Now, I don't usually go to the cinema for action movies. I wait and get the DVD. Invariably I enjoy them, but I don't go to see them at the cinema anymore. Even the chic flick, Wonder Woman (which was really good), I waited for the DVD.
Then came The Black Panther, which rocked Barbados, as it did wherever it was shown. The trailer was intriguing enough. Still, I would not have gone to the cinema to see it.
Black Panther Trailer 2 (Credit: FilmSelect Trailer, 2017)
However, it is my golden jubilee year and I was blessed with a free ticket for being a good customer! 😀 I could not let it go to waste so off I went and enjoyed it to the max.
It was so good to see Africa portrayed as a place with superior technological innovation, to see women warriors, to see spectacular vistas, to see Africa portrayed really as the motherland of mankind.
Actually the way women are portrayed is empowering for women everywhere. We see the Queen Mother, the tech genius of a younger sister, the female General and the all-female warrior guard and the gutsy girlfriend (not a new concept, but Lupita's portrayal is so impressive for the blend of fierce independence and tender loyalty to T'Challa). For many, it seems surprising that women are held in such high esteem in Africa but African society was quite matriarchal traditionally. Patriarchal societies are western cultural traditions, not African. Hear some of its cast on the role of women in the film.
Black Panther – The Women of Wakanda (Credit: Variety 2018)
Still, there is negativity from those who do not understand traditional African culture's reverence for the ancestors, or the shaman tradition. But, the success of this movie is due to the stellar cast, the narrative. It is liberating for everyone as it shows a glimpse of an Africa that escaped colonial rule and the resulting whitewashing of Africa's story.
Here's to Panther Power! #Wakanda4ever!
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