Movie Review:Black Panther

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Black Panther was one of the most anticipated films of 2018 and it did not disappoint. It is the highest grossing film of 2018 and also the biggest debut by an African-American director.While its a fictional superhero Marvel film, to many black people it was a cultural moment.The movie is directed by Ryan Coogler and it has a run-time of 135 minutes.Its genre is action,drama,science fiction and fantasy.

Plot
Following the death of his father,T’Challa returns back to his isolated and technologically advanced African nation to take his rightful place as the King of Wakanda. An enemy suddenly appears threatening T’Challa and also puts Wakanda at risk. T’Challa the newly crowned King has to find a way to show his full power as Black Panther to defeat the enemy and secure Wakanda.

My thoughts
I am among the people who were anticipating for Black Panther.I had a gut feeling that it was going to be awesome even before I watched it.Apart from me being a fan of Marvel movies,I am also a big fan of Lupita Nyongo. Largely because she is Kenyan and also because I think she is a great actress.When Marvel announced the cast of Black Panther I knew I was going to watch it.Black Panther was aesthetically refreshing and its story line was great.

Black Panther means a lot to Black people.Growing up we didn’t have black superheroes apart from “Madea” 😀 .We watched superheroes that were different from us because that was what was predominantly shown on our screens.While we enjoyed the films, we never fully identified with them because they were different from us.Black Panther is therefore important because we can fully identify with it.Wakanda is a beautiful nation that changes the narrative about African nations.Its an African nation that has never been colonized and very technologically advanced.It is also very Isolated and never accepts aid from other nations.To make the movie inclusive for all Black people, Black Panther had representation from many black cultures across the world, from the warriors looking like the Maasai people of Kenya,Xhosa language of South Africa, Nigerian accents and so on.It was like a celebration of all black cultures.

The women in thE movie are phenomenal.They are all powerful in their own way doing their thing.Since Wakanda has never been colonized ,the women in the film have natural hair and styles that represent what beauty means to them.The “Dora Milaje” who are the special forces of Wakanda are all women.They are powerful and they have realized their power and potential and the men are not threatened by it which I think should be a great lesson to the world.The women are also fierce but still feminine which gave me a great feeling like when I watched “Wonder Woman”.

In conclusion I think this movie is wonderful in promoting the diversity of cultures in arts.Media is a powerful tool and I think the reason Black Panther has been overwhelmingly positive is because it has brought discussions about minorities getting lead roles to the forefront.Black Panther has set the precedent for non white leads,which will put other minorities in discussion for major roles as well.I think the success of Black panther is a success for all.Representation is very important because it changes how people view others and I think this may change the narrative about Black People.If you haven’t watched the movie I think you should watch it.If you have leave a comment about what you thought about it.