JMT: Black Panther
I was able to catch a showing last Friday, 2/16 (Chinese New Year!) and haven’t stopped thinking about it since. To preface, I am not super familiar with a lot of the Marvel movies (esp the older ones). I’ve seen Thor: Ragnarok, Ant-Man, Guardians 1, Avengers 1 (most of it), Spiderman: Homecoming, Spiderman, and… I think that’s it. The only one I’d seen in theaters besides Black Panther was Thor 3. 🤷🏻♀️ Onwards.
Growing up I was never into superheroes or Disney princesses, just sports and some Pokémon/Yu-Gi-Oh (😬)… for the most part, I just wanted to be like Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant. Michelle Kwan was cool, so was Mulan, but it never got much deeper than that, at least consciously. Not until I got older, did I really become aware of the prominent role models/characters/lead roles (or lack thereof) that were people of color, not to mention, women of color.
I think great strides have been taken to encourage more diversity in front of the camera, but the arrival of Black Panther has taken it all to another level due. Its budget ($200 milli!), the fact that it’s part of the huge Marvel Universe franchise, the stellar and predominantly black cast, and the diversity of people working behind the camera (cc: I LOVE YOU RYAN COOGLER), resulted in a movie that’s substance makes it so much more than your typical superhero movie, or your typical movie in general.
First, you have Chadwick Boseman, as T’Challa, a king who has a small existential crisis about who he is, who his family is, after learning about what happened to his late uncle (played Sterling K Brown) and a cousin he never knew about, Erik Killmonger (played by Michael B Jordan). Both T’Challa and Killmonger have multifaceted personalities that make them relatable and with their own flaws — they are very different characters but similar in that both are noticeably limited by their upbringing and the different environments they grew up in. T’Challa was raised as an upcoming king, while Killmonger, grew up trying to find his way and survive in Oakland, and dealing with the very real institutional racism that goes on in society on his own.
Then, you have a slew of strong female characters playing a prominent role in the movie: Shuri (played by the amazing Letitia Wright, the arguable breakout star, along with Winston Duke who plays M’kabe) who runs the tech and engineering industry of Wakanda, Okoye (played by the stunning Danai Gurira) who is the general of the King’s armed forces, Dora Milaje (note: AN ALL FEMALE ARMY), and Nakia (a fearless and bad-ass spy played by none other than, Oscar winner Lupita Nyong’o). There are just so many characters that the audience can sympathize with, and then aspire to and/or learn from in the movie.
I’ve wondered lately how my life, my personality might be different if I grew up seeing powerful female characters in the cartoons, shows, and movies that I watched, or if I were able to find such stories of empowerment, strength, and inspiration that the growth of the internet in the last 5–7 years has made more widely available to everyone. Maybe it would have helped me explore my curiosity more and fear less. Could it have helped with my shyness/lack of confidence/awkwardness/overthinking ways that, to this day, I still struggle with? I think yeah at least a little. Heck, I am incredibly grateful to have all these new characters and images as an adult, often looking to them for reinforcement, inspiration, and encouragement. I can only imagine what it’s like to be exposed to such images growing up today as a child or teen — for young girls, especially young African-American girls to grow up with these role models and images available today, for African-American boys growing up to have a superhero that looks like them, and to be able to see a screenful of their culture and people presented with so much pride and beauty.
This movie has gotten me to think so much about how REPRESENTATION MATTERS. Thanks to social media, I think the visibility of diverse heroes (real life and fictional) and role models has increased substantially, but there I plenty of room for more (especially in the entertainment industry), and I can’t wait!
Thought provoking, visually stunning, and with an amazing soundtrack (so good) and score (waterfall fight, casino brawl, and any track that has the horns and T’challa chant! 🔥), I KNOW I need to go watch Black Panther at least a few more times in theatres.
All in all, big Ryan Coogler fan, big fan of all the cast, I can’t wait for all the additional opportunities and projects these amazing people get due to the success of this movie, because they 100% deserve all of it.
Extra: here’s an awesome video of Ryan Coogler breaking down the casino brawl https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNHc2PxY8lY
In the meantime, I shall prepare my coins for Wrinkle In Time, Avengers (Infinity War) (supposedly Black Panther characters play a decent role in this!), and Crazy Rich Asians! (And then maybe save something on the side just in case Beyonce decides to bless us again with a surprise)
WAKANDA FOREVER!
