Image Creates Desire, Black Panther Movie Review
Black Panther Review by L.A. Holts
I sat in the audience with great anticipation, not knowing what to expect because I had purposely stayed away from too many trailers and info. Being green to the world of Marvel and Black Panther in general, I had no idea the emotional, spiritual and visual journey that I was about to be taken on. If I were to give this review a title, I would name it “Image Creates Desire”. Cinemagraphic Imagery is so important to the black community and personally has been a huge let down when it comes to instilling positive images in young black impressionable minds. In our society, negative imaging is just another form of systematic oppression used to keep African Americans and minorities in a place of inferiority and based on the images seen on television, media and film, this age old device of deception is still in full effect. Every so often a film come along that breaks the back of systematic oppression and literally blows fresh wind and life into the lives of those who have been under attack for so long.
Why is Black Panther the movie so important to Black people? Somebody say, image.
The definition of image according to dictionary.com is 1. a physical likeness or representation of a person, animal, or thing, photographed, painted, sculptured, or otherwise made visible.
2. an optical counterpart or appearance of an object, as is produced by reflection from a mirror, refraction by a lens, or the passage of luminous rays through a small aperture and their reception on a surface.
3. a mental representation; idea; conception.
4. Psychology. a mental representation of something previously perceived, in the absence of the original stimulus.
5. form; appearance; semblance:
We are all created in God's image.
6. counterpart; copy:
That child is the image of his mother.
Black Panther changed the image of an entire people in one sitting from being seen as outcast, thugs, down trotted, dumb, slaves, thrown away, poor, defeated, and forgotten, to a people who are triumphant, victorious, royal warriors of sustenance and intelligence. Let’s take a look at the synopsis and characterization of the movie. I grabbed the synopsis straight from the movie site page.
“After the death of his father, T'Challa returns home to the African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as king. When a powerful enemy suddenly reappears, T'Challa's mantle as king -- and as Black Panther -- gets tested when he's drawn into a conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his foes and secure the safety of his people.” (Black Panther movie synopsis online.)
Let’s go deeper and talk about the actual characters and the imaging that was portrayed, as I saw it, while watching the film. T’Challa has inherited the throne to become king after his father's death. Here we have a place of authority and status handed down to T’Challa because of the bloodline that he was born into. Although he was next in line to become king, he still had to participate in battle to protect his crown and position. Even during times of great opposition, T’Challa never quit or put his responsibility off on someone else. Even in the face of failure, he didn’t give up, and used that time to reset and try again.
Nakia, confidant and former girlfriend to T’Challa. When T’Challa was to take his rightful place as king, his entire country was present to celebrate and witness the changing of the guard, if you will, but that ceremony wouldn’t have been complete without the support and presence of the love of his life, Nakia. Nakia, a warrior in her own right, a spy, on the world outside of Wakonda who fought for justice. A personal passion of hers, she decided to sacrifice her relationship in order to fulfill a greater goal. It’s clear from the movie that Nakia still loved T’Challa, but did not allow her love for him to stop her personal assignment and purpose to fight for those who could not fight for themselves. The imagery of her character speaks volumes to young black girls. You don’t have to give up your dreams for a relationship. And as you know at the end, once T'Challa realized the weight of Nakia’s assignment, they came together in a compromise to rule together without the pressure of Nakia having to change who she was in order to be with the king, while the king realized that he should no longer ask Nakia to give up on her purpose in order to be his wife.
Shuri, the 16 year old genius princess and younger sister to T’Challa. Shuri developed the entire technological systems in which Watonga was ran on, including the weapons used. This young lady moved in her area of gifting without shame for being intelligent, which showed the image to young black children that you don't have to be ashamed about enjoying learning or advancing an idea that has already been developed. I love the scene when T’Challa makes fun of his sister after he returns to Wakanda concerning her new weapons she has improved upon. When he tells her she doesn't know anything about making something better, she simply says, “just because you have made something, doesn’t mean it can’t be improved upon”. The imagery of this character is brilliant. She brought the “cool” back into being exceptional and held her head high and actually enjoyed creating and inventing better technology and weapons for her people. According to comic books she becomes queen of Wakonda and takes on the powers of Black Panther for a time but with the special heart shaped herb being all burned by Killmonger, I wonder if there will be more discovered in a possible sequel.
Okoye, leader of the all female tribe sworn to protect the throne. This character was fierce. A fighter, a tactical strategist with a bald head. Why is this important for little black girls? Because there is a stigma that dark skin and short hair means you’re not beautiful. The imagery of this character lifted the spirits of little dark skinned black girls who have been made to feel ugly because of the social norms of what beauty looks like. Black is beautiful and although I am not dark skinned, my father is, my best friend is, my grandfather was, my cousins and aunts and the little girl that I use to take up for in grammar school was and I say black is beautiful. And so does the movie Black Panther.
Everett Ross, government representative and CIA agent. I really liked this character because he was genuinely concerned for the people and wanted to help without an agenda. I didn't know how to take him a first but he grew on me as I saw he wasn’t up to no good. I got especially nervous when he was invited into the princesses lab and shown her advanced weapons. I yelled, “noooo get him out of there”, again do to all of the real life “Klaue's” stealing from us as a people, I’m sure more than most agreed with my sentiments. Everett Ross’s character was not made to be the typical white saving grace during the movie, which I appreciated. So many times, we as a people have been displayed as weak and unable to save the day for our own without a white hero emerging to do what we were deemed as impossible to do. In the end, Everett earned the trust of the royal family and was able to use his flying skills as a pilot, along with Shuri’s advanced ships, to stop Killmonger’s troops from reaching the outskirts of Wakonda with weapons of mass destruction. Even Everett had a role to play. The idea that stuck out here was all white people aren’t trying to get over on our culture, accomplishments, inventions and brilliance, and we can work together to accomplish the task set before us.
