In the thrilling limited series Fight Night: In The Million Dollar Heist, the audience meets the character of Vivian Thomas, a powerful woman, played by Taraji P. Henson. While she’s a fictional character in the story, she is partially inspired by a real person: Barbara Smith girlfriend to Gordon “Chicken Man” Williams who was involved in one of the largest robberies in Atlanta. Therefore, how similar is Vivian Thomas to the real life?
The Real Barbara Smith and the 1970 Heist
The same year in 1970 Barbara Smith had the misfortune of being involved in a heist that occurred after a boxing match in Atlanta. Her boyfriend, found in this context as Gordon “Chicken Man” Williams was a hustler with criminal inclinations, and both owned a house, in the Collier Heights’, which became a conduit for the ‘million-dollar heist’. On 26th October 1970, while the entire city was keenly watching Muhammad Ali’s boxing match, Barbara was engaged in a party planning.
However what unfolded in the following night was a complete anarchy and a very perilous night. The robbers who wore black masks and were armed to the teeth invaded the house at gunpoint thereby taking the guests hostage including Barbara. As more proactive than the real Barbara, with whom she was compared, the character Vivian Thomas was a protagonist of fiction and had no other choice but to obey.
Vivian Thomas vs. Barbara Smith
Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist series enhances the part played by Barbara Smith through the personality of Vivian Thomas. Whereas, Barbara was a real lady who was a victim and accidentally dancing on the party, Vivian is depicted as a women, strong and determined. One of the scenes to capture a viewer’s attention is when Vivian is forced to dance by one of the robbers — a storyline that is not realistic in any way. This creative liberty in the show is intended to focus on one of the robber’s cruelty and to make the storyline more suspenseful.
Vivian’s character is also romanticized in fiction when she escapes with Chicken Man another episode never witnessed in the real sense. Actually, in the reality, one of the hostages Barbara and other had to accompany the robbers during their escape. The robbers later let the women go and also provided them with cash to hire a cab and go back to the house.
Barbara Smith life After the Heist
In the film Fight Night, the character of Vivian Thomas becomes more layered, and her struggle is revealed after the robbery incident; however, the real-life Barbara Smith returned to her simple life after the robbery. After the robbery, she and Chicken Man proceeded to the police station to state their innocence claiming like everyone else, they were victims. After that, Barbara faded from the public and by June of 1971, reports in The Atlanta Journal and Constitution Magazine suggested that she had gone out of sight.
On the other hand, Vivian Thomas’s character progress in Fight Night is of her becoming empowered and moving on to a better station in life with the experience. During an interview with Vanity Fair Taraji P. Henson for her part in emphasize that she has a strong woman who works for herself and try to use her problems as the motivation for the young American dream. This kind of character evolution is imaginary and is used to ensure that Vivian has a hero like status in the series.
Talking of the role she played in Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, Taraji P. Henson described it as a “full-circle moment” in her storied career, expressing intense emotion. She thought about how this production ties together her career, having collaborated with such notables as Samuel L. Jackson, Don Cheadle, Kevin Hart, and Terrence Howard. Henson said she was afraid of being blackballed following her public remarks against Hollywood’s pay disparity during the press tour for The Color Purple, but she ended up feeling more empowered. She wants other women to feel empowered to speak up in challenging circumstances by her performance in Fight Night.
Why the Changes?
The change of main character’s name from Barbara Smith to Vivian Thomas a more alive and significant character is a typical feature in many real life stories movies. As much as Barbara played the real-live heist as a key-member, her victim-supporting role might not have had the bang for the television series. In crafting Vivian Thomas, the series writers could get at the perhaps complicated and meaty issues of the heist’s aftermath, but also really investigate the life of a Black woman in mid-1970s America.
To sum up, Vivian Thomas is not a realistic representation of the real life Barbara Smith; however, the character is based on her with a lot of dramatization added for the sake of the plot. However, true story of Barbara Smith may not be as exciting a story as depicted in Fight Night but it is an assured part of the history of Atlanta and America, which this writing brings out effectively in the mash up of fact and fiction. For exclusive insights and the latest on Fight Night: The Million Dollar Heist, visit otavo.tv.
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