From the moment it began, I was carried into this strange, beautiful world that was both familiar and completely alien at the same time. Binti, this young girl from the Himba people, decides to leave her home to attend Oomza University, which is like the most prestigious school in the galaxy. Just imagine, leaving everything you know—your family, your traditions, your identity—and stepping onto a ship that’s literally going to another world. The courage that took hit me so hard because I kept asking myself, “Would I ever be able to do that? Could I walk away from everything I know to chase something bigger?”
It is a trip that begins by being exciting, almost adventurous, and then--bam--it turns to something more sinister and somber as the Meduse attack. That scene... I tell you I had goosebumps. You have all the classmates around you, people you don’t even know, and the next second, you can scream and make a noise, and you are dead. The Meduse kills nearly everyone in the ship, and how Nnedi has recounted it made me think I was seeing shadows flying about, blades flashing through air, blood streaming without a sound. It is that type of violence which makes you take a breath. But somehow amidst all that Binti does not perish. Not only because she conceals herself, but because of her identity, the very thing that makes her special the otjize, the clay she covers her skin and hair with. It is that little piece of her culture that is her weapon, her lifeline, her life.
When she finally touches the Meduse I was ripped in two. And here she was, scared right out of her wits, but trying to find a point of contact. The scene where she makes use of her edan, this weird, old type of technology she had always had with her, to communicate with them was a kind of magic and science clashing in a single delicate moment. It reminded me about the way we so easily overlook what we bring with us, those little things we so easily believe are mundane only to turn out to be exceptional at the right time. The Meduse, these dreadful creatures, suddenly were no more than monsters--they had pain, anger, a past. That cracked me open. I found myself wondering how many times we have branded people-and whole groups of people-as dangerous without even hearing them out.
And the twist? That was something else. It was powerful to see Binti not only be a survivor, but also be able to negotiate with Meduse and become their harmonizer, literally, a bridge between two worlds. She was only a schoolgirl but ended up being the type of person who would halt a war. It was not superhero strength either--it was compassion, cleverness, and the power to remain herself despite her being shattered and frightened. By the time she finally enters Oomza University with all that, she is not merely a student. She is a person who has scars, literal and figurative, but also possesses this unimaginable power.
To me, the aliens, or the spaceships, or the high-tech marvel of it all, was not what I found unforgettable about Binti. It was the closeness--the sensation of her loneliness when parting with her family, of the horror when she hides in the ship, of the heart-pounding courage when she addresses her foes, and of the sweet and bitter satisfaction when she arrives at her destination. I just couldn’t quit reflecting on how her experience reflects the experience of so many of us: entering unfamiliar realms, bringing along our culture and identity, and discovering that it is these things that we thought made us different that are our biggest gifts.
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