{"id":265,"date":"2018-03-16T00:17:17","date_gmt":"2018-03-16T00:17:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tantradiva.com\/?p=265"},"modified":"2025-07-22T03:49:01","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T03:49:01","slug":"black-panther-celebrating-black-ability-and-humanity-an-allys-perspective-on-why-you-should-see-this-film","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tantradiva.com\/index.php\/2018\/03\/16\/black-panther-celebrating-black-ability-and-humanity-an-allys-perspective-on-why-you-should-see-this-film\/","title":{"rendered":"Black Panther: Celebrating Black Ability and Humanity. An ally\u2019s perspective on why you should see this film"},"content":{"rendered":"

I know this is really late, but if you haven’t seen this film already YOU SHOULD!!!<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>I would not be excitedly commencing this after a long day of work and only 5 hours of sleep, if Black Panther DID NOT live up to the hype.<\/p>\n

Firstly, a movie is supposed <\/em>to be entertaining, and Black Panther is INCREDIBLY entertaining.\u00a0 All social analysis aside, this movie fulfills its primary function which is simply to entertain the watcher.\u00a0 Its action is fast-paced, the dialogue is brilliant, and the cinematography is stunning.\u00a0 But there are a myriad of social, political and economic reasons for why you should go see this film.\u00a0 Its surrounding context renders it exciting, relevant, and important.\u00a0 It is IMPERATIVE that you go see it.<\/p>\n

I live in Montreal, and 33.3% of its population belongs to a visible minority group.\u00a0 This seems evident when one uses public transit or attends an outdoor festival, but it is less palpable when one attends a mainstream, artistic presentation.\u00a0 Then, it\u2019s predominantly White.\u00a0 The first thing that arrested my attention was the demographic make-up of the audience:\u00a0 White people were in the minority.\u00a0 The room was predominantly full of East and South Asians, Blacks,a few Arabs and Hispanics.\u00a0 It was the first time in my life that I had ever been at a movie theatre in downtown Montreal, and Whites were in the minority.\u00a0 There was already a buzz in the air, and this added an interesting dimension to the viewing experience.<\/p>\n

In the USA, almost 40% of the population belongs to a non-White, ethnic minority group.\u00a0 In Canada, 22.3% of the population belongs to this category.\u00a0 51.5% of Torontonians are members of a visible minority group, as well as 67.3% of the Great Vancouver Area.\u00a0 However, women and ethnic minorities continue to be under-represented in both the Canadian and American film industries.\u00a0 According to a Huffington Post<\/a> report from July 31, 2017, in Hollywood, \u201cA staggering 70.8% of characters in film are White.\u201d\u00a0 In majority White, settler societies, the issue of under-representation in the mass media affects us all.<\/p>\n

I am not Black, but I straddle that world in-between where I am not White, either.\u00a0 My ancestors were colonized and we still suffer some debilitating effects of having been dehumanized.\u00a0 Thus, I can understand and empathize with the Black struggle to a degree, although my lived reality is different.<\/p>\n

The first thing that hit home for me was the majesty of the characters in \u201cBlack Panther.\u201d\u00a0 They were strong and full of pride.\u00a0 Because it was a Black-majority film set in Africa, it did not seem unusual that the characters spoke English with an African accent.\u00a0 They were simply speaking English; not trying\u00a0<\/em>to speak English.\u00a0 Because the male-lead was Black, I focused on him and found him very appealing.\u00a0 His energy and appearance captivated me.\u00a0 Usually, Black actors are cast as supporting acts in the West, since they are seen as secondary characters.\u00a0 And a lot of the times, quite unsavoury characters.\u00a0 Hence, an erroneous White standard exists, and everything else is seen \u201cother\u201d, if not downright inferior.\u00a0 The sexy Chadwick Boseman drew me in, and I found him undeniably fanciable.<\/p>\n

Danai Gurira who played the head warrior-woman, Okoye, was striking and HOT.\u00a0 Her character was strong, fierce, intelligent and ethical.\u00a0 She was my woman-crush for the film.\u00a0 Black and bald, she delivered a powerful performance and was arresting on-screen.\u00a0 She was not subordinate to any White standard of beauty, which dictates that you must have long, flowing hair, pale, flawless skin and fine-features.\u00a0 The essence of her character was amply communicated in her primary speaking role, and made her invigoratingly beautiful.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/em>With an all-Black cast and a variety of natural hairstyles, no one seemed peculiar or bizarre.\u00a0 Hair was hair, and characters were simply human.\u00a0 Even the villain, Killmonger, was simply a violent, unethical turd:\u00a0 Not a violent, unethical turd with bad hair.<\/p>\n

One of the most rewarding effects of having an all-Black cast, and an expansive, encompassing human gaze, was the presentation of African spirituality.\u00a0 African beliefs have been demonized by a violent Christianity and Islam, and many Black people do not find power in their own heritage.\u00a0 To have Black spirituality and practices presented as natural and powerful was utterly satisfying.\u00a0 No White preachers or heroes trying to save the \u201cheathens.\u201d\u00a0 No \u201cprimitive pagans\u201d parading around, as a back-drop for a European perspective.\u00a0 No sirrreeee!\u00a0 African rituals and beliefs were given their proper space, and ancestor communication was as normal as the sacrament in this film.\u00a0 I liked that a lot.<\/p>\n

Corporate Hollywood is really ego-centric, White, male America.\u00a0 Ego-centric people like to see themselves everywhere.\u00a0 They can understand no other perspective.\u00a0 They can acknowledge no other reality.\u00a0 The mass-media has to reflect their interests and bolster what they think is the truth.\u00a0 And that creates a lot of rubbish for the rest of us to consume.<\/p>\n

By financing a film that did not limit Black imagination and ability, Marvel did the world a big favour.\u00a0 The success of Black Panther shows that the world is hungry for excellence and colour-blind.\u00a0 Not that people don\u2019t see race.\u00a0 (They do)\u00a0 But they don\u2019t think that power and bankability belong to White people alone.\u00a0 These attributes belong to everyone, and no group is exempt from excellence.\u00a0 Black Panther has made more money than the Pink Panther ever did.\u00a0 So much for Black people not being big box-office draws!<\/p>\n

There is a lot of bad karma on this planet.\u00a0 Historical atrocities and contemporary structures which reinforce White privilege, have coloured our perceptions and narratives of Black people.\u00a0 Being Black is regarded as the anti-thesis of all that you should be, and being White is regarded as the epitome of all you should aspire to be.\u00a0 We who are not White, nor Black, are trained to think that we are \u201clucky\u201d because we are not Black.\u00a0 Depending on where we fall in the racial spectrum, we are \u201clucky\u201d not to have dark skin or kinky hair.\u00a0 By internalising and promoting this insidious self-hatred, and hatred of other people, we are doing the world a disservice.<\/p>\n

Black Panther challenges us to reimagine all that we\u2019ve ever been trained to think about Black people.\u00a0 It accords dignity to their history, reality and ability.\u00a0 It\u2019s a celebration of their humanity:\u00a0 Something they should have never, EVER, had to fight for.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I know this is really late, but if you haven’t seen this film already YOU<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":534,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-265","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-race-and-society"],"yoast_head":"\nBlack Panther: Celebrating Black Ability and Humanity. 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