Nimona and the Stories that were Wrong | Falcon Talks
A moment in Nimona that spoke to me as a writer...
Hi everyone!
So, I recently watched Nimona, and I loved it!
As a writer, one moment in the story really stood out to me, and that's-
Oh, right - thanks for the reminder. đŸ˜…
I'm about to spoil the heck out of this movie.
So, if you're about to leave because of that, I just want to say that it was a great sci-fi fantasy movie about a knight who's been framed teaming up with an outcast shapeshifter to try and clear his name, with plenty of heartfelt moments throughout. So if that sound interesting to you, I think you should give it a try!
Nimona was based on the graphic novel of the same name by ND Stevenson, who also has a Substack called
!But yeah, spoilers ahead!
Alright, first, to recap the relevant events leading up to the moment that stood out to me. (And if you haven’t watched the movie yet, warning that there will be a mention about suicide.)
Throughout the film, the characters talk about the story of Gloreth, the legendary hero who, a thousand years ago, defeated a monster and established an order of knights to defend their walled-off kingdom.
Pretty much all the characters believe this story at the beginning of the movie, and are thus (at least, initially) indoctrinated in the institutions and orders that have been built up around it.
Ballister, the main character of the story and a knight, is framed for the murder of the Queen and goes into hiding. He meets a shapeshifter named Nimona while trying to clear his name.
Throughout the story, it’s revealed that Nimona was the ‘monster’ from a thousand years ago that Gloreth supposedly ‘defeated’, that the story of Gloreth is an exaggeration to the point of fabrication, and that Nimona isn’t really a monster.
Events then lead to a heartbroken Nimona taking the shape of the monster in the legends and going into the city, so that she can die by suicide by stabbing herself into the sword of a giant statue of Gloreth.
Of course, to onlookers, this just looks like a giant monster rampaging through the city.
Luckily, Ballister manages to stop Nimona, and they hug atop the sword.
However, the Director of the knights is still holding steadfast to the stories about a monster that she's been told and believed in for all her life, and she's willing to fire a cannon that will wipe out half the city and kill innocent civilians just to kill this monster, Nimona.
Goldenloin (captain of the knights), after seeing his lover befriend the so-called ‘monster’ and getting Nimona to stop her rampage through the city, questions these stories that they've been told, and he says this:
The Director pauses…
But then…
… she decides to fire the cannon anyways.
That moment… the moment when Goldenloin asks, "What if we're wrong? What if we've always been wrong?" - that really spoke to me, as someone who writes stories.
This scene, and the rest of the movie that led up to it, made me pause and think about the stories that I've written and the stories that I've heard.
Especially if the stories involve a marginalized group or a historical event or things like that - things that are… important to get right.
Yes, fiction is fiction - but it can and has been used to spread harmful ideas and lies.
I do a lot of research into trying to tell the ‘right’ things, but I imagine that I don't always get it right.
And I bet that most of us know of, at least, a story or two that we've believed for most of our lives, only to find out that it was wrong later on.
I'm sure that most of us don't want to spread around falsehoods that could end up hurting people (as the story of Gloreth ended up doing in the movie).
How then, as a writer, could I avoid doing that?
There is always research, of course - but I'm still fallible, and I can't know everything.
But that doesn't mean that I should stop trying.
I don't have any easy answers for you. This post was really just to express what I felt at that moment when that scene came up, because I thought that it would be an interesting/important topic to think about for my fellow storytellers out there.
I can say though, however, that I'll keep trying my best.
Anyways, Nimona's a great film for more than just that!
If you haven't watched it yet, and what I've said sounds interesting to you, I highly recommend it!
Let me know in the comments what you thought of the film, about writing stories, about believing in stories, or about anything that was discussed in the post.
For now though, bye!
My family loved Nimona! It's also really hilarious in addition to the important message.
I haven't watched Nimona nor have I read the graphic novel but the animation in this is so pretty! It reminds me of the Arcane animation style but watered down a bit.