Though Tyler Perry's latest film "Straw" has left the top 10 on Netflix, it's still being talked about all over social media. Specifically, a very interesting theory about the major plot twist of the film is now being widely dissected and we've just got to discuss it. Warning, spoilers below!
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If you don't know, the film stars Taraji P. Henson as Janiyah, a single mother whose world unravels in chaos in one day as she struggles to care for her ill, eight-year-old daughter, Aria. From losing her apartment, getting fired from her job and struggling to cash her last paycheck for her daughter, Janiyah is pushed to the brink and forced to essentially "rob" the bank all in the name of her daughter's wellbeing.
Well, despite the already high tensions, the film gets flipped on its head towards the end when it's revealed that Janiyah's young daughter has actually died from a seizure the night before. However, after watching the movie over again, many Black folks on TikTok now believe that Janiyah's daughter may have been all along--meaning from birth--and that she never existed in the first place.
To prove that theory, in a now viral video, viewers are pointing to a scene where Janiyah is walking out of the hospital holding a blanket that's wrapped around her child. Given the position she's carrying it in, viewers surmised that it was Aria as a baby--not as an eight-year-old. They also point to the fact that the principal at Aria's school was confused at seeing Janiyah "drop her off," especially given the fact that the child is deceased.
In another video, it pointed to the scene where Janiyah asks her neighbor to turn down the music so her daughter could sleep, but the neighbor is cold and confused at the ask. Given all these scenes, many are starting to believe Aria was dead from the very beginning and that she was a figment of Janiyah's imagination the entire time as a form of coping with the grief.
And while that theory seems plausible for some, for others--it still doesn't add up.
"I hate when yall come up with yall own narratives after a movie or someone tells yall wtf is going on already! She DIDNT IMAGINE HER CHILDS ENTIRE LIFE. The child died the day before at the hospital at 8 years old as they stated DASSIT," wrote one user in the comments on TikTok.
"THIS IS INCORRECT!!! The daughter was real and had seizures. The mother let her bathe alone, and she fell, had a seizure, and died. Her mom rushed her to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead, and she only left with the blanket," one other user said. "But in her mind, she couldn’t accept that. So the next morning, she woke up and imagined everything — taking her to school, paying $40, going to work. The movie opens with a dream of her holding her child, but ends with the truth: the blanket was empty. That was the day her mind broke."
Added another: "Nope...the child died the previous night...Even the bank manager said it that she's seen her with her kid."
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