Marvel’s Black Panther isn’t just a Movie, it’s the Fairytale Black People Deserve
It’s a shame Black kids today won’t get a chance to travel to Wakanda. It’s natural scenic beauty and its people’s strong traditions tied to the very essence of the land, are things Black Americans rarely experience. It isn’t a perfect place, Wakadans war, fight and politicize just as most powerful countries do. The thing that makes Wakada different is that it’s land, it’s people, its traditions and technology represent Blackness as a superpower in a world where White men are the most prominent nation rulers.
Marvel’s Black Panther (Dir. Ryan Coogler) isn’t a perfect film, there are plot holes and underdeveloped character story lines, but the movie stands as one of Black culture’s most valuable gifts; art that inspires change.
AN INTERRUPTION: A BLACK PANTHER PRIMER
Any discussion of the Black Panther has to start with the context of the precious resource known as Vibranium and why the Panther is tasked with protecting it. According to the lore, hundreds of years ago, a meteorite crashed down on a small mound in Northeast Africa. The space rock turned out to be a metal known in the Marvel Comic Universe as Vibranium — an energy absorbing alloy that is incredibly lightweight and rare. The tribes closest to the crash-landing were said to have experienced form altering effects, becoming “devil-people.” So King Bashenga proclaimed himself as the avatar of the panther god Bast, and protected Wakandans from these dangerous adversaries. Since then, Bashenga and his family line have been tasked with protecting the citizens of the country and its invaulable mound of Vibranium.
To the outside world, Wakanda is just an agricultural society that harbors farmers and herders. Secretly, T’Challa and former rulers have sold off small amounts of Wakanda’s precious metal to amass a huge treasury. According to the MCU, the Black Panther is arguably the richest of the superheroes. You get a glimpse of the nation’s financial prosperity in the Black Panther movie when scenes of the underground light rail are highlighted. The elaborateness of the transport structure is a feat that would require great resources, man power and training — much more than what a nation of farmers could produce.
The mantle of Black Panther is more than a moniker, a cool suit or a funky-looking herb, it’s a legacy that inspires hope. There have been a few people to wear the Panther habit (it’s more like a nun’s uniform than Superman’s tights) but they’ve all belong to the same bloodline as T’Challa and his father.
Now back to the article…
“This isn’t a movie about a Black superhero surrounded by White people.”
This movie doesn’t prop up any cheap and tired narratives on Black culture. It isn’t a movie about a Black superhero surrounded by White people trying to fit into their world. It’s both a great cinematic experience that explores Black identity and afrofuturism and a top-notch Marvel super-movie. What this blockbuster does better than any of superhero film is tackle political and cultural issues while unleashing enough armor-plated rhinos and spear-wielding Dora Milaje to keep moviegoers entertained. On an intellectual level, with it’s compelling takes on the effects of the diaspora, rulership and the father-son dynamic, Panther is about as deep as any flick pertaining to any of the Avengers.
Culturally, I’m not sure America has seen a movie phenomenon like this. It’s a film about Black people, with Black themes, made by Black people and yet it did fantastic among other groups at the box office. Unlike many movies of it’s ilk, the racial themes and undertones add to the grandeur of the film. How many times has a Black character got a chance to call a White counterpart a “colonizer” on screen? More importantly, how many times have a Black woman saved a White man’s life on camera? Make no mistake, this was a film that was confident and assertive in its exploration of Blackness, much to the delight of its diverse audience.
If anyone wondered where is Black people’s culture, they left seeing the Black Panther with visuals of elaborate African design and art, beauty in its Blackest form and a reminder that the most storied warrior tribes come from the Motherland.
The cast of Panther was also an exemplary component of the experience. Michael B. Jordan and Chadwick Boseman did standout jobs as nemeses, opposing each other for rank and ideological dominance. But the women of the Wakanda stole the show. Shuri (played by Letitia Wright) gracefully combined genius-level intellect, a great fashion sense and a kid sister’s charm into a character that will be enjoyed by fans for (hopefully) at least a few more movies. Okoye of the Dora Milaje (Danai Gurira) protrayed an example of Black femininity that was as physically capable as any male while just as beautiful as the film’s final Wakadan sunset. Even T’Challa’s love interest, Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) had a strong sense of self and felt a duty to both her homeland of Wakanda and to the descendants of those stolen from the land.
There was more representation for young Black boys and girls in this lone film than the last handful of Marvel epics. For the girls that found little commonalities with Wonder Woman, Black Widow and Scarlet Witch, surely they have at least a handful of new heroines that may more closer resemble them and their culture.
Erik Killmonger is one of the greatest foils in the Marvel films thus far and is as complicated a character as they’ve brought to the silver screen. His views on Black revolutionism contrasts the protagonist T’Challa’s beliefs, which are rooted in his family and country’s tradition. As a Black Millennial man, parts of Killmonger’s ideology resonated with parts of my being. I can relate to the pain of being disenfranchised and demeaned in a country that may never accept my culture when it stole my ancestors from the richest of traditions. I can relate to his revolutionist mindset to want to change things. Killmonger’s one of Marvel’s greatest villains because he makes being a bad guy relatable. In real life, people don’t make nefarious plans riddled with soliloquies and maniacal laughter as they plot to hurt people and burn society. They are hurt, damaged, troubled souls that take their pain and frustrations out on the world.
It’s safe to say, Marvel and Coogler knocked it out the park with Jordan’s Killmonger.
In cities like Chicago, Atlanta, and Houston, people from all walks of life went to advanced screenings of the Panther like the one I went to opening Thursday. There were vendors, nonprofits, community organizers, politicians, media companies and plenty of aunties present. All were excited by the energy of so many people coming to celebrate Blackness by watching (and thus supporting) a film about the greatest Black superhero ever created.
It was magical. It was the stuff that bring joy to black girls and what makes black boys smile.
