Week 14: Contextual Research Presentation

Black Panther is a fictional superhero movie created in 2018, starring the late Chadwick Boseman. The story is set in “Wakanda” a fictional African Nation ruled by T’Challa (played by Chadwick). The tiny nation holds almost sole possession of a nearly indestructible alloy called “Vibranium,” which the country has kept under extreme security for centuries. The film allows us to go on a journey with these powerful black characters as they work to protect their nation when a foreign power gets its hands on a small amount of that Vibranium.

Black Panther had a huge impact on families all around the world but more specifically on black families in America. The film has pretty much an all black cast and tells a fictional story in which young brown girls and boys are able to look at the TV screen and see themselves. Many people wonder why Black Panther had a huge impact on black people since notably it is not the first movie with an all black cast nor the first movie about a black superhero. However, Black Panther is one of the first movies we as black Americans got to experience that did not involve a reproducing of black traumas, poverty, suffering, etc. It was freeing for much of the black community to watch Black Panther, seeing powerful black kings and queens with immense wealth not being plagued by the things mentioned beforehand. I remember the first time I watched it in New York City in a sold out AMC theater. I wept. I wept for myself, I wept for my family, but most importantly I wept for my ancestors. I wondered if they would be proud. I wondered if they could see how far we had come but also how far we have left to go. This is Black Panther’s relevance today.

As we all know, we have a very rocky sociopolitical climate currently. We have some people who refuse to say black lives matter and people who shout it to the heavens. Black Panther was one of the first moments that I heard unison support for black characters. Although fictional, waves of people across the world of all different nationalities and races screamed “Wakanda Forever” regardless of how they truly felt about black culture in their private lives. White people at the very least appreciated the excellence of the art created in the movie and some white and most black people felt the breakthrough black panther was for our world on key social issues. Black Panther’s ability to transcend race and politics made us all a little better. It allowed people to truly understand the importance of being able to see yourself on the big screen. At the very least Black Panther started and or advanced the conversation on how important representation is in our world. I believe it continues to do so. The same move for representation occurred when Barack Obama became president and now with Kamala Harris becoming Vice President elect. Movies like Black Panther help us continue that dialogue. Enjoy my favorite clip from the entire movie!

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2 thoughts on “Week 14: Contextual Research Presentation

  1. Hi, nice post! Black Panther played a huge role in the African American society and it was amazing to see. I love how many young African American children can watch this movie and be proud of the way they are and their culture.

  2. Thanks for your informative post! Black Panther is a worldwide famous role and he plays an important racial position in the society.

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