Episode 558: Review of "The Fire Inside"

[00:00:14] Allow me to welcome you to Drea's Point of View. I am your hostess, Drea, and in the next 10 minutes or less, I will be offering you my perspective on a topic that I feel passionate about. So, make sure that you're following the show and Drea's Point of View on Facebook, threads, IG, Pinterest as well as on X and Spill at Drea's Point and Blue Sky at dreaspointofview.bluesky.social.

[00:00:43] This will be my last review of the season and I wanted to end it with a movie. More of a biopic, a sports biopic. More specifically, a biopic about the American female boxer Clarissa T-Rex Shields.

[00:01:12] And it's called The Fire Inside. Now, I'm actually surprised, or maybe I'm not, that it didn't get much publicity. I didn't hear anyone talking about it at all. And I think I read a few reviews about it. It came out on Christmas Day. So that was really a gift within itself, I think, for a movie to come out on a holiday. I didn't see it on a holiday. I didn't see it on a holiday, but I saw it not long after, and I'm glad that I did.

[00:01:42] Because I didn't know much about the black boxer. And it was very good, actually. I kept my expectations low, like I usually do with most things.

[00:02:00] But I was pleasantly surprised. Ryan Destiny portrayed Clarissa and her trainer was Tyree Henry, I believe. And very good acting.

[00:02:17] She started very young with boxing. I'm not sure how much is true, but she was going to, well, she's from Flint, Michigan. And Flint is known, other than the Forest Water, to be a very, well, look it up. It's not a very popular spot.

[00:02:46] But it's, she grew up in poverty. And she would go to this boxing ring, I guess, or she would go and I didn't see any other girls there. She was a kid. And this guy wouldn't train her, but eventually he did. And she proved herself.

[00:03:12] It was, yeah, she really did. She held her own. It really showed a movie about the struggles of her being in that profession. And, but she actually just really proved herself. She was the youngest and first American boxer to win a gold medal.

[00:03:36] And that was an issue in the film. She needed money after she won. She was expecting sponsors. And like everyone else, you always see people on cereal boxes and getting sponsorships, but nothing was coming through for her. And her coach or trainer actually was trying to really pull for her.

[00:04:03] And he had a job, other job himself. So he would hit the streets and try to, you know, help her out. But it was, took a while. And she basically really had to fight equality for women gymnasts, gymnasts, my apologies, for women boxers. And they would tell her, I would love to represent you, but, you know, there's not much. People don't really want to see, you know, women boxers.

[00:04:31] So, yeah, that was a theme throughout and that she tried to sell her gold medal to help out her family. And, yeah, it was really a powerful story. She still had that fire inside of her. And she wound up winning, I guess, the first one to win an Olympic gold medal. She won them back-to-back Olympics. She started at 17, I believe.

[00:05:02] And she held five world championships in five weight classes. It didn't show much when I read up about, read up on her. It didn't show much about her mixed martial arts experience, but she is experienced in that. And she's also the ambassador for gender equality. Great movie. Check it out whenever it's on streaming. A woman directed it.

[00:05:33] And I remember reading something about how she really was disappointed that she didn't get much support from the other women boxers. And, or just boxing community in general, really. And she actually is also engaged to a fitness trainer. And she has a fight coming up.

[00:06:01] I believe it's February 2nd in her hometown of Flint. So, I'm definitely going to check it out. And I suggest you do so as well. Try and go to your local sports bar. I'm sure you're not going to pay those expensive prices to watch it at home. But, yeah, overall, it definitely was a great movie. I believe that, let me go back and say that actor's name was Brian Tyree Henry.

[00:06:27] But, yes, it's definitely worth catching the fire inside. It shows very, it shows her resilience. And it's good to see a professional, especially a woman of color, in a sport. I do have a positive news story for you.

[00:06:51] And that is one that comes from Philadelphia. There is a group of retired black women who have found a way to help with global health.

[00:07:10] Every week, about 30 women or so, they come together and create washable menstrual pads for girls and women in Africa and beyond. The initiative, known as the Pan-African Sisterhood Health Initiative, provides dignity, health, and opportunity. It was founded by Myesha Sullivan Angoza.

[00:07:38] And it started out of a desire to address the issue of menstrual hygiene management. Angoza says that we don't call it period poverty. We call it menstrual hygiene management. That group is focused on providing a solution for girls who often miss school because they don't have the proper menstrual products.

[00:08:03] They use organic materials, such as a water-resistant layer. And those pads can be reused up to three years, providing a more sustainable alternative to disposable pads. Disposable pads, excuse me, that have been known to have harmful health effects. Good for them.

[00:08:28] I like to hear about that, people helping other women and children especially. I'd love for you to follow, continue to follow the show as well as subscribe. I do have a free weekly newsletter, dreahspointofview.substack.com. You can leave a review at thedreahspointofview.com. As always, I thank you for listening.

[00:08:55] This has been Dreah's Point of View.