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‘Black Panther:’ seven months out

It has been seven months since the seminal “Black Panther” released in theaters to an eager audience. For those months, it has been impossible to escape the insurmountable hype and reception the film garnered. It seemed as though we had not only one of the best superhero movies ever made, but one of the most important of our current times.

And yet I am just now seeing it.

After endless days of hearing about and seeing clips of the film, I could see the importance it had in terms of representation in cinema. The title, after all, is reminiscent of the civil rights movement that strove for the same change that this film desires in its undertones.

With “Black Panther” being seven months out, I found myself in a fresh state of mind in a world of people who have already digested this work. In the midst of the cultural phenomenon it catalyzed, I would like to humbly boost this film as a someone who has just arrived to the scene.

“Black Panther” released to Netflix on Sept. 4 to incredible fanfare, and for good reason. The film begins in 1992 Oakland, California, at first carrying the veneer of a drama gunning for awards season. However, only minutes in, we are thrown into an over-the-top, fearlessly stylish world where women warriors and masked men delegate and roll swift justice.

After this point, the story cascades into an even deeper statement on order and history. We are introduced to Wakanda, a world driven by fierce honor and ritual. The stylized culture that pays homage to African history is balanced by characters that celebrate their dynamics with a smartly-written script and impactful direction by auteur Ryan Coogler (“Creed,” “Fruitvale Station”).

Wakanda’s titular leader, T’Challa – more commonly known as the Black Panther – is played with a terrific blend of power and insecurity by the ever-promising Chadwick Boseman. He is a leader in a world that does not acknowledge the community he labors for.

However, the undeniable showstopper is Erik Killmonger, played with ferocity and palpable emotion by frequent Coogler collaborator, Michael B. Jordan. We are introduced to Killmonger in a museum, where he muses about the many artifacts of his culture that have been stolen and assimilated by others. He comes from the other side of the coin as T’Challa; this injustice must be paid for in blood, lest his people further be made obscure by their oppressors.

“Black Panther” is a tremendous force of power that strives to speak unbearable truths, skillfully woven beneath the veneer of beauticious superhero spectacle. Perhaps the secret to its power is in exactly that duality; one could strip away the spectacle and still have an impactful film about race and humanity, and vice versa.

The reason “Black Panther” is so enduring is precisely because of its seemingly impossible balancing act of serving its comic-driven origins and delivering a searing indictment of our treatment of humanity, especially in such incendiary times.

As someone who was late to the game, I will gladly say that I am happy to have seen it when I did. The time in which this film was released was particularly incendiary, and as the months have passed, the worsening of human conditions in the world have made this film’s message all the more potent and relevant.

With that in mind, I would like to pass the message to anyone who hasn’t seen this movie: go and see it. Even if you believe you do not like this genre (and I would certainly understand that sentiment), the historical tributes as well as the prescient forewarnings make this film a step higher than most within its cinematic environment.

This accomplishment of a story speaks directly not only to African heritage, but the sustenance of humanity in general. Buried deep into its grunts of labor and its fights of struggle in the mirrored pools of Wakanda, there is a pacifistic rage that boils to deliver its message. 

“Black Panther” is a contribution to the cinema of here and now, and for that reason, you would be good to not let it fade in your rearview.

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