Black Panther is a movie for the ages. On the heels of other mass appeal black media, Marvel brings the long history of the Black Panther to the silver screen. [ty Julia]
The Black Panther was created in 1966, predating the Black Panther party. It was the first publication of a black superhero. The MCU debuts a re-telling of the Black Panther story line in the aftermath of the terrorist attack committed by Bucky Barnes, the Winter Soldier, that lead to the death of the old Wakandan king, T’Chaka. [ty Kev]
The movie plot follows his son, T’Challa as a superhero, king, and Avenger through his journey of taking lead of direction of Wakanda.
Look, I loved the movie. The backbone of strong African leads [including strong, intelligent, and vital women] dressed in beautiful imagined African garb plus an unapologetically black soundtrack by the god, Kendrick, held up an engaging, thoughtful, and enjoyable Marvel movie. Black went mainstream, and in a big way on this one. In that front, it was incredible successful, and I’m overjoyed that it landed correctly.
The second viewing, with mostly African American children, showed me how powerfully influential the movie has been to younger people. Most of the kids had seen the movie 2 or 3 times, and they played many imaginary games as Killmonger, T’Challa, and M’Baku. As many girls as boys show up to the viewing party, a testament to the inspirational women characters. While less about playing pretend than the boys [me included], I thought they were definitely engaged and motivated.
It’s not without its flaws, but Black Panther also is the first Marvel movie to solve some of the franchise’s lingering problems. [Very Black, interesting villain, better “final fight”, Balancing philosophical undertones and quips] This gives me more hope that the blockbuster scene will continue to grow more diverse and nuanced. All in all, Black Panther stands alone [and in many cases above] it’s multitude of superhero-movie brothers [and insofar, one sister, Wonder Woman].
I did not have a huge background in Black Panther, but I did read Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Black Panther series. Drawing that as a comparison meant I had a foundation on the powers and lore of BP and Wakanda as a whole, but also made me more critical of its messaging.
Coates, due to the medium and creative freedom, was blunt about Wakanda’s parallelism to America and its racial history. However, in typical Coates fashion, the discussions were steeped in intellectualism. He referenced everything from Kanye to Fredrick Douglass, using professional thinkers to leverage deep philosophical debates about race and privilege.
Movies, however, have to cater to a different category of audience. The call outs were still blunt, but blunted. The underlying symptoms that plague America, the history of colonialism, all were delivered in some of the most powerful lines. However, to avoid losing the favor of the masses, the call outs were mostly historically distant or unhelpfully vague. [I’m thinking of calling out imperialism with the British museum curator. Definitely a problem. But what about Jim Crow Laws? What about Redlining? Or the Drug War? Or modern socio-economically school segregation in NYC?] This allows every population to draw its own predetermined conclusions rather than offering a narrative itself.
It’s a subtle tool today. Echo chambers are so well build and thoughts processes are so divisive, that shades of grey are automatically filtered by one’s own biases.
This ends up feeling like a wasted opportunity to educate, rather than just assimilate Black Panther’s message into the current political landscape.
[I will give them the “unity, open borders, and cultural exchange” thesis against “walls, borders, isolationism” as a good and overt moral.]
The World of Wakanda storyline also includes a queer relationship that has the Aneka as the head of the Dora Milaje and Ayo, a fellow warrior, don the Midnight Angel armor prototypes, rebel and start their own nation of women in a matriarchal society. [Also, Roxanne Gay does the Prologue on their relationship!]
Instead the movie has Ayo as a minor casualty of Killmonger, while Okoye is the General, and there is no mention of an Aneka.
Final point; nearly every extra watching and phone filming Black Panther confront Ulysses Klaue in downtown Korea is white. A remnant casting blunder in a movie that is intentionally diverse.
Again. I’m critiquing the tiniest of minutiae. A level of pickiness that only a millennial would revel in pointing out and discussing.
The costume and art design are unafraid of color and culture. The council is filled with diverse voices. They dress in cuts and color that pop in variety.
Women hold leadership and warrior roles, bailing T’Challa out of multiple situations. Actresses represent the multifaceted responses to Killmonger’s coup. They take roles unordinary to women of color in high budget Hollywood movies, from the techie to the loyal general to the little old Korean woman as the gatekeeper to the underground casino. But the sheer number of women in leadership roles is the main divergence from other superhero movies.
Killmonger is an amazing villain. His backstory gives him agenda and weight. His skills are mundanely developed but his message is very Malcom X. In today’s environment, plenty of people are willing to buy into the violent solution, but equally others are ready to relegate him as another raving lunatic, or feel unease at his method. Michael B Jordan is fantastic and was my personal highlight of the film. His easy sneer is at once arrogant and authoritative. His lines are well written and well delivered. The Oakland attitude among the stuffy royalty traditions is a hilarious juxtaposition. [which I think would have felt more natural if he was allowed to curse.]
The fight scenes are interesting, and the choreography is a little different than most of the other Marvel movies, but it doesn’t quite change what amounts to lots of punching and kicking. The spears, I feel like, are terrible under-used. T’Challa throws one to destroy a jet and Okoye throws hers to upend a car, but most of the slashing and stabbing felt uninspired. I’ve seen Jackie Chan do ridiculous stuff with a broomstick, and seeing some sort of humorous or unconventional ploy would have added a nice touch. Killmonger essentially says as much. Weapons that can blow a tank over should seem more powerful.
The same issue with the shields. Draping capes to make a phalanx seemed like a cool concept, but it was essentially used twice to very little effect. Once, T’Challa broke the entire formation with his suit. The second time, the Gorilla tribe somehow sneaks up on an entire army on a flat battle field, on foot. To break the formation.
Again, I’m nitpicking. I saw the movie twice and loved it both times. The message is powerful and resonant and complex. The actors are all amazing in their roles and that adds a great level of authenticity to their relationships. The movie doesn’t take itself too seriously, and has some great one liners, but still imparts a powerful message of addressing the historical realities and asking for unity. The powerful build bridges, not barriers.