Black Panther the movie, we know has pulled a Pan-African audience from our social media feed, our friends and colleagues, just in the anticipation of the movie’s release, alone. Afrobeats and the South African house has been tied to endorsing the film through ‘who dances #WakandaChallenge best’.
When the Movie came out – it felt and continues to feel like a large school assembly gathering, of all people with an African heritage, interracial couples and others pulled up to one Global cinema.
The box office sales reaching over $1 billion shows that there is power in Africans when a formation is created especially from around the world, perhaps it shows the financial power of Pan-Africans and what can be done with such discovery – create radical developments?
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Something great like empowering Black Excellence and bringing Africans together without the social dysfunctions of prior colonialism and it’s negative disadvantages.
It shows the masses that if looked at closely, slavery and colonialism have no factor in the reshaping, revamping and building of black excellence, Pan-Africans have the power to come together as one global force – diasporans, people of African heritages and Africans, can come together and build and empower – Could this mean there’s a possibility to provide aid without western intervention? Possibly!
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Suppose it only grossed $500 million, which is less than the last two Marvel releases. Would that have shown that there is no or less power in Africans?
I don’t think the attention is just on the amount. The attention is the amount plus the power in pulling black audiences with a Pan African cast. Hollywood directors have often been quoted to say Black lead films don’t make enough money, but this movie was a black, Pan-African, Dark-Skinned majority cast.
I think also it was amazing that in the movies all the cast were Africans but from different walks of life and they all came together and made MAGIC. It’s symbolic of what is very possible today.
I don’t think this movie sealed the deal in making it possible for Pan-Africans to know they are Powerful enough to make successful initiatives like rebranding the African Continent and perhaps even the word ‘Africa’ itself, but it’s definitely symbolic of doing so.
Rebranding to the point that when you google Africa the things you see today (wild animals, war and violence) will completely eradicate and produce Google search results of (skyscraper buildings, infrastructure and design, talented geniuses and pioneers and forefront technologies). These things are possible. Today.
I believe in the power of travel and tourism; it’s a passive way of building and endorsing any economy- rebranding the African continent alone can provide so much fortune, trade, infrastructure, jobs- It’s a Ripple effect, sort of sustainable development.
READ ALSO: For a movie that aims to interrogate identity and freedom, Black Panther gets it
Does it seem a bit weird that you’d make a movie about Africa but include next to no Africans; seemed most of the actors were pretending to have their accents?
They were pretending to have their accents- that’s what acting is right? An actor’s job is to produce a believable pretence. I think the cast did a good job at just that!
Yes, it would be fantastic to have had more African actors, plus I can’t deny that I didn’t notice the generic Southern and Western African accents they had on but I suppose it was to identify unity in where the Wakanda people came from.
I think it would be a distraction to dwell on matters like “they weren’t African enough”! It would be disappointing if anyone penalised Black Panther for petty points like that. It would mean the key message – ‘to fix Africa’ it needs a formation of Pan-Africans to redesign the African continent to reclaim its narrative – didn’t penetrate that individual.
Arguments relating to colourism, culture, colonialism are unending arguments which wouldn’t benefit Pan-Africans and Black Excellence in any way, so is there a point in engaging in counterproductive arguments?
Is there maybe, a risk of over playing the significance of this movie?
It’s like having a dream and not putting the time and effort to nurture its manifestation. Black Panther is the Dream, the time and effort is Pan-Africans and the manifestation is fulfilling Black Excellence to its infinite capacity.
Or perhaps it’s just a film that’s done its job properly- selling dreams. A great film does that.
Did I enjoy the movie?
I really enjoyed the movie- to be honest I felt like a kid. I was really excited to watch a Marvel film. My friend even joked, “no one would believe you’re turning 27”!
The cinematic design, costumes, makeup, interior and plot was an A*. I don’t think I’m qualified to critique any of these aspects but to my eyes, they were compelling and tasteful.
