Ruben Genao: ‘Black Panther’ Is Not the Movie We Deserve
“‘Black Panther’ is Not the Movie We Deserve” by Christopher Lebron covers the positives and negatives of the movie the black panther. One con mentioned in the article is the portrayal of warmonger as a villain in the movie. This brings us to the backstory of his father N’Jobu who set off on a conquest to get vibranium to arm black people around the world after he saw how black people were discriminated against, he was then assassinated leaving warmonger as a poor orphan. Warmonger wants to follow the footsteps of his father in eliminating discrimination but he is eventually killed in the movie too. According to Lebron ” This is precisely N’Jobu’s problem. In the United States, he learns of the racism black Americans face, including mass incarceration and police brutality. He soon understands that his people have the power to help all black people, and he plots to develop weapons using vibranium to even the odds for black Americans.” (Lebron). Villainizing a character that works for equality is one of the major downsides of the movie. One pro discussed in the movie is the portrayal of the black women in the movie as courageous, smart, independent etc. Lebron states “They are the film’s brightest spot: the black women of Wakandan descent are uniformly independent, strong, courageous, brilliant, inventive, resourceful, and ethically determined. I take it that a good deal of this is owed to Ta-Nehisi Coates’s success at elevating the series’ women to central characters with influence and power that turns more on their minds and integrity than their bodies.” One quote that interested me was when LeBron stated: “Even in a comic-book movie, black American men are relegated to the lowest rung of political regard.” after analyzing the movie further I noticed that this quote holds true since the hero is a white man that works in the CIA. This hero almost supports the idea that white men are at the top and solve the problems of the lesser people.