REVIEW | BLACK PANTHER
Marvel’s latest movie Black Panther follows the journey of T’Challa as he ascends to the throne of the African nation of Wakanda, learning how to be the best leader and protector for his people, when his title is challenged by a bloodthirsty family member set on war and vengeance.
The excitement for this movie was on another level. Black Panther was for Marvel fans what IT was for horror. In fact, the anticipation for Black Panther was much higher because of what it represents in the current social climate. It would be almost impossible to discuss this movie and the wave of support it received without that context. I am happy to say that not only did I find this film socially relevant, but extremely entertaining with an absorbing plot.
Black Panther is an awesome comic book character. Not only because he is powerful, but also because he is the childhood sweetheart and once-husband of my favourite X-Men, Storm. Together, they ruled over Wakanda as King and Queen with god-like status. T’Challa and Storm are the only celebrity power couple I need in my life. And if I must date Chadwick Boseman to make that happen, so be it. I’m willing to take one for the team.
This film stands out because it is not just a generic action movie with a black lead actor, but a story rooted in Africa and its heritage. It deals with the cultural dissociation and marginalisation that a lot of black Americans feel, as well as the anger born with it that drives Black Panther’s villain, Erik Killmonger (played by Michael B. Jordan).
Being born in South Africa, I loathe the perpetual portrayal of the entire African continent as pitiful and un-evolved. I could not wait for a movie to come out that showed the world something different. Black Panther flouted stereotypes and turned them upside down. The people of Wakanda did not need a white saviour, because they do the saving. They are not an impoverished, backward African nation, but are incredibly wealthy and technologically advanced.
The film’s aesthetic was beautiful. I particularly loved how it portrayed many different tribes, each with their own distinct clothing and traditions. Costume designer Ruth Carter and production designer Hannah Beachler should be given a lot of praise for their attention to detail. For example, the neck rings worn by the Dora Milaje take their inspiration from the Ndebele people of Zimbabwe and South Africa, the bumpy scars on Killmonger’s skin are from the traditional tribal markings of the Mursi and Surma tribes in Ethiopia, and Queen Ramonda wears a headdress in the ceremonial style of Zulu women.
Another aspect of this film that I appreciated was the plethora of badass, empowered female warriors. Both Nakia (played by Lupita Nyong’o) and Okoye (played by Danai Gurira) are lethal and more than capable of handling themselves in battle. Shuri (played by Letitia Wright) is T’Challa’s sassy, tech genius sister. In the comics, Shuri actually becomes the Black Panther while her brother recovers from wounds, and when he recovers he does not ask her to relinquish the throne. A sequel with a female Black Panther is something I would love to see that is definitely in keeping with the story’s progressive nature.
It is a breath of fresh air to finally have a mainstream film that portrays black people as the heroes with the potential to change the world that they see when they look at themselves and their African roots, in contrast to many other films and media representations. Seriously, it is a well-known joke that black people are usually the first to die in movies, or if it’s a comedy their role is to usually make that joke about tokenism themselves, before probably dying.
Times are (hopefully) changing in Hollywood. The excuse from Hollywood executives that movies starring women or minorities don’t sell tickets has been exposed for the blatantly weak lie that it is by movies such as Wonder Woman and, now, Black Panther. The stakes were high, but Black Panther has surpassed all box office expectations by grossing over $1 billion worldwide.
Action packed, culturally significant and thoroughly entertaining, Black Panther has clawed its way into the Marvel pantheon of great franchises with ease.
