Exploring the role of the female warrior in film
Mamawi / Jessemina
The most obvious change in characterisation is that of the other lead character, from the Nubian Mamawi, played by Pam Grier in 1973, to Jessemina, played by Karen McDougal, in 2001. Where Mamawi, like both Boadicias, is captured by a group of raiding Roman soldiers, Jessemina is at the opening of the later film a beloved slave of a Roman named Maximus (he declares she is not just a slave, she is a wife), snatched from her master as a result of his debts. The difference goes much further than this backstory however; for the change from one white and one coloured actress to two white actresses alters the whole tone of the film.
Mamawi’s race is used in the film as a trigger to stimulate aggression between her and between the Roman slave, Livia. The kitchen fight is sparked off by Livia’s provocative and anachronistic comment after Quintus’ death that, "It wasn’t an equal fight. After all the first one Septimus killed was only…. a black", a comment clearly aimed at Mamawi. In the other version, the fight is caused by Livia and Jessemina’s respective attitudes towards Rome. "Romans are nothing but pigs!" declares Jessemina and when Livia tells her to shut up, she attacks the Roman born slave. Thus the whole racist slur has disappeared from the later version of the film, and the message instead is one of Roman oppression.
With the racist element removed, Jessemina’s role and character is considerably weakened and it is Boadicia who is the strong character in the 2001 version. Although Jessemina is a tough and adaptable character whose transition from slave to warrior seem is portrayed well, she is a far less fiery character than Boadicea, whose role is enlarged in this film as noted above. Even in scenes that are more or less unchanged between the two versions, the two different natures of the characters alter the tone. Thus both films involve a scene where Mamawi/Jessemina is sent to Quintus the night before the fight in which Quintus is to be paired against Marcus ("to satisfy their animal heat", in the words of Livia!). In the first version, Quintus leaps upon Mamawi like an animal, with the result that she threatens to cut his throat with a piece of broken crockery and shouts, "The Romans have taught you to live like an animal! Have they also taught you to forget your past?1 The second film also shows Quintus jumping on Jessemina, but she is altogether more gentle in her approach. "Quintus? Where are you Quintus? Slow down Quintus! The Romans have taught you to behave like an animal! Look at you! Quintus….slow down" she says gently, before removing her clothing and smiling at him. Her behaviour here seems more tender than passionate and contrasts strongly with Pam Grier’s fiery character.
Indeed, Jessemina is not even forceful enough to convince the native leader, Claudius, to help the women throw off the Roman oppressors. In the earlier film, Boadicea, ostensibly claiming her right to a sexual companion the night before her fight, appeals to Septimus for help. This scene reappears in the later movie, but another scene is also added, in which Jessemina requests Claudius and begs him to help them. "This is your land and these are your people! The time for asking is over!" she declares, but Claudius remains unconvinced. It is hard to imagine Mamawi begging for aid in this way; but if she did, it would be highly likely that she would succeed in getting what she wanted.
Finally, a major change occurs towards the end of the films, in the final climactic fight between Boudicea and Mamawi/Jessemina. In the earlier film, Mamawi beats Boudicea, and on being ordered to kill the other woman, demands her freedom as female archers suddenly attack. In the later movie, it is Boudicea who overcomes Jessemina and, raising the sword to kill her, instead spins and throws it at Timarchus, starting the revolt. This shift reflects the power and strength of Lisa Dergan’s character, and the relative passivity and weakness of Karen McDougal’s, the converse of the portrayals of Pam Grier and Margaret Markov.
1It is striking too that Qunitus is also black in the earlier version and white in the second. Perhaps the idea of mixed race copulation was too controversial to show even in a soft porn film in the early 1970’s.
