Mother Jones interview with Joe Robert Cole, screenwriter for the BP movie.
Oscars so white? Black Panther to the rescue.
MJ: What does it mean to you to be writing a black superhero?
JC: Black Panther is a historic opportunity to be a part of something important and special, particularly at a time when African Americans are affirming their identities while dealing with vilification and dehumanization. The image of a black hero on this scale is just really exciting. When I was a kid, I would change superheroes' names: Instead of James Bond, I was James Black. Instead of Batman, I was Blackman. And I have a three-year-old son. My son will be five when
Black Panther comes out. That puts it all into perspective for me.
MJ: Ta-Nehisi writes that he sees T'Challa's blackness as an opportunity to explore some of the history of the African continent and the myths that are unknowns in the Western consciousness—unlike, say, the Greek myths. What kinds of themes do you want to explore in the film?
JC: We're in the process of figuring many of those things out. I think approaching the movie from a perspective that is rooted in the cultures of the continent is important.
MJ: In the comic books,
Black Panther fought off a colonizer in Wakanda. He fought the Klan. He fought against apartheid in South Africa. Bringing the Panther into the present day, I'm curious how the recent activism around the treatment of black people by police might inform your story or your development of T'Challa as a character.
JC: Personally—and Ryan [Coogler] and
Nate Moore, the executive producer—we all are cognizant of what's going on in the world, in black communities, and in our country. We are aware of the importance of that, and the platform this movie provides us with. But I can't give you the specifics.
MJ: Is Ta-Nehisi involved in the thought process for the movie?
JC: No. I'm a huge fan. It's great that he's writing the comic. But they're separate entities.
MJ: You're African American but your character is African. In what ways do you expect that you will and won't relate to him?
JC: That's a really good question. I write characters focusing on them as human beings, and
then you wrap them within a culture. So I think I can connect with him as a person with brown skin who's viewed differently by the world. In terms of his culture, we're thinking about where we are locating Wakanda within the continent, and what the people and history of that region are like. It's a process of investigation to help inform the story at this point. But we are going to be engaged with consultants who are experts on the continent and on African history and politics.
MJ: In the comic, Wakanda is one of the planet's most technologically advanced nations. How do portray that level of technology without "Westernizing" the country's culture?
JC: That's one of the many questions that excite me. I think you try to extrapolate from the early civilizations and cultures of the continent, kind of looking for unique ways they set themselves apart from Western civilizations, and then pursue those avenues technologically and see where that takes you.
======
The entire article is pretty dope. Def give it a read brehs.
As for the movie, everyone is saying the right things. So far, so good.
