Black Panther: The Superhero Movie We’ve Been Waiting For

In a thrilling fight scene in a South Korean casino in “Black Panther,” Okoye (Danai Gurira) and Nakia (Lupita Nyong’o) fiercely fought off a malicious group of men, displaying an impressive mastery over the use of traditional African spears while also using their bare hands. Okoye, tired of the Western wig she was wearing to disguise herself, snatched her own wig, revealing the bald head characteristic of the female warriors of the Dora Milaje. With Okoye clad in a stunning red dress, accentuated with pieces of gold from Wakanda, and Nakia natural-haired and donning a glimmering 3D-printed dress patterned with African symbolism, the two women flipped both men and society’s idea of femininity upside down. This scene epitomizes the subject matter of the entire movie; focused especially on black and female empowerment, this movie is an ode to black history and contemporary culture.

“Black Panther” moves between inner-city Oakland and the fictional country of Wakanda, a technologically advanced African nation that poses as a third-world nation in order to avoid being exploited by the Western world. The Wakandans possess vibranium

“Black Panther” has the characteristics of a classic Marvel film—the intense battles, the metal uniforms, and the top-notch special effects, visuals, soundtrack, and costume design. Director Ryan Coogler makes many well-thought-out artistic choices. At the South Korean casino, Okoye’s red dress, T’Challa’s black suit, and Nakia’s green dress intentionally make up the colors of the Pan-African flag. The film’s soundtrack was a skillful collaboration of hip hop pieces from American rapper Kendrick Lamar, as well as traditional African tribal music featuring local Senegalese and South African musicians and choruses singing in the native Fula and Xhosa languages, all led by Swedish composer Ludwig Göransson. A female cinematographer, which is uncommon, was behind the impressive cinematography of the film. From the thrilling car chase in Busan, featuring Okoye’s flowing red dress as she rode on top of the car, to the suspenseful challenge scenes between T’Challa and M’Baku and then Killmonger on the edge of the waterfall, Rachel Morrison’s use of different camera angles, such as the Dutch angle, as well as wide shots and saturated colors, brought the action of the movie to life.

“Black Panther” stands out, however, in its thought-provoking exploration of many pressing real-world problems and flips social constructs upside down.

“Black Panther” is the first film in the Marvel series with a black superhero as the lead, and Black Panther, created in 1966, was also the first black superhero in mainstream American comics. The name of the film is not purely coincidental, as Killmonger, a young black revolutionary, closely embodies the spirit of the radical Black Panther party. Killmonger, though the villain in the movie, has motives that many blacks in America can sympathize with; he simply wants Wakanda to use its resources to help liberate members of the African diaspora who are suffering from racism, poverty, police brutality, and mass incarceration, and despite his violent tendencies, I feel his anguish. When T’Challa offers to save Killmonger’s life using Wakandan technology, Killmonger delivers the most heart-wrenching line of the entire film: “Bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from ships, 'cause they knew death was better than bondage.”

The film addresses not only issues of race, but also the debate over whether it is the responsibility of a wealthy, advanced nation to provide foreign aid to less developed nations. Nakia, like Killmonger, also feels that “Wakanda is strong enough to help others and protect itself.” However, the rulers of Wakanda have always employed a Wakanda First policy, never finding it necessary to relinquish the anonymity they have held in order to use their resources to aid other countries, espousing a stance similar to the Trump administration’s America First policy.

Black Panther doesn’t propose an easy solution to all of these difficult questions; rather, it highlights the complexities of these issues, and I often found myself torn between both sides.

At the end of the movie, my mother, a Nigerian immigrant, said to me, “At least now, people will think twice about Africa.” The portrayal of Africa in the media—a third-world continent with poverty, starvation, and corruption—is not one to be proud of. But Wakanda is a much-needed escape from reality and the depiction we have been waiting for: a rich, thriving country, spared from colonization. Furthermore, to those whose ancestors were torn from the motherland centuries ago and to those who have no specific country to tie their African roots to, Wakanda is a place they can call home, a reclamation of what was taken away from them so long ago.

Critics of the film have claimed that Wakanda is nothing more than an overly fantastical depiction of a country in what is, in actuality, a third-world continent. But Wakanda is much more than the country we dream of—it offers a vision of a promising future, and there is no doubt that anyone who leaves the theater after watching “Black Panther,” especially younger generations, will come out inspired to become leaders and agents for change in American society and worldwide.

The film includes many scenes in inner-city Oakland, California, a city with a large black population. It is directed by Ryan Coogler, who some may recognize as the director of “Fruitvale Station” (2013), a film centered on the 2009 police shooting of Oscar Grant, an unarmed black male, which also took place in Oakland. Decades earlier, again in Oakland, the Black Panther political party from which the film takes its name was created.

While it is true that there have been many movies with black leads and predominantly black casts in the past, “Black Panther” is different. Many of these aforementioned movies were pushed out of the mainstream and formed their own smaller, predominantly black subcultures. But Black Panther has the marketing and viewership that comes with being a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Additionally, while many acclaimed black films are centered around black suffering and poverty, “Black Panther” depicts black people as rulers, warriors, and inventors. Rather than the actors’ blackness being ignored, coincidental, or the cause of their woes, their blackness is put at the forefront and is the source of their strength. Though there are white actors in “Black Panther,” they are fewer in number and play relatively minor roles—the roles that are usually given to black actors.

Not only does “Black Panther” uplift the black community at large, but it also empowers women, who are so often given the lesser, subservient roles in major films. Shuri (Letitia Wright), charming the audience with her intelligence, wit, and hilarious sarcasm, is the master of her lab, in which she harnesses the power of vibranium to create a wide array of impressive technological gadgets, from her brother’s Black Panther suit, to Kimoyo beads capable of storing information, making calls, and producing holograms. “Black Panther” depicts a young black female at the forefront of the country’s STEM scene, an image that is very much needed for all the young girls around the world who are interested in STEM but are severely lacking in role models. W’Kabi, charging at Okoye, halts, demonstrating a black woman having power and respect in a relationship. When in danger, T’Challa shamelessly calls on the help of his sister Shuri, as well as Nakia, Okoye, and Ramonda—all the strong women in his life—and these ladies are the ones who ultimately save the day, a reversal of the typical outcome of most storylines.

Remarkably, some of the most action-packed scenes in the film are dominated by women, from the ending fight scene featuring all of Wakanda’s female warriors, to Shuri remotely controlling her brother’s car chase in South Korea. Wakanda is protected by an all-female military force, the Dora Milaje, which is headed by chief general Okoye. The Dora Milaje, as well as Okoye’s position as the strongest warrior in Wakanda, is the ultimate symbol of female strength.

Black Panther is a testament to the importance of representation, and as it continues to break records, it proves that black movies are capable of mainstream success. The excitement and energy with which the black community approached the premier of Black Panther was unprecedented. My Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter feeds were flooded with photos of what everyone wore to the movie theaters: dashikis galore, the beautiful sight of black men clothed in traditional African garb with crowns adorned upon their heads, women dressed as African warriors, complete with tribal face paint—I have never seen African culture more embraced by our community. Black Panther positively changed the way black Americans view Africa, teaching us to be proud of our roots.

As the final credits rolled, I walked out of the theater nearly in tears—both times I watched the movie. As a black female with strong African roots, Black Panther uplifted every single aspect of my identity—something I never see in Hollywood blockbusters. Growing up, I never had superheroes who looked like me to look up to. But it means the world to me that now, little black girls and little black boys will know that they are powerful, that they are royalty, that their culture is rich and beautiful, and that they matter.