"Black Panther" Has Set the Stage for Big Changes in Hollywood

First a history lesson Black Panther the character was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and made his first appearance in Fantastic Four 52 July 1966 amp160Tamp8217Challa amp8211 as heamp8217s known outside the mask was the first black superhero in mainstream American comics even before more previously wellknown characters like Luke Cage Falcon or Storm amp160He even predates DCamp8217s Black Lightning who didnamp8217t debut until 1977His most recent incarnation is the version first played by Chadwick Boseman in 2016amp8217s Captain America Civil War and again hereamp160 In Civil War Tamp8217Challa watched his father and at the time current Black Panther King Tamp8217Chaka John Kani die during the Bombing of the Vienna International Centre by Helmut Zemo amp160Since the Wakandan throne and the mantle of Black Panther are synonymous both are passed on to Tamp8217Challa After bringing Zemo to justice he returns home to Wakanda in order to take part in the proper ceremonies and rituals that officially give him the throneamp160 Thatamp8217s more or less where the Black Panther movie picks upRyan Coogler amp8211 whose previous directing credits include Fruitvale Station and Creed amp8211 did an amazing job on every front amp160The action is tight and wellchoreographed the wardrobe is detailed and has an authentic feel and the culture of Wakanda feels rich and realistic as if he had actually discovered this technological superpower hidden away somewhere in the mountains of Africa amp160According to an interview he had on NY Hip Hop Radio Station Hot 97 he actually did go to Africa for research almost immediately after landing the gig amp160His casting choices were spot on as well as evidenced by the feature filmamp8217s almost allblack roster of topnotch talent amp160These thespians brought so much swag and coolness to their respective characters that itamp8217s almost impossible not to love everyone you see The coup de gramp226ce is the incredible story and the impressive manner in which it is toldamp160 Marvel does make great movies but they have had an issue or two over the years and one of them has been a lack of really good villains After a couple movies featuring bad guys who want to take over or destroy the world just because they are amp8220evilamp8221 things can get a little predictable More often than not the Marvel villains are pretty straightforward and kind of one note think Ultron Red Skull The Mandarin Ego the Living Planet Darren Cross Ronin the Accuser Hella etcThis is far from the case in Black Panther amp160Erik Killmonger Michael B Jordan is by far the best villain to grace the Marvel universe with his presence since amp8230 well ever reallyamp160 Killmonger is special because instead of a generic evildoer background heamp8217s given a very humanizing personal history amp160In fact his origin story is so endearing that there were several points in the film when I wasnamp8217t sure he was totally wrong amp160Sure he did objectively terrible things but I felt like I understood where he was coming fromWithout giving too much away it all basically came down to Killmonger and Tamp8217Challa being on two sides of the same hot button issue Wakanda is home to a rare and multifunctional otherworldly metal called Vibranium the same material that Captain Americaamp8217s shield is made from which for thousands of years has made all of Wakandaamp8217s technological advances high tech transportation armor weapons and health care possibleKillmonger believes itamp8217s selfish to let all the people of color outside of their borders suffer under the systematic oppression of amp8220colonizersamp8221 while they flourish behind the secretive veil of Wakandaamp8217s supposed poverty amp160Tamp8217Challa feels he should continue to focus on maintaining the safety culture and legacy of his country by doing what theyamp8217ve been doing Keeping Wakandaamp8217s secrets secret amp160He even says amp8220I am not king of all people I am king of Wakandaamp8221In addition to Boseman and Jordan the rest of the cast reads like a whoamp8217s who of toplevel talent amp160Lupita Nyongamp8217o Star Wars The Force Awakens Star Wars The Last Jedi plays Nakia a Wakandan spy and Tamp8217Challaamp8217s exgirlfriend amp160Danai Gurira amp8220Michonneamp8221 on The Walking Dead plays Okoye head of the Dora Milaje basically a militaristic notsosecret service for the king and General of the Wakandan Army Both of these women are fierce and not to be fked with amp160Daniel Kaluuya Get Out is Wamp8217Kabi a close friend to Tamp8217Challa and lover to Okoye amp160Letitia Wright Black Mirror is Shuri head of technology for Wakanda Tamp8217Challaamp8217s charismatic sister and according to a preAvengers Infinity War comic book that Marvel released the smartest person in the worldI havenamp8217t even gotten to the amazing performances by heavy hitters Sterling K Brown Angela Bassett and Forest Whitaker who play Namp8217Jobu Tamp8217Challaamp8217s mother Ramonda and Wakandan Elder Zuri respectively amp160Additionally both Andy Serkis and Martin Freeman who were introduced respectively as villain Ulysses Klaue and good guy Everett K Ross in previous Marvel flicks are integral parts of the Black Panther narrative amp160Lastly thereamp8217s Winston Duke who did a dope job playing Mamp8217Baku leader of Wakandaamp8217s Jibari tribe amp160Believe it or not Black Panther is his feature film debut and already heamp8217s one of my favorite new actorsThereamp8217s no denying that Black Pantheramp8217s impact on society has been instantaneous and profound amp160Iamp8217m not just talking about box office success Iamp8217m talking about the movement this film and the fictional country it depicts has started For all intents and purposes this is a amp8220blackamp8221 movie amp160The soundtrack which is hard as hell by the way was even coproduced in its entirety by rap phenom Kendrick LamarYouamp8217ve got to understand the following are statements I never thought I would make or hear from anyone else amp160amp8220The now Disneyowned Marvel Studios released an official original soundtrack good enough to be one of the best hip hop albums of the yearamp8221amp160 amp8220Itamp8217s the soundtrack for a major motion picture that centers on a black superhero from the wealthiest most advanced country in the world a country on the continent of Africa no lessamp8221This isnamp8217t a movie about racism or the pain of the black experience and it isnamp8217t about gangbangers drug dealing or slavery either amp160This is a movie about intelligent highly skilled black royalty with a narrative that feels more Game of Thronesy than anything else amp160This is about kings and kingdoms fathers and sons and unbreakablyamp160strong women amp160Black or not I donamp8217t think there was a single weak or helpless woman depicted in the entire flick and these days thatamp8217s saying somethingYes this film is proBlack but itamp8217s also inclusive as hell amp160Itamp8217s not just a great amp8220blackamp8221 movie itamp8217s a great movie in general amp160Period amp160Hot take This is a better film than Thor Ragnarok Spiderman Homecoming and Captain America Civil War though all three are pretty great amp160The success of this movie is going to open many doors for future Cooglers Bosemans and Nyongamp8217os to get a real chance to pursue their craft on a major professional level because the world is finally showing the entertainment industry that legitimate black cinema will make big bucks amp160Give the people more of what they want HollywoodBottom line Black Panther is a beast of a film amp160Iamp8217m having a difficult time even fitting all my thoughts on it into one columnamp160 To quote Everett K Rossamp8217s words from the trailer amp8220Iamp8217ve seen gods fly amp160Iamp8217ve seen men build weapons that I couldnamp8217t even imagine amp160Iamp8217ve seen aliens drop from the sky but I have never seen anything like thisamp8221 amp160WakandaForeverClick the social buttons above or below to share this content with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writersamp160amp160

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"Black Panther" Has Set the Stage for Big Changes in Hollywood

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Ainsley Andrade

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"Black Panther" Has Set the Stage for Big Changes in Hollywood

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