Welcome back to Week 4 of BPEITF! To wrap up this series we’re going to be talking about some of the ways we transcend our current reality as a people. This week we’re starting light & fun with BLACK PANTHER. I’ll be fan girling a tad just fyi.
Those who know me personally know that I am a Marvel/ MCU GWORRRLLLLL. I love me a superhero movie. Watching Marvel movies is one of the most regular ways I tap in with my inner child and teen. I have watched all the MCU movies in order more than once 🙃 So there was no way I was doing this series without talking about Black Panther.
Picture it. 2016-2017 when we still lead “normal” lives 😅 In the midst of the beginning of the BLM movement. Marvel started promo for the first black superhero movie, with a black director and an all black starring cast. Can we sit with that for a second? First off, the fact that this never happened until it did. Secondly, we went our whole childhoods without ever seeing something like this? An all black dark skinned starring cast?! That meant something. Black Panther opened our minds with Wakanda. (Those who read the comic books were already hip) It showed the rest of us something we had never imagined on a grand scale. A fully self sufficient African country, scientifically advanced and flourishing. The Dora Milaje?! An army of bad ass black women warriors. Whole movie went up idc. Black Panther is afrofuturism by definition.
Taking into account all critiques about Disney, capitalism, featurism, questionable accents (lol) etc. Black Panther was one of those collective Black Joy moments. Even if you don’t like superhero movies, you watched Black Panther. Yea sure, one could say it was corny for grown people to dress up in their interpretation of African regalia to go watch a movie. For me? I choose to see the entire moment of Black Panther as a collective connection with our inner child & our joy. It was fun. It meant something to see black people on screen with a big budget in beautiful costumes acting their asses off. Idccc.
Not to mention as a parent. No one could ever take the moment of going to the opening night showing and seeing the look on my sons’ face as they watched the movie. We saw it twice in theatres and countless (literally countless lol) times since. I watched it again last night in prep for todays post and I still love it. & the soundtrack still slaps. This is your cue to stream Black Panther today! Tap into this joy. Rest Well Chadwick 🖤
