Sotheywereextremelysupportive, but I thinkit's thething I wasblockedorlimitedbywhatthelargestsocietysaid, youknow, andthefactthat I didn't seewhatitwas I wantedtobe, So I didn't knowitwaspossibleforsomeonelikeme, allofthatrhymed A secondtalent s just a sortoffollowingaboutthat.
Well, I wascuriousaboutthembecause, ofcourse, I'd heard, youknow, a littlebit.
I hadheardwhispersoflike, oh, AmazonsofAfrica.
Butwhatdoesthatreallymean?
Andwhoarethey?
And I wasveryawareofhowoftenwehavetocontendwith, umoutsidehisunderstandingofwhowewere.
So I wasreallytemptedtogotheremyselfandvisitandlearnedthatstoryfirsthand.
I lovethecontinent I'm from I'm curioustolearnmore.
I feellikemostofmyeducationhasbeensoEurocentric, Youknow, I wentto a Britishsystem.
SchoolsarelearnedabouttheThamesRiver, evenif I hadnevervisitedit, youknow?
And I feellikeit's Itwashavebeenover.
Youknow, the I wanttosaythelastdecadeand 1/2 ofmylife, I'vebeenveryawareofmyneedtounderstandtheAfricancontext, whichiswhat I'm fromknowingwhereyou'refromnewingaboutone's history.
And I justfeltlike I wasfullofgratitudeandalsodeeply, deeplymovedandsadevenbecause I wasjustlearningsomuchsoquickly.
Yeah, thankyousomuch.
So, towardstheendof a documentary, itdefinitelygetsquiteemotional.
I guessyousawitfeltlikeyousetoutwithanideaofwhatthegoodYearwomenwerelike.
And I justwasinterested.
No, whatwaslikewhentheideawaslaterunchallenged?
Well, youknow, I didn't reallygoinwithanysortofpreconceivednotionsastowhotheywere, because I knewthatwewere I wasillinformed, So I wentinwithanimpressioninmyimpression, windasfaraslikeOh, theyweren't.
Theyinspiredthedoorbell, Ajay.
Theymustbeveryvalued.
Butthengoinginthere, therewas a valoronvulnerabilitytothesewomen, youknow, itwasnotallclearcut.
And I wasreallygladthatthisfilmwasnotaboutpassing a judgment, youknow, itwasn't a testtoseewhethertheywereworthyoffouradmiration.
SodidanyoftheprocesswillmakeyouthinkaboutyourownKenyanheritageandancestry, and I'm notsureabouthowmuchyoualreadyknowaboutit, Butdidanyofitmakeyouwanttofindout a bitmore?
Yeah, itreallydid.
And I rememberatonepointweweresittingwith a queeninhercourtyardandtheyweresingingAnayAncientsongoftheirgoodyear.
Atonepointtheyaskedmetosing a songfrommycultureand I wasstumpedbecauseeverysong I knowinmymothertongueLulis a Christian.
Himand I knowmyculturegoesfurtherthanthatbecausetheChristianityinmycultureisfromcolonialism, and I couldnotidentifyonesonginmyheadThatwasfrombeyondthat, andthatmademevery, verysad.
And I wrotetomyparents, I thinkyouguyshavetoteachmesome.
Someofyoursongsdon't involveinvolvedJesus.
SobetweenformslikeBlackPantherfilmslikeTheLionKing, itfeelslikeAfricanstorytellingishaving a bitof a cinematicmoment.
Whydoyouthinkthatis?
I don't know.
I'm not a scholarandshowthere's someonesomewherewhostudiedthisgreatlength, and I willdefertothem.
But I thinkyouknow, it's aboutwhohasthekeystotheculturaldoorandthatisshifting.