This Is Why The Black Panther Is Important!

I saw the Black Panther the Tuesday after its release in theaters and it was mind blowing. I am not a comic book fan and I can’t tell you the difference between Marvel and DC heroes. All I can say is that the movie was beautiful and makes me think what if a Wakanda exists and we don’t know it yet. Just imagine an African country that wasn’t colonized and so advanced. The characters were unique in their own way and I loved every minute of the film. Some people thought the movie was good, but it didn’t live up to their full potential, but I had no expectation to I wasn’t disappointed. The bigger picture is why the movie was important. REPRESENTATION! DUH! So, let’s explain why the movie was dope!

1. Representation: I saw a video where two young black boys were looking up at the Black Panther movie poster and was saying “I’m him. That’s me. I’m the Black Panther.” That brought tears to my eyes. It was refreshing to see a movie with a black cast and black director. This movie was inspiring and empowering. This movie has no slaves, slave masters, drug addicts, prostitutes, pimps, Tyler Perry melodrama, Wayans brother’s comedy and thuggish roguish stereotypes that we are used to. Each character was strong and had their own special talents to bring to the table.

2. Realization: The costume designers and other workers on the film spent time in Africa to make sure the dialect and clothing were realistic and accurate.

3. Female characters- The women in this film were bad asses. I’ve never seen a movie where the nation is protected by black women. Which poses the question: Is this a reference to how black women have been all along in history?

4. The men were scrumptious.

This movie is exactly what the world needed in a world of the Trump administration, the overwhelming rate of unarmed black people being killed and overall hatred within the black community. We need something to latch on to in this post Obama era. We need a light at the end of the tunnel. We needed to see something positive. Then you have your negative people saying “THIS IS JUST A MOVIE. ITS NOT REAL. YOU DON’T REALLY BELIEVE THAT WAKANDA IS REAL.”

Yes, this is just a movie, but we didn’t say anything when Harry Potter and Twilight caused a frenzy so to let us have our moment. Wakanda may not be real but for a split second while watching the movie the thought of it was an amazing feeling. Nothing was more disappointing when you walked out the theater back into reality and stepped back into the real world.

Thank you Ryan Coogler. Thank you to the beautiful brown women and men who made the experience a good one.

#blackpanther #wakandaforever