Headed to the theater for my second viewing now
I was waiting forLoved the film
My fav. characters were the villain(MBJ), and the three women(BP's girl, his sister, and his head general)
oh, and ol boy from the Jabari(sp?) tribe
"Are you done yet?"
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.
They worshipped the Panther God. They just had an actual real relationship that was proven and tangible compared to Christianity which is completely based on nothing tangible. Like they don't have to go around convincing people about what they believe and they also don't have the drive to conquer other nations so they never had to use religion as an excuse for war. It kind of makes you realize how fukked up reality really is.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.
I Can’t even write an indepth review of this without seeing it again (which I will tomorrow and again Saturday) because I’m so hype.
So many emotions man. This movie made me think about my father and everything he sacrificed trying to raise me to, not only be a productive member of society, but a black MAN who survived with a sense of cultural pride and integrity intact. The way Ryan Coogler paid homage to some of the African traditions and customs that my father used to tell me stories about made me FEEL like young Erik Stevens as his father told him stories about the wonders of Wakanda.
Just seeing Wakanda onscreen for the first time, with the Wakandans dancing and celebrating T’Challa as the new king was almost an overpowering sense of joy.
What people don’t understand (or I’ll say white People) is that we, as black youth, only had ONE cinematic hero we could call our own, and that was Will Smith. Blade and Spawn were mostly anti-heroes, badasses on Thier own right, but not something we would be encouraged to look UP to.
Will Smith gave us, as black boys, that bravado, that swagger, that charm, that confidence. From Independence Day to Hancock, he was our shining prince of heroism. But here, with Black Panther, we have true, unabashed, Black EXCELLENCE. From TOP to bottom.
There was no white mentor, no white wife. No white best friend representing the fact that they aren’t “all” bad. No white authority figure, and absolutely NO white savior.
This was blackness at the very core of Diasporan entertainment. It’s not meant to change the world, this isn’t Malcolm X or Do The Right Thing. But it’s THE film that can show our sons, our daughters, our nephews and nieces, that they too can be heroic. Can be beautiful, can be intelligent, can be majestic, can be MAGICAL.
Donald Glover once said that, at its best, Hollywood can serve as a vessel for telling the world’s most beautiful lies to children, so that they can grow up to change the world. Black Panther is fiction, there is no mystical city in Africa that went untouched by white colonialism and can serve as a beacon for black supremacy.
But when your daughter sees Shuri for the first time, and all of the technological marvels that her genius created. When your son sees T’Challa, and all of depth, passion, and regality that is his very being. They can dare to dream that this ideal of black brilliance could be born of their own aspirations.
And that is the true Wonder of Wakanda. That we can build it piece by piece. And that fiction could one day become reality.