The day after “Black Panther” came out, I went to see the movie with a huge group of my friends and we struggled to find seats–the theater was packed!
The “Blank Panther” movie is based on the Marvel comics with the same character and same premise. Even before “Blank Panther” was expected to release, the new Marvel film gained a lot of attention as the only movie to feature an all Afrocentric cast, under the creative perspective of the African-American director, Ryan Coogler.
Coogler can remember reading Marvel comics as a kid, searching for any comic that featured a black character. Finally, when he came across the Black Panther comics, Coogler found the end to his “[search] for a character that looked like him”.
Now, the movie brings this same joy to everyone within its reach.
As soon as “Black Panther” starts, the audience is greeted by the beautiful country of Wakanda, an African nation that has secluded itself from the rest of the world. Wakanda is special for its exclusive use of energy from a substance known as vibranium. Beyond that, the country is comprised of different warring tribes, that now coexist peacefully.
The tribes in the film are modeled after real African tribes, either ones from the past or ones that presently exist. An example of this influence from other African tribes would be the written “Wakandan” text that appears on the walls; the text is really Nsibidi, a language that originated in southeast Nigeria and has since decreased in prominence. In addition, the headdress that the queen wears is modeled after the Zulu isicolo, worn by married women. Many people were impressed by the authenticity of the culture that was presented in the film.
The movie’s positive influence can be seen in the excitement of young African-American children who have identified with the characters, and have since dressed up as the characters, or made posters or modeled their toys after them. The all-black cast of “Black Panther” gave underrepresented black children (as well as those older than them) a whole selection of heroic characters to look to. Every time I open Instagram, I see a heartwarming video of another kid being inspired by the characters in the movie and trying to embody his or her idols.
When the movie ended, my friends and I were met with massive groups of people, outside of the theater, waiting to get their own tickets for the show. Understandably, these people were excited to see whether or not the movie was all it was advertised to be…in my opinion, it absolutely was!
For the first time ever, two African-American directors are in the spotlight of the two box office spots for the highest grossing movies, as “Black Panther” has joined Ava DuVerney’s “A Wrinkle In Time”. “Black Panther” spent four weeks as a box office hit and ultimately received $1.1 billion in revenue, worldwide. Similarly, the reviews of “Black Panther” were overall positive.
As Lina Petronino said, “To see a movie as diverse as ‘Black Panther’, and to see it smash the box offices, is truly heartwarming and refreshing”.
0
0
Average Rating