Black Panther Captivates Black Culture in The Marvel Cinematic Universe
Photo Credit: junaidrao from Flickr.com
By Takia Greene
“Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from ships, cause they knew death was better than bondage.”
Black Panther is a great movie, in which all the characters fit perfectly into their roles and the plot comes to life through the arts of music and culture. The soundtrack which rose to No.1 on the Billboard 200 Chart included songs produced by artists such as Kendrick Lamar, The weekend & SZA. The music inspires audiences to see the emotions and feelings of the characters throughout the story.
Black Panther is a superhero film based on the Marvel comic book hero. The first time Marvel Comics readers saw King T’Challa as the Black Panther was in the 1961 Fantastic Four comic. The official website for Marvel tells the story of T’Challa as the young prince of Wakanda who took his father’s place as the King and Black Panther.
Chadwick Boseman captures the T’Challa flawlessly. Boseman’s roles in Black oriented movies includes Gods of Egypt and Marshall. For the first independent Marvel film featuring an African character, Boseman is the right man for the job.
The events in Black Panther pick up right after last seeing T’Challa in Captain America Civil War, and sees him returning to his home in Wakanda. As a fictional place located in Africa, Wakanda is a hidden city technologically advanced due them being the only place that produces the strongest metal in the Marvel Universe called vibranium. The Wakandan people use the nearly indestructible metal to cloak their city from the outside world and contain its power from harmful intent. Once T’Challa returns he takes the place of his father as King of Wakanda and faces new threats he’s never seen before.
One of the most shocking battles in the film was between T’Challa and Killmonger. In and outside of the Black Panther outfits, the fights between these two characters at odds are dynamic. I initially thought the story would have T’Challa as the victor of every confrontation, but we were exposed to a new and learning of Black Panther.
I felt like I was in the world of Wakanda in its highs and lows. Killmonger as the villain of the film was compelling and relatable. There was a sense of realism in Killmonger that people could relate to. His words at the end were powerful and spoke to many truths of discrimination and black history.
This film’s director, Ryan Coogler, told Rolling Stone that it was his responsibility to fulfill the image of Black Panther. Coogler choose his cast wisely and the outcome of his directing choices paid off at the box office. I’d watch Black Panther a hundred times and still get the same feeling as I did during my first viewing. Many Parts of the movie being extremely funny and compelling harmonized the characters together. The story is blissfully simple and the film welcomes all viewers even if you’ve never seen a Marvel film.
