When I went to watch Black Panther at the insistence of my Marvel and DC obsessed daughters, I did not know quite what to expect – just another superhero film or a superhero film that breaks new ground the way Wonder Woman did. I came away from the theatre entertained and delighted… and with the distinct feeling that in the story of the first major film about an African Superhero, I had witnessed a paradigm shift of sorts.
Sure there have been black heroes and superheroes before, but we have never had a film that has been set in Africa, been about Africans and where the protagonists and antagonists are all black. There are a couple of white guys in the film but they are incidental.
Black Panther has become the highest-grossing superhero film of all time in the United States. Figures released recently say the movie has made over $631 million at the domestic box office; dislodging Avengers from that top spot. The movie has become a huge hit outside the US as well.
It is this highly-advanced, technologically-superior country of peaceful, highly intelligent people who are prosperous beyond imagination. While Wakanda may be a fictitious country, the moviemakers used a real African language isiXhosa in the movie for the sake of authenticity.
It is a lavishly-mounted, great-looking film with beautiful locations and spectacular special effects. Also, everyone in the film is just gorgeous! This may be a completely shallow observation; but cinema is a visual medium and gorgeousness counts. It just does, and I for one couldn’t tear my eyes way.
They are strong in every way, they kick major butt, they are extremely intelligent, capable, fiercely loyal; also just fierce… and gorgeous! Did I mention gorgeous again? Well, I can't help it!
The names Black Panther and Killmonger may not be exactly subtle, but the movie isn’t just about good versus bad. There are grey shades; the hero can be fallible, the villain inspires sympathy. The movie isn’t just broad strokes but some fine, delightful details as well. All in all, the movie is just great cinema!
So the Wakandans have lots of this valuable super-mineral called ‘vibranium’ which is responsible for their prosperity and advancement. However, they use this wealth wisely and apply it to creating a technological superior civilization and not just for fighting and making fancy suits. This is significant.
Commentators are calling this film path-breaking because of how it represents people of African ancestry. Apparently the accents are all over the place and the portrayals may be rather colored by a distinctly Hollywood-esque fancy but as a cultural phenomenon, the movie works.
The movie shows a fascinating amalgam of the traditional and the modern. Now what counts as ‘traditional’ is very much subject to cinematic license, but again, it works!
Africans have long been under-represented in movies; women similarly under-represented. This movie has some really powerful characters. This isn’t about being politically correct. It is about greater inclusivity and about empowerment. It is about the coinage of a new normal in films. And I say, about time it did, too!
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