“Wakanda Forever”: The Importance of “Black Panther”
Why everyone should watch the film of the moment.
The cinematic poster for the film.
Over the years, movies have been making great strides to incorporate and represent minority groups in a variety of ways. Although this is true, there is still a major issue in representation in Hollywood that deserves attention.
According to the University of Southern California, only about 26.9 percent of characters with dialogue among the top 700 highest-grossing films released between 2007 and 2016 were non-white, with 47 percent of these movies having black female supporting characters and 27 percent of them having a female lead.
These numbers show that, throughout the years, representation for minorities in blockbuster films has been slow, and change is still needed.
As such, moviegoers owe it to themselves to watch Marvel Studios’ monumental film “Black Panther,” which one film critic at The New York Times called a “‘Defining Moment for the United States — and particularly for Black America.”
Black moviegoers I spoke to, as well as others interviewed in national publications, have said the film showcases the black experience to a general audience, who may have only understood it through the typical stereotyping in previous films.
The film also dives head-on into complicated issues surrounding race and identity.
The film largely takes place in the fictional African nation of Wakanda, which is full of rich traditions, culture and ancient rituals paired with next-generation technological innovations. The world feels real, complex and well-thought-out in its creation.
Senior Charlotte Potin grew up in the West African country of Gambia and sees the new film as a major step in the right direction, as it depicts African countries in their true light.
“The movie shows a much deeper understanding of true African culture and really advances the world’s understanding of these places,” said Potin.
Although Wakanda is fictitious, Marvel Studios depicts aspects of African cultures very accurately to share these experiences with unfamiliar audiences said Potin.
“To have the opportunity to pull from real ideas, real places and real African concepts, and put it inside of this idea of Wakanda — that’s a great opportunity to develop a sense of what that identity is, especially when you’re disconnected from it,” said actor Chadwick Boseman to Time magazine. Boseman portrays the main protagonist, T’Challa, in the film.
Another reason to buy a ticket is to see the predominantly black cast, a rarity in most modern films.
In order to shine a light on this discrepancy, playwright Dylan Marron documents every minority’s spoken word in a given mainstream film and posts his findings on YouTube.
One example Marron used was the “Harry Potter” movie series. The entire series runs 1,207 minutes, and people of color speak for only five minutes and 40 seconds, 0.47% of speaking time.
This time is represented by 12 characters, who each speak for 28.33 seconds on average.
Aside from lacking representation in general, racial minorities also find themselves lacking positive representation in mainstream film. “Black Panther” is setting the right tone for more movies to follow and create movies based on celebrating diverse cultures.
The film allows these audiences to see these positive role models on screen, which is something that white moviegoers take for granted.
“It is a long-overdue film,” said Potin. “This representation is monumental.”
Speaking of positive role models, “Black Panther” displays an array of remarkably well crafted strong females. These include Wakanda’s female warriors, T’Challa’s mother Ramonda and his 16-year-old sister, Shuri.
According to the “Black Panther” producers, actress Letitia Wright’s tech genius, Shuri, is the smartest person in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which is Marvel Studios’ interconnecting film franchise.
Many young women have said that seeing Shuri share their interests in science and technology has made them hopeful that they’ll soon follow in her footsteps.
Senior Gillian Graeme said the strong female influence of Shuri was something very impactful to her.
“Seeing a strong female character so close to our age supporting her brother and family was so cool,” said Graeme. “She was also incredibly funny. I loved her.”
In the end, “Black Panther” is a film so uniquely crafted and impactful in its nature that it has led many to anticipate how its’effects transcends the future creation of Hollywood movies.
A ticket for “Black Panther” is not just a ticket for one’s enjoyment, but also a ticket for real change within the industry.
