With the recent heartbreaking loss of Chadwick Boseman this past Friday, I thought it was fitting to discuss one of the greatest Marvel movies - or even one of the greatest movies of all time in general, Black Panther. (This review does contain several spoilers.)
As the 18th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I think a lot of us knew what to expect when we went through the process of buying tickets for Black Panther, waiting for previews, and sitting through the iconic comic book page flip Marvel logo. However, Black Panther is in a league of its own.
The film picks up where the 2016 ensemble-feature Captain America: Civil War left off. After his father's death, T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman), returns to Wakanda, the secretly most technologically advanced nation in the world - due mostly to the nation's rare supply of vibranium, one of the most powerful substances in the world. As next in line for the throne, T'Challa/Black Panther prepares to ascend to the status of king. Meanwhile, Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis) and his ally, Erik "Killmonger" Stevens (Michael B. Jordan) steal a Wakandan artifact from a British museum. Killmonger, who is revealed to be N'Jadaka, a long lost heir to the throne of Wakanda, threatens T'Challa's new reign and the entire livelihood of the nation of Wakanda.
Of course, Black Panther is long overdue within the MCU. Too long, we have had white superheroes on the big screen while people of color get placed on the sidelines. Finally, we have a Black superhero who kicks ass. It is a superhero film that discusses African identity and it doesn't hold back from being unapologetically a 'Black film' by highlighting tradition, culture, and the long-time suffering of African people. These scenes, especially the colorful ceremonial scene where we are introduced to beautiful outfits and jewelry, make Wakanda feel real in a way that hasn't been seen before in a Marvel film. Black people are not displayed as a gimmick or a trope, like we've seen in previous action movies with Jar-Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequels, who has often been seen as representing the black Caribbean sterotype.
Instead, we have fully fleshed-out Black characters who we can relate to. We have T'Challa who is a mighty king with strong morals, but even he struggles with finding his place in the world, how to lead a group of people, and his own inner demons. We meet female Black characters, like technological genius, Shuri (Letitia Wright), the spy, Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o) and the absolute badass warrior, Okoye (Danai Gurira.) As many people have pointed out, these women are not strong because they are angry or because of the struggles they have been through; they are strong because they just are strong and qualified and independent. It's a true change from what we usually see from female characters, and it's beautifully refreshing. However, one of the biggest positives from this film is our antagonist, Killmonger. What is truly interesting about Black Panther is that we don't have a 'bad guy' character. Marvel has seen villains like Red Skull, who is a Nazi and wants world domination, and Thanos, who wants to eliminate half of the Earth's population. Killmonger is not at all like this. He is an antagonist that we can get behind, since Killmonger represents the understandable anger of the Black community. The Black community has spent too long being disenfranchised and broken down, and Killmonger wants to use the Wakandan tech to share with poor Black communities so that they can finally overcome their oppressors. With the racism, violence, and prejudice that the Black community faces daily, this is an understandable point of view. Therefore, Black Panther brings us some of the most interesting discussions on today's society that I have ever seen in a superhero film.
And of course, one of the most amazing things about this film is its effect on our society. It is truly heartwarming to hear of the empowering feeling that this film gave to people within the Black community, since they finally got to see themselves in a superhero film on the big screen. For many, Black Panther made them feel seen and important. It was the feeling that a 'Black film' could make it in theaters and stand its ground. And it did. With a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and three Oscar wins, Black Panther proved that a Black-centered film can and will kick ass.
For me, I am half-Indian and although I can be seen as white passing in some contexts and I don't pretend to understand the pain and prejudices that the Black community faces, I can understand how upsetting it is to not feel represented in media. I remember specifically that there was a social media trend around middle school where you would post a picture of yourself and people would tell you what childhood character you were. While everyone around me was getting a whole array of characters from Disney princesses to cartoons, I would only really get Pocahontas or Jasmine because they were the only ones who even remotely fit with my skin tone. Also, some people seemed hesitant to comment these characters because they were afraid of racially profiling me, which made the whole fun social media trend just feel a lot less fun. Similarly, I feel like the release of Wonder Woman in 2017 was such a breakthrough feeling for so many women. Especially when Wonder Woman (Gal Gadot) crosses No-Man's Land, it was one of the most empowering theater-going experiences I had ever had. It made me feel badass and seen that I could see a female character on the big screen absolutely kicking ass and taking names. I remember seeing a bunch of posts on social media about "Is this what men feel all the time when they watch superhero movies?" because I think media representation is truly something that people don't think about unless they haven't experienced it.
For many people within the Black community and with children especially, I think Black Panther was a major breakthrough for representation and empowerment. During my sophomore year of college, I did a research paper on the importance of minority teachers and role models. Having teachers of color is incredibly important for students of color. For example, USA Today conducted an analysis in 2013 that demonstrated that where black teachers make up at least 10% of the teaching staff, "black high-schoolers who made up at least 10% of enrollment were slightly more likely to take the SAT and ACT college entrance exams," since teachers of color tend to have more academic expectations for students of color. Students of color with teachers of color tend to have higher graduation rates, and teachers of color often serve as cultural mediators. However, nationwide, around 85% of all teachers are white while only around 50% of students are white. The proportion of students to teachers just doesn't line up. Younger students in particular are affected by minority teachers, since younger students are "most affected by the instructor’s minority status [because they] … are likely to be susceptible to role-model effects." Therefore, it is even more important to have representation in the media that is available for children and youth.
As part of this project, we also interviewed a woman in the Williamsburg area, Barbara Bell, who started her own “Diversity-In-Action” program with her husband in which they go to various schools, teaching students about black history. As a long-time educator of color, Bell had too long seen African American children look ashamed when they got to the part of the year where they would learn about slavery. Therefore, Bell created a program that would focus on the art, innovation, and power of Black individuals. She wanted to show Black students that this history was nothing to be ashamed of because these were strong people who persevered and were still creating and innovating during their enslavement.
Black Panther is not just a superhero character but a genuine role model for the Black community. He is strong and powerful and he doesn't let anything stop him. Chadwick Boseman did a great service to the world in bringing T'Challa to life. His power and willingness to keep going while he was suffering in private will not be forgotten. I think Chadwick Boseman's tremendous effect is best described in this video from The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon:
Chadwick Boseman will greatly be missed. He did so much for representation and inclusion and he genuinely cared about the effect he had on so many. He was a phenomenal actor with a hell of a range but he also seemed like a phenomenal human.
Of course, it has been disheartening to see some not respect Chadwick Boseman's passing and the request of the family to have time to grieve. I am especially thinking of E! News posting about Boseman's 'secret' wife and what they know of the relationship that went up yesterday. And of course, that awful ScreenRant article that went up within an hour of the announcement of Boseman's death:
All I ask is for people to understand the pain that the Black community in particular is going through right now. For some, Chadwick Boseman's passing seems to be the mere loss of a cool character in a superhero movie, but for so many of us, Chadwick Boseman's passing means the loss of a true king.
Commenti