By Hassan Habibat Temitayo
The recent movie Straw. has sparked different reactions among students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto. The film deals with serious topics like injustice, unfair treatment at work, racial and class inequality, and how the justice system often fails people. It touched many viewers emotionally while also drawing some criticism.
Straw was produced by Tyler Perry, Angie Bones, and Tony Strickland. The movie stars Taraji P. Henson, Sherri Shepherd, Teyana Taylor, Glynn Turman, Sinbad, Rockmond Dunbar, Mike Merrill, Ashley Versher, and others.
The story follows Janiyah Wilkinson, a single mother living in a run-down apartment with her sick daughter, Aria. After helping her disabled neighbor Benny with some spare change, her landlord threatens to evict her unless she pays the rent by 10:00 a.m. At her job in a grocery store, she gets insulted and attacked by a rude family, and her boss makes her clean up the mess. Even though a friend offers her money, Janiyah turns it down.
Janiyah’s daughter, Aria, gets hurt at school, but her boss refuses to let her leave work and threatens to fire her. When she finally gets to the school, Child Protective Services takes Aria away, saying Janiyah isn’t fit to care for her. Later, an off-duty police officer harasses her, and her car is taken. She loses her job and gets evicted from her home.
As the movie goes on, it shows deep issues like grief, trauma, mental health, poverty, injustice, unfair treatment at work, racism, class struggles, and the challenges of being a mother. The strong story has brought many emotional reactions from students at Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS).
A Heartbreaking Portrait of Systemic Failure & Human Resilience
YUSUFF, SODIQ KOLAWOLE, A 300 level law student of UDUs shared his view on the movie.
After watching Straw, I felt deeply emotional and heartbroken. I don’t usually like heavy dramas, but this one felt so real it pulled me in.
Taraji P. Henson’s role as Janiyah a woman facing poverty, loss, and being failed by the system was powerful. Her pain felt real. This movie shows how badly society can fail people.
The movie’s message really hit me hard. It showed how, when the system keeps failing people and mental health is ignored, tragedy can happen. Janiyah’s story felt real because many people in our society are going through silent struggles single parents, people hiding pain behind smiles, families just one problem away from collapse.
One scene that stuck with me was when the bank refused to cash her check. It showed how unfair the system is to poor people. But the biggest shock was finding out about Aria’s death it changed everything. It made me see Janiyah’s actions in a different, more human way.
The film brought up a lot of emotions anger at the system that kept failing Janiyah, frustration at how society ignores people in pain, but also small moments of hope from kind characters like Detective Raymond and Nicole. Their care stood out in a world full of neglect.
Straw felt real. It showed everyday struggles bad jobs, housing problems, ignored mental health, unfair treatment by police. These aren’t just movie scenes they’re real life for many. The film makes you think: who’s really to blame when someone breaks down?
The actors made the story even stronger. Taraji P. Henson truly became Janiyah. Teyana Taylor played a caring cop, and Sherri Shepherd’s Nicole reminded us how powerful kindness can be.
The twist about Aria changed everything, turning Straw into a powerful look at how grief can distort reality. Tyler Perry’s writing exposed deep trauma, leaving a lasting impact. Straw isn’t just a movie—it’s a wake-up call about neglect and compassion. It stays with you, long after it ends.
The Unseen Depths of a Mother’s Love and Pain
Muhammadjawad A. Oloruntoyin, A 400 level law student share his own view about the movie.
Straw left me quiet and emotional even after it ended. It showed the deep pain a mother can feel when love and loss become too heavy. The film opened up feelings I didn’t expect, showing how strong a mother’s love can be and how it can lead to sadness when there’s no help from anyone.
The most painful part was finding out Janiyah’s daughter had already died. That moment broke me. It wasn’t just sad it was shocking. Her grief made her believe her child was still alive. That twist changed everything, showing how loss can affect the mind so deeply.
What stayed with me most after watching Straw was the deep sadness not just for Janiyah, but for all the real mothers going through the same kind of pain. The film made me think about how society fails women, especially struggling mothers. Some of them stay kind even under pressure, while others, like Janiyah, break down when life becomes too hard.
I saw the ending coming, but it still hit hard. The movie wasn’t meant to shock it showed us the truth we often ignore. I don’t look at movies like a critic, but the emotions in Straw were real and powerful.
Would I recommend it? Yes, but not for fun. I’d recommend it so people can understand what some mothers go through every day. It shows how close someone can be to falling apart when love is the only thing they’re holding onto. Straw isn’t just a film it’s a reminder of the pain many carry silently. It leaves you asking: How many more women like Janiyah are suffering right now?
The Film That Makes Us Confront the Invisible Pain Around Us
ISHAQ, AMINAT HANAFI, A 300 level law student of UDUs shared her thoughts,
Straw left me with a quiet heaviness not the kind that screams, but the sort that settles in your bones. It wasn’t bad, not at all. But it wasn’t easy either. The film laid bare something raw and uncomfortable, something about power and who gets to hold it. Maybe it was about race, maybe it was about more than that but it was impossible to ignore the way the world seemed to press down on that woman, harder and harder, until she had nothing left to do but break.
I just kept thinking about her. The waiting those tense moments when you could feel disaster coming but couldn’t look away left me coiled tight, afraid for what would happen next. And when it all unraveled, I wasn’t prepared for how weak it would make me feel. The tears came without permission, the kind that leave you hollowed out after.
That’s the thing about this story it doesn’t feel like fiction. It feels like something that happens, has happened, will keep happening. The way people get trapped, the way systems grind them down until there’s no good choice left. The acting? Flawless. She made you believe every second of it.
I wanted more, though. Not because it wasn’t enough, but because I needed to know she was okay. Even though I knew, deep down, that people like her don’t often get okay endings. That’s the point, isn’t it?
I’ll tell others to watch it. Not because it’s fun, but because it’s true. Because it makes you feel something real. And maybe, if enough of us feel it, things might change.
Therefore, Sometimes the strongest love is the one that survives even when the world tries to destroy it.