Her Campus Logo Her Campus Logo
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at Howard chapter.

I could not pass up a chance to see my fellow Howard alumna in her new movie. This was an amazing time to come out, as it was a week away from Valentine’s Day. What Men Want was released on February 5, 2019, starring Taraji P. Henson and Tracy Morgan.  The movie follows Taraji as Ali Davis, a sports agent who hopes to advance her career. Despite her hard work and success, she is overlooked for a promotion which is handed to one of her male colleagues. Later, Henson’s character drinks a mysterious tea given to her by a psychic, played by Erykah Badu, and ends up hitting her head. She wakes up with the ability to hear men’s thoughts.

This film was a very much needed update from the original, What Women Want. In this film, I admired how the film not only addresses love, but it touched on sexism and racism in the workplace. It shows Henson’s character wanting to change the gender disparity in the workplace. In one scene, Ali’s client, WNBA legend Lisa Leslie, wonders why her agency cares about an NBA-bound player instead of her. It showed that the agency cared more about the other athletes, than her talents. The character, Ali Davis, represents Black women in the workplace who have to struggle in order to get what they deserve. In the end, she chooses not to settle for less. This film is more than just love, relationships, and friendships. It’s about Black women working for what they deserve, and receiving such.

My name is Samaria Colbert. I am a 4th year Computer Science major and Graphic Design minor from Cincinnati, Ohio. I attend Howard University and will be writing for my school chapter. With my major, I intend to go into UX and UI design.  I want to open my own graphic design business and create more jobs for black women in my field. I want to be my own boss.
Her Campus Placeholder Avatar
Deni Dedmon is a sophomore speech-language pathology major from Albany, GA. Her first love was writing but her second love was helping others, which led to her choosing a career in speech pathology. When it comes to her writing, she loves to write about everything, from entertainment (she’s an avid Kehlani fan) to book reviews (she’s been reading since the age of one) to controversial topics and current events (ya know, your average angry black girl things). Being the oldest of five girls, she is also passionate about young black girls, their self-esteem, and making sure that they’re proud of being who they are. At the age of seventeen, she became a contributor for MTV Founders and a spring writer for Affinity Magazine.