This is Our King
Black History Month in 2018 was much anticipated; not only because 2018 was tagged “Year of the Blacks” but because Marvel was releasing the first all-black caste superhero movie. Black Panther was set to Premier in theatres on February 16, 2018 and every black person got their black power hands ready to go in the air. Grossing $292 million in its first weekend domestically, Black Panther has gone on to be one of the highest selling movies in the history of the United States Box Office. At the end of Black History Month, “Wakanda Forever” became one of the most popular phrases worldwide. The movie sought to alter the biased mindset about Africa, set up representation in one of the most influential ways and jinx the limitation of black voices in media.
Black Panther started off with the voice of a father telling his son the story of an all-black nation in Africa hidden in the mountains with a poor nation front but advanced technology. A country that was knee deep in culture, advancement and refused international aid because they did not want to be influenced by Western culture. It was a story of Wakanda and its people. The movie went on to unwind a twist of hero and villain played by T’challa and N’jadaka (Best known as Killmonger) respectively. It had a huge similarity to Marvel’s patternd stories of “hero wins, villain dies” but at the same time, there was a large gap this superhero and the rest of Marvel’s heroes. The father’s narrative at the beginning of the movie is typical behavior of fathers in Africa. Folklore and story-telling is and always has been a way of passing down culture, lessons and advice from one generation to the other. The notion that Africa is a poor continent made up of poor countries was addressed in the movie. Wakanda presented itself as a nation with technological advancement with Shuri, T’challa’s sister and Princess of Wakanda, being at the helm of affairs. The source of their power was traced back to vibranium; the strongest metal on earth. Wakandans mined and refined vibranium for themselves and kept it a secret because they knew that if it got into the wrong hands, it would be dangerous. Wakanda, although a nation on its own represented a whole continent of Africa which is an interdependent yet independent community being culturally true and un-colonized. The lack of Western influence allowed them to flourish because they harnessed their natural resources for themselves.
Further dissecting the movie, the representation narrowed down from Africa as a nation to the citizens. The nation which was dependent on the input of vibranium in transportation, health, agriculture, technology and protection had Shuri at its head. She was not a nerdy lady in glasses and a lab coat, as most movies label smart women but she was the cool version of a technology nerd. Headed by Okoye, the Dora Milaje which was the head army of the Wakandans was made up of women who had their heads shaved and faces free of makeup. In a normative society, these types of women come across as not beautiful or gay but in Wakanda, they represented power and loyalty to the throne. Different tribes in the movie had different characteristics. Each tribe had a hairdo or cut, garment, ornaments and language/accent unique to them. Although the chief dialect spoken was Swahili, every time a Wakandan spoke English, they each had the tone of a different part of Africa. This was not a caricature to put across that Africans cannot speak English properly but it strongly stood on the pillar that they would rather bend the language to suit them than bend themselves to suit the language. The movie was beyond being “Wakandan Forever”. From T’challa to the last local/ extra in the movie, there was a hero for every black and brown skinned child in the world. There was a person for every person out there.
Black representation has been undermined and overshadowed for the longest time. This is not too put across that the majority white media representation has been negative but a black girl child needs a Dora Milaje and a superwoman so she can compare, contrast, and if she deems fit, makes a choice as to who plays the hero in her dreams. Black voices have been inexistent for a long time that Black Panther served as an avenue to breathe. We can quietly move away from loving Morgan Freeman and Idris Elba and spend the next decade or two on Micheal B. Jordan and Chadwick Boseman. Lupita N’yongo and Danai Gurira will be playing modern day Michelle Obama and Daniella Davis. The entrance of this movie into the scene of the American box office has created room for a narrative where a black man’s superhero is a black man in a black suit. There is no king we want other than this.
Black panther is the narrative that black people have been waiting to hear for centuries. A home with no exterior touch. A home that was made by them and for them. A democracy with a King who protects and defends. A room for choice and choosing. A place made of people alike who are living and thriving. A society free of patriarchy and gender inequality. The stories told addressed black issues: unemployment, segregation, and poverty, not as sober stories but as deviances and injustice. There was representation in every scene; from T’challa’s suit to Killmonger’s last gold tooth. Wakanda might not be real but it is okay for us to believe in it. It is okay for our children; geeks and jocks alike to have superheroes with the same skin color and character as them. For the first time in the longest time, Black means a super hero. This is the beginning of a forever we worked hard for. This is our king. Wakkanda Forever!