M'Baku, leader of the mountain tribe was a very interesting and complex character. He and his tribe stayed hidden for years but when it was time to crown T'Challa he emerged with a challenge for the throne. In addition to him being super fine, he fought, for the right to claim the throne. After he was unsuccessful, he gracefully bowed to the king and respected his authority and position. Now this is why I loved this character, after T’Challa got in a bit of trouble later on and was thrown to his perceived death by Killmonger, M’Baku and his tribe took him in and helped him when they could have left him for dead. When M’Baku was presented with the heart shaped herb to become the new Black Panther by Queen Ramonda, he refused and instead, lead the queen and princess along with Nakia to the king. Now although Killmonger had overtaken the throne, the king had not conceded nor died, so he was still the rightful king of Wakonda. M’Baku respected that. What’s the imagery here, he wasn’t a sore loser. M’Baku honored the rules of the country, and he had a pure heart because when he was presented with the last of the heart shaped herb, that he knew would give him superpowers, he led the queen to her son, the rightful owner of the potion that would restore and heal him. In addition to not taking what didn’t belong to him, M’Baku also joined forces with King T’Challa to overthrow Killmonger later.
Zuri was the spiritual adviser and protector of the heart shaped herb. Every leader needs council. Every king needs that spiritual person to keep them grounded and safe. Zuri was just that. In today's society, young leaders are taught to be independent and self sufficient. But in Wakonda, even Kings need someone who carries wisdom.
W'Kabi, Advisor and best friend who is head of the border tribe, a tribe that literally guards the borders of Wakonda so anyone looking from the outside would only see Wakonda as a small village with little to offer. (So could some of his resentment towards Black Panther be because T'Challa's father, the king, should have never breached the borders of Wakonda?) W’Kabi represented the lack of patience when someone new gets promoted. He never really gave the king a chance to make all of the wrongs; right, and was too willing to give up on his king because the king refused to do things his way.
Ramonda is the Queen and mother to King T'Challa , the glue and producer of royal blood. The nurturer of nations. The encourager of Wakonda. Set in her identity. The very embodiment of queendom. What imagery here, where would we as a people be if our black sisters knew who they were? Remember Ramonda was married to a king. So she didn’t settle. She was so confident in who she was as a woman, anything less would have been absurd. Even after the death of her husband, she was honored and looked after. Her husband's legacy even in death, carried the weight of honor and respect. All black women should look for the qualities of a king in their men, so even in death, his life and legacy will live on.
Ulysses Klaue, enemy. Now Klaue is the long time enemy of Wakonda. The imagery here is the age old white man with the taste for blood and destruction who wanted to steal the accomplishments, wealth and technology of Wakonda. There was a line in the film where he says, “these savages don’t deserve it,” talking about the Vibranium. He wanted the goods to sell on the black market and was so enraged with jealousy that he could barely see straight when it came to all things Wakonda. This image could not be more strong and is a reality outside of the walls of the theater. When the 3D glasses are taken off and thrown into the bins outside of the theater, this imagery of Klaue lives on, in every movie, tv show, news broadcast, presidential speech, police that profile black men and women, who have been pulled over; to being shot for no reason at all, this imagery of Klaue is why we as a people were given so much life by this film. We can’t have nothing and that which we do, has been historically stripped from us forcefully by enemies who deemed us savages that don’t deserve to be treated equally.
Killmonger, a boy abandoned after his father's murder in a place he had no business being left in. A young boy with royal blood who resented the fact that he would grew up without a father and without family ties. He knew where he came from and spent a lifetime trying to get back to that place. Without proper guidance, he was an angry boy who grew into an angry man without compassion or mercy. He wanted to kill anyone with different views or there with a different nationality from him. The imagery of this character is like so many of our black boys who were simply left behind to fend for themselves. With no family ties or older men to teach them, without father’s in the home, they morphed the black household into something that was never intended, mothers raising their children alone, while fathers did what was done to them by their father’s.
By the time I got to the end of this wonderful film, T’Challa had decided to return back to the hood, as king, to give back to those little black boys who had been forgotten and girls who were left behind. This film had so many elements of positive imaging that I could go on all day. It celebrated relationships and how important each role is, in the black community and what happens when those roles are missing. Great men raise T’Challa’s while absent fathers breed Killmongers. All the while the world of Wakonda has more than enough to reach back.
In closing, after all of the fan fair, the dashiki movements, drum circles outside of movie theaters, the African dancers and the like, what my hope is for you, is that the imaging in this film, Black Panther, stirs change. Little black boys are superheroes and kings. Little black girls are warriors, princesses and intellectual geniuses. It does take an entire village to cultivate the greatness on the inside of us, and for the grown folks, image creates desire, so I ask you, when your children look at your life, what image do they see?
Special shout out to director Ryan Coogler and Marvel Studios, I send you a well done and God bless you in your directing career, my name is L.A. Holts and I hope you enjoyed my take and review of Black Panther.
