Already posted my thoughts on the movie in the main thread:
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Just watched the film in front of a predominantly African audience, in an African city.
[disclaimer: I am not under the impression that this is some revolutionary film, however it is definitely layered and more sophisticated than the average superhero movie. If you haven't watched the movie, then this post is definitely not for you.]
Firstly, the theater that I went to was packed out back to back. Even the IMAX tickets were sold out. It tells me that this movie is going to do some serious numbers internationally.
Things I liked about the movie:
The allegory of Africa's hidden potential: On the surface, to the average man, Wakanda is merely a 3rd World country comprised mainly of farmers, but this belies the fact that is has the world's largest deposit of one of the most valuable mineral resources. It is Wakandan's who mine, harness and utilize said resource to advance their country and their people - away from external influence. Similarly, if African's got into more processing and manufacturing rather than simply extracting resources and selling them to the Western world and Asia, African economies would leap forward rapidly. Africa has the largest deposits of mineral resources anywhere in the world, but they are grossly mismanaged and still under the influence of foreign powers.
The allegory of a benevolent leader and unstable African governments: A prosperous and peaceful Wakanda is one where the people follow a single benevolent leader. Once there was a power vacuum after T'Chaka died, there was a challenge from the M'Baku, and this momentarily destabilized Wakanda. This was exacerbated when Killmonger came into power, and there then became people who followed the new ruler, and loyalists to T'Challa. When T'Challa finally usurped the position again, calm was restored. All of the Wakandans came back to respecting the rule of law. There are many examples of African countries that have gone through turmoil simply because the opposition wanted to take power by force, or the ruling party were simply corrupt or governing poorly.
The dichotomy of Africans on the continent and the black diaspora: I think this was generally the overall theme of the movie, and it came to a head I believe in Killmonger's final scene. There is a distrust of Africans (black people) of each other and this stems mainly from misunderstanding one another. Killmonger sought vengeance over T'Challa for the death of his father after he was killed (an allegory of Africans selling the descendants of African-Americans into slavery thereby creating a disconnect). Even Killmonger's father in the vision said that the Wakandan's would never accept him. From his point of view, the damage had already been done. Wakandans (or Africans in this case) view him as an outsider, meanwhile he sees the Wakandans as people that turned their back on the black diaspora (despite their vast wealth and resources). He feels as though they are not pulling their necessary weight in order to uplift the black population worldwide. It's actually quite deep when you begin to deconstruct it.
The right balance of action, comedy and drama - A lot Marvel cash cows tend to be heavy on the comedy. The last Thor was basically a super-hero comedy movie. This however took a more serious turn, using a lot of social commentary, but still throwing in the comedy here and there while giving you a lot of action in the third Act. It's a movie that leaves you thinking, rather than a movie you forget as soon as you step out of the cinema.
I think they did a good job of capturing a lot nuanced things that you can only appreciate if you're African or interact with Africans - mostly in the dialogue. There are subtle gestures, remarks or even intonations that are so African that you can't help but laugh. When M'Banku ended a remark with "-o", which is in many respects a Nigerianism (if you've ever watched a Nollywood movie), the whole audience erupted. Even the boorish boer (white South African) was spot on. I think there was a general appreciation of the movie, and not many people left the cinema feeling like they were simply pandering to Africans. I think having largely an African and Afro-Caribbean cast helped in that.
Things I found interesting:
Wakanda was devoid of religiosity, instead there was a respect for tradition and ancestral lineage. As a Christian myself, I found it interesting to see an African nation devoid of the Abrahamic religions, but instead rely on traditions passed down from generation to generation. It was part of their pride. In African countries a lot of our traditions are being replaced by Westernism.
Things I didn't like about the movie:
Not much here. I think it's probably the best Marvel movie to date. I think they oversold the Oakland in Killmonger though. The character was great, but they could have toned down that aspect of him, although that has to do with Ryan Coogler more than anything.