Not Another Think Piece About Black Panther

The back of my hand swiftly swiped at my face as tears rolled down my cheeks at the closing scene of the Black Panther movie. It wasn’t profoundly touching or thought-invoking on the surface, it was a typical superhero movie. A good guy, a bad guy, a few fights, the bad guy almost wins, but then he doesn’t.

To put it bluntly, I hate action-filled movies. I haven’t seen a Marvel movie basically, ever. What made this one different was not only the beautiful shades of melanin that graced the screen but the way the story differed from any other afro-centric movie I’d seen.

Black Panther showcases a powerful African nation, one that is rich with resources that have been untouched. The nation isn’t without its own problems, but they aren’t ‘black’ problems, rather problems any nation could have.

The movie is an escape from reality rather than a gruesome reminder of history and the issues that as a community we currently face. It creates an imaginative space for the places we could have come from and for the people we can become. It showcases black love and the importance of helping one another out. It stresses the idea that we are all one people despite oceans and cultures that seem to divide us. It focuses on a black male hero with multi-dimensional feelings of love, remorse, and empathy.

Whether we’d like to admit it or not, pop culture shapes our societies and at times how we view ourselves. Time and time again I searched to find my reflection in a character but found myself unsuccessful. There is now a whole generation of black youth who will grow up with a superhero mirroring themselves and thanks to its booming success, others like it.

An entire generation who will grow up in a time when seeing themselves on the big screen in such a positive way is normal. No longer just a sidekick, a rapper, a maid, or an athlete, black children can see themselves in a superhero and become them in their real lives.

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