Queen of Katwe, published in 2016 and directed by Mira Nair, is a true story of a girl named Phiona who is originally from the rough parts Uganda and with her own strength and will power becomes a chess champion. The creator of this movie really wanted to emphasize themes of teamwork and perseverance, but also the struggles that native Americans have in these com
munities have of succeeding, especially women in this specific story. Phiona came from a very struggling family, and it took her a little bit for the kids of her community school to accept her. As time went own, she earned her title of being the local champion and earned the trust from her other classmates, and then eventually was led by her mentor through world tournaments and tournaments at high class schools. Upon arrival at these rich schools, the students of Katwe were looked at in disgust because they showed up in clothes that smelled and had holes in them compared to the others who had nice uniforms on. However, the “rich kids” in the story quickly realized they should think twice of judging them because Phiona and the whole class beat out the other rich kids who were meant to win.
Throughout the movie I noticed a lot of injustices that Phiona had to deal with while going through her journey to becoming a champion. Not only was she sexualized and discriminated against for being a Native American, but even I the beginning of the movie her own classmate who were made up of men, looked at her like she didn’t belong because she was a girl and was a victim of being othered. She was a new learner and was looked at to them as not having any power over them, but eventually she gained the power and now the roles changed as the movie went on. Now, the kids who were othering Phiona were now being othered as a group when they arrived at the rich kids’ schools because of their clothes and their smell. They did not fit in and were not accepted. They all grew up in circumstances that they can’t help but that didn’t change how that society viewed them but with personal strength and teamwork they were able to overcome the odds, Phiona as the leader, and be a world champion.
