Before you read any further into the article there will be spoilers for “Black Panther.”
I am not a fan of superhero movies aside from Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man trilogy. I believe my reason for not liking superhero movies is because I am not a science fiction movie fan in addition to only being able to take so much fantasy. However, most recently all of my friends were surprised to find out that I had not watched any Marvel movies and they were most especially shocked that I had not seen “Black Panther.” They became convinced that I needed to see “Black Panther” as soon as possible which meant a Friday movie night.
After watching the movie, I have to see that it did truly change how I saw superhero movies as for the first time I witnessed a superhero movie that valued plot over character. That is not to say that the characters are not well written as Letitia Wright’s portrayal of Shuri is the most realistic portrayal of the little sister who is a teenager. I have just noticed that Marvel sometimes places more emphasis on the development of their characters rather than the plot of the movie.
I have discussed the plot with my friends and we agree that the hurdles faced with having to establish the world of Wakanda and balancing characters’ back stories such as Erik Killmonger were handled well. In my opinion, I would have loved it if Killmonger received more screen time as well as a slightly better ending as I felt his character underwent a drastic character development within the last five minutes of his screen time.
Speaking of Killmonger, he is one of the best villains I have seen in a superhero movie as his motivations are justifiable prompting him to remind me of my favorite Shakespeare villain, Iago and those are some big shoes to fill.
In addition, there are many times within the film when director Ryan Coogler chooses to have key details have symbolic meanings. In one of these, Coogler chooses to have Killmonger’s astral realm be his childhood apartment with only his father present. Since his father chooses to leave Wakanda and raise Killmonger outside of the land of Wakanda there are bars on the window in the astral realm to convey how cut-off they are from the rest of their family.
Reflecting more on the characters present within the film, Chadwick Bosemen did exceedingly well in portraying the character of T’Challa. He creates this charismatic, well-do superhero struggling to adjust to his new position of King while also attempting to remain true to his values. I personally think part of the character being extremely likable is due to Bosemen himself being an incredible person, too.
What truly makes the film special is the female empowerment message woven within it. The best comparison to this is a scene within “Avenger’s Endgame”, Peter Parker gives the infinity gauntlet to Captain Marvel and the other female superheroes begin to come out of literally nowhere to help her. But Adriana, you said that you never saw a Marvel movie? You are correct as I was only shown this scene in one of my classes as we were dissecting how this scene was clearly meant for marketing purposes.
Unlike the scene in “Avenger’s Endgame”, “Black Panther” essentially does the opposite, focusing on showing the audience how strong and brave female characters such as Shuri, Nakia and Okay are. This then helps to understand why they should think these women are strong as there is proof that they are. In addition to showing how strong, Coogler depicts them as being capable enough to make difficult decisions such as Nakia choosing to steal one of the heart-shaped herbs before Killmonger destroys all of them.
I highly recommend giving this movie a watch during Black History Month as the cast and crew are composed mainly of African American actors which unfortunately can not be said for many other movies. In addition, this movie is a great International Women’s Day Watch as it depicts strong female characters.
Now I think it is only fitting for me to watch the sequel “Black Panther 2” as like the first movie my friends can not stop hyping it up to me.