron]

It's almost as if Netflix and Jada had an agenda they wanted to push! 🤔

[@EyeOfTheWatcher]

I still want to know why they partner with Jada in the first place, as there are many film makers that have been trying to get their projects off the ground for years and actual would based their films about historic evidence..

[@jacobjohnson6189]

Is the pirate one at least more accurate than these have been? God i hope so, it was a good watch and exposed me to the Wydah Galley.

[@Doomer_Optimist]

A point about the line "you've already taken countless of my people." Njinga definitely would not have seen the slaves she sold as "her people." These were enemies that she took captive through combat and raiding. It's not like she was going out to her backyard and just snatching up some locals to sell off.

[@solybossjeck5477]

i thank you for your suffering so we don´t have too

[@virginiapellerin2269]

I love how you correct this.

[@them_that_loudly]

Anyone who enjoyed this video will also most likely enjoy Miniminuteman's critique of "Ancient Apocalypse"

[@davenobody26]

Thanks I'll give it a look.

[@peterzhang1884]

Perhaps Age of Samurai?