Black Panther stars to feature in movie adaptation of Chimamanda’s Americanah

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Nigerian feminist and author, Chimamanda Adichie has stated that a soon-to-be released movie which is an adaptation of her novel Americanah will feature Black Panther stars, Lupita Nyong’o and Danai Gurira.

Speaking with BBC’s Focus Africa, Chimamanda also took the time to talked about how marveled her family are in knowing that people actually pay to hear her talk.

 

On the movie adaptation of her novel, Americanah, she said:

Danai [Gurir] is writing. She’s going to do the screenplay and I love that she’s doing it. I think it’s going to be very good. 

She’s sublime. Her thinking is sublime. She has a fantastic mind. 

And I love Lupita [Nyong’o] obviously. 

Lupita optioned the book very early on actually. Yeah, she read  the novel and optioned it very early on.

So, she’s going to play Ifemelu. We’ve agreed that the Nigerian accent has to be done right.

On Misogyny, the mother-of-one said:

I think maybe one of the best illustrations is the kind of automatic hostility that people feel the minute the subject of feminism comes up. So, people don’t want to engage with it. 

The idea of misogyny, that i dea that women are somehow inferior, isn’t something that only men have, women have it too.

It’s like the air that we breathe. Wa all breathe in misogyny. 

So we all have to make the decision to un-breathe it.

Women judge other women, particularly powerful women, more harshly. But it’s important to remember that it’s also a result of patriarchy. In the end, who is benefitting? That’s the question.

When women judge other women harshly, It’s men who are benefitting.

Speaking on family, the author of Purple Hibiscus said:

I have a wonderful family. And that’s actually why I can be who I am. 

I was raised by the most wonderful parents who allowed me space to be who I am. 

My siblings, I have a very close-knit circle of friends, and then I have a wonderful family. I have a wonderful daughter and her father is a wonderful man.

So, I have that support system and they keep me, you know, sort of normal. 

I don’t really remember that I’m “famous” when I’m at home. Because, also my brothers just laugh. They’re like, ‘people actually pay money to hear you talk? Why?’

So, hearing that often, or when I wear clothes that I think are very lovely, my brother will look at me and be like: ‘What is happening?’

So those things are very good for me.

chimamanda adichie