The Best of Black Panther — Worth Your Time

After three attempts with every showing in my neighborhood sold out, I finally saw the phenomenon that is Black Panther this week. It is every bit as wonderful and inspiring and nerdy as people say.

Black Panther is a great superhero movie, one of the best Marvel has offered, but that’s not what has inspired the cultural moment it’s having. It’s because of the same feeling I had when I saw Gal Gadot’s Wonder Woman last summer: I’ve sat through countless superhero movies, but I’d never seen myself on the screen as a super hero.

Representation matters. Inspiration matters. And as a result there is great discussion and activism happening around Black Panther and its ideas—almost too much to keep up with!—so I’ve rounded up my favorite reactions to and insights about the movie. (Excerpts below with links to the full articles.)

Celebrating black culture.

Black Panther is in many ways a love letter to black culture. Africa has traditionally been an unsophisticated bit player in American media, often portrayed as backward, savage, and chaotic in everything from news coverage to films. It’s a portrayal that has left little room for other interpretations, which is why Black Panther’s vision of Wakanda as a bustling metropolis of vibranium-powered futuristic skyscrapers, racing trains, and soaring spaceships feels so refreshing.

Marvel movies often take place in grand, imaginative locales, like Thor’s Asgard or Guardians of the Galaxy’s far-flung planets. But nothing has been quite as audacious and poignant as Wakanda, a vision of Africa that feels indebted to both Jack Kirby and Octavia Butler, home to a thriving black population that represents our collective ingenuity and beauty. As a testament to black empowerment, Black Panther is an important artifact, but it’s also, quite simply, a big draw for black moviegoers starved for this sort of vision.

by Tre Johnson
Read his long-form piece reflecting on Black Panther’s celebration of black culture and importance here.

Meet the real women who inspired King T'Challa’s guard.

Not only is this history clearly reflected in the fictionalized Wakanda, where Black Panther is set, but so is the idea of a political system wherein men and women control political institutions jointly. Though the nation has a King, he depends on the central female characters, played by Angela Bassett (mother/adviser to the King), Letitia Wright (Princess/lead scientist), Lupita Nyong’o (spy/insurrectionist), and Danai Gurira (adviser to the King/General of Dora Milaje). As numerous Africianist historians have attested, this system also shows up in the true history of pre-colonial African reality. For example, John Henrik Clarke explained in his essay on African Warrior Queens in Black Women of Antiquity, in the years before colonialism, “Africans had produced a way of life where men were secure enough to let women advance as far as their talents would take them.”

by Arica L. Coleman
Read the historian’s full account of the all-female African military corps in West Africa here.

A review for the comic nerds and Marvel fans.

The genre of superhero cinema is wider and deeper than many give it credit for, because the stories we've seen thus far have followed similar arcs, starring similar actors, in similar settings. In Black Panther, Coogler, too, rounds the familiar bases: Yes, those T'Challa versus Killmonger scenes do duly check the “Hero Fights Evil Version of Himself” box; yes, you've seen elements of that car chase before; and yes, the sudden but inevitable death of a supporting character does inspire T'Challa to scream “NOOOOOOO!” because that's the law.

But in a much more crucial way, Black Panther is a story we haven't seen told before in popular cinema—a story about black people completely untouched by colonialism, who exist entirely outside the global systems of institutionalized racism.

It's a fantasy, in other words—but then, that's exactly what superhero stories are for.

by Glen Weldon
Read the full review here.

More about the amazing women in the story, their diversity, and autonomy.

Without saying much, Okoye’s presence exudes her indispensability. She is T’Challa’s chief general who he listens to and takes direction from. Okoye is intuitive, ready for action and alert. She is the driving force behind Wakanda.

Letitia Wright steals almost every scene she’s in as Shuri, T’Challa’s spunky little sister, whose hair is styled in fun micro braids. With a never-ending curiosity and fearlessness, she is the backbone of Wakanda’s technological infrastructure. …

Then there’s Lupita Nyong’o’s character, Nakia, … a Wakandan spy, [we first meet] during a rescue mission that appears to pay homage to the missing girls kidnapped by Boko Haram. But this is fiction, of course: Rather than people losing interest in a campaign like “bring back our girls,” Nakia helps liberate the women in a brief yet tender scene. She is a philanthropist at heart. Nakia is also T’Challa’s love interest, but the importance of her role is independent of their relationship.

by Jagger Blaec
Read her full study of the power and style of the women of Black Panther here.

If you want to give the comics a try.

And this, too, is the fulfillment of the 9-year-old in me. Reading The Amazing Spider-Man comic books as a kid, I didn’t just take in the hero’s latest amazing feat; I wrestled seriously with his celebrated tagline—“With great power comes great responsibility.” Chris Claremont’s The Uncanny X‑Men wasn’t just about an ultracool band of rebels. That series sought to grapple with the role of minorities in society—both the inner power and the outward persecution that come with that status. And so it is (I hope) with Black Panther. The questions are what motivate the action. The questions, ultimately, are more necessary than the answers.

by Ta-Nehisi Coates
Read about the acclaimed author’s 11-issue series for Marvel and preview the comic here.

If you want to give the comics a try, part 2.

Roxane Gay knows that a superhero’s greatness is directly correlated to their supporting team. Consequently, she kicks off the incredibly powerful series Black Panther: World of Wakanda with a quintessential question no one had thought to ask before. What is daily life like for the Dora Milaje? The women who protect the king of Wakanda are also expected to be available for marriage to the king. It is a job that requires total dedication of the mind, body, and soul. The exploration of that life was long overdue, and is a helpful window into the warrior class that shines in the film. Under Gay’s pen and Yona Harvey’s pencils the Dora Milaje come to life in stunning fashion.

by Joelle Monique
Read her recommendations for the essential six Black Panther comics here.

If you like to keep up with box-office records.

Marvel Studios' Black Panther bounded to success at the President's Day box office, notching $242 million domestically over the four-day weekend—the second-highest such opening behind only Star Wars: The Force Awakens, and the biggest ever debut for a black director. In a triumph that could impact onscreen representation, its $184.6 million overseas total disproves a long-held industry myth that films with black casts underperform overseas. …

In the U.S., Black Panther's diverse cast was reflected in its audience. Some 37% of moviegoers were African-American, per ComsCore, compared to just 15% on usual superhero movies, reflecting a pent-up demand for a black superhero. Women also turned out in droves, accounting for 45% of all ticket buyers.

by Natalie Robehmed
Read more about opening-day stats and their context in movie history and audiences here.

The Black Panther effect—more stories to put a smile on your face.