#WhatBlackPantherMeansToMe
The time is almost here.
In just nine days, Black Panther will finally be unleashed on the world. If early reviews are any indication, this one will truly be one for the ages. Not only does it have a 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, but it’s widely being considered the best Marvel movie ever.
Let that sink in for a minute.
A movie written and directed by a black man, filled with an incredible black cast in a sea of white superhero movies is being considered the best. That’s huge.
So with the release of this monumental movie almost upon us, I figured I would weigh in on the hashtag that’s been trending across social media the last few days.
#WhatBlackPantherMeansToMe is quite a lot.
After years of lacking in terms of my African American heritage for a variety of reasons, I heavily tapped into it in 2017. It’s been incredible, to say the least. (Side note: I have plenty of material that I’ll eventually write about in this realm in the coming weeks, but I’ve just been super swamped with work these days. But more is coming to this space I promise!)
The release of Black Panther is basically the culmination of everything that I’ve been experiencing over the last year.
While I’ve been a huge fan of superheroes for almost my entire life, I’ve never been able to truly relate to anything on the big screen. The Avengers are hella fun. Batman is a badass. But they’ve never been relatable to me. They were just a bunch of white guys kicking ass.
Black Panther is different. It’s black excellence put on full display. Everyone on the screen looks like me. Their speech. Their mannerisms. Everything about it is on a completely different level. Seeing trailers and clips and posters continues to give me such a sense of pride that continues to grow as release day grows closer.
It’s very much akin to the feeling that women all over felt when watching Wonder Woman on the big screen. Little girls finally had a female hero done right that they could look up to. Black Panther is going to have this same impact on people.
Representations matters.
I mean, just look at this.
While kids of that age would certainly be happy to see anything, you can just tell that it’s different in this case. The pure joy on all those kids faces is incredible. I can’t imagine that they would be losing their minds that much if this was for any other movie.
I think that alone means more to me than anything. Not necessarily that I have something to relate to in this movie. But that the younger generation does. They will basically never have to grow up in a world without Black Panther being a prominent figure in pop culture.
Once I’ve got kids of my own, I’ll be able to show them this movie at a young age. They won’t have to wait 28 years to experience it. It’ll just be there, and that’s incredible to me.
In a world where blacks are seen as second-class citizens, Black Panther will paint us in a new light. As strong, powerful people. As royalty.
I don’t think the world is truly ready for the level of greatness that’s about to be dropped right in their laps.
The King is here.