Sunday, March 11, 2018

Mickie's Flash Film Files

  Installation No. 1 

The Erudite Marvel Cinema

Black Panther

The Women Protect The King
It was my birthday, and the film I chose to see was Black Panther. My daughter had been lobbying for Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri. I prevailed, stating that I wanted to be immersed in something brilliant and uplifting on my special day.

I wasn't disappointed. I knew Black Panther was going to be good. I just didn't expect it to rise above the hype.

In the beginning of the film we learn about the creation of a mythical land, home to several tribes living harmoniously under one ruler, and achieving unprecedented advances in science, medicine, and technology, using an indestructible alien substance found buried in its hills. Remarkably, the land is cleverly shrouded and protected from the rest of the world by a hologram.

We've seen such mystical places before: Shangri-la, Xanadu, Arcadia, Eden. We've followed book and film heroes search for El Dorado or The Ark of the Covenant. Stories created by Europeans seeking to possess the 'otherness' of an exotic culture, usually Asian, South American, or African. This time the land of milk and honey is Wakanda. Created by black people for black people.

 In Africa. 

 And the El Dorado is Vibranium. Wow, we got ourselves a black myth. Now that's extraordinary. 

 In America.

Traditional myths, such as fairytales and action stories help children develop critical thinking, because they teach them to appreciate social norms and values. Black Panther teaches children of all races, the value of a black heritage.

The King is Dead. Long Live the King.

Who knew that Marvel and Disney would spend $200 million on a film directed by a young black man, Ryan Coogler, written by black men, Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole, starring mostly black actors, Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o, Danal Gurira, Daniel Kaluuya, Letitia Wright, Winston Duke, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, and filmed by a woman, Rachel Morrison?  But they did and the result shattered box office attendance records during the slowest month of the year. That was February. It's March now, and the film continues to strut past lifetime totals of other blockbusters. 

Why?

Black Panther is a film that blends layers of stories about the past and present with kaleidoscopic action, pairs humor with FX, and delivers gorgeous set designs and costumes filled with and worn by unforgettable characters. The framework is as old as the world: good versus evil. But the events and scenes are nuanced by references to slavery, stolen art, Jim Crowe, and the need to protect something valuable: the idea of Wakanda. Imagine how we would look back on history if, in 1921, the black residents of the Greenwood District of Tulsa, Oklahoma could have concealed their economic ascendency with a hologram? If you're black and you own treasures, how do you stop others from stealing or destroying them?

Okay, but if you're so powerful that you lead the world in science and technology, why aren't you at the forefront trying to alleviate suffering for the poor and disenfranchised, for people who share your skin color and ancestry. Oh, yeah, Greenwood.
Peerless Supervillain

Ironically, or maybe not, it's the isolation itself that creates a vacuum for evil to challenge the status quo. So here's the down and dirty of the story:

When Black Panther, King T'Chaka, dies, his son ascends the throne after defeating the leader of the Jabari tribe, the only tribe that has refused to unite under Wakanda. Soon after, Eric Killmonger enters the scene challenging T'Chala's leadership. As a child he was orphaned due to a decision made by T'chala's father many years before. Killmonger hasn't forgotten, and he is angry, powerful, and relentless. He claims he wants to to empower the oppressed, all of the beleaguered people of the world with Vibranium tools so they can destroy their oppressors. But is he righteous?

T'Chala and Killmonger are perfect foils for one another. Each makes an impassioned argument for what he believes is the truth of Wakanda, and the correct mission for his people. What is even more interesting is how the female leaders, once loyal to T'chala, behave after Killmonger defeats him. (Or does he?) First, Nakia, a former lover, who takes on social justice assignments in the outside world, currently as a spy fighting on behalf of kidnapped Nigerian women. Next, Okoye, the general of the all-female special forces unit that protects the king. Even though both women loved and respected T'Chala when he was king, it is Nakia who leaves with his mother to avoid Killmonger's revenge and to fight for another kind of justice. Okoye stays because she wants to honor the tradition of Wakanda, regardless of the ruler and his ethic. Sound familiar?

Viewers will choose their own sides, and in their hearts will engage in a vicarious fight for a just cause. If the supervillain grabs your heart as much as the hero, well that's called three-dimensional writing. In the final scene, T'Challa says, "The wise build bridges while the foolish build barriers." Yup, another reference to the man in the house.  

Black Panther is an allegory for tradition and ancestral pride. It convinces us that the deep roots of a sustaining culture are also strong enough to embrace the social demands of a changing world. Even the special effects serve as disparate characters, or side kicks if you will, which demonstrate dichotomy and strength. Nothing in the film, including the FX, is extraneous. Everything is a set up for an ambitious pay off. I would see it again, because despite walking away in wonder, I know I missed a lot.
                                                                                                                                                                                      

 Something SAD.
Roxanne Gay, writer of the comic book series, Black Panther: World of Wakanda, was NOT invited to the Los Angeles premier earlier in January. She said that she is thrilled for the movie and sad that her work was not acknowledged. 

Posted by at 1 comment:
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)