Black Panther is a science fiction (superhero) action movie directed by Ryan Coogler and marks the third collaboration between him and Micheal B Jordan, (Erik Killmonger) the pivotal anti-villain inside the feature length flick. It started with a budget of 200 million and although it's still in cinemas has already raked in 426 million worldwide so far but is expected to pass 600 million due to the successful nature of the film and it marks the improvement of the director as it is a complete change for the superhero genre, as before the film's release there had never been a black director used for a marvel film or a predominantly black main cast in a feature length film that wasn't based of slavery, crime, drugs or poverty. Making it a milestone not just in black history but in human history.
The first of Coogler's films is Fruitvale Station (released in 2013) which biographical drama which revolved around an African American male trying to live an honest life for his family in a world full of temptations who is unlawfully killed by a police officer. It is based in Coogler's hometown of Oakland had a budget of 900,000 USD, earned 17.4 million at Box Office and proved itself to be a hit at the Sundance festival and Cannes, the film has won 8 awards and is highly rated among critics (94% Rotten Tomatoes) to be a very good film however due it's release occurring 5 months before the typical Oscar contenders do, and its status as an independent film found it snubbed from the top award shows such as the Oscars and the Golden Globes however it did allow Coogler to establish himself as a credible director and B Jordan to further promote himself as an actor.
Coogler's next feature 'Creed' a sports drama released in 2015 details the continuation of the 'Rocky' series, placing Sylvester Stallone's titular character in the role of mentor and re-casting Micheal B Jordan in the place of the boxer. This film again was a critical success (95% Rotten Tomatoes) with a budget of 40 million, significantly larger than the budget of his previous film due to it's success, and made 173.6 million at box office. Yet despite this clear improvement the film was still snubbed at the oscars earning only one nomination (Sylvester Stallone-supporting character) that despite reboots being notoriously worse was able to reinvent the franchise in was that was not appreciated as he received no directer nod for Coogler or best actor nod for Micheal B Jordan.
Black Panther takes a fictional country in Africa (Wakanda) as it's base location while using contextual parts of Africa and African culture as it's elements inside the film. From it's language with Wakandan people speak Xhosa a language spoken by 7.6 million people in South Africa, the costume is also deprived from African culture, from the costumes the characters wear an example being Killmonger's mask displayed early on in the film which is from the Igbo tribe in Nigeria and was used during the local ritual and is known 'Mgbedike' which roughly translates to 'time of the brave' as Bravery is one of the key themes of the film. Other costume inspirations include Queen Mother Ramonda sporting a zulu headdress which is traditionally worn by married women.
Black Panther is takes a fictional country in Africa
(Wakanda) as its base location while using contextual parts of Africa and
African culture as it's elements inside the film. Wakanda is displayed as an
exceedingly technologically advanced country hidden from the rest of the world
due to the valuable nature of their resources but as a front is presented as a
poor African country of farmers, this intended as a subtle humour device as
ignorant people believe that Africa is purely just poverty when in fact it
really is not. The film shows this by drenching itself in rich African culture,
currently Google and Facebook have 314 active tech hubs in 93 cities across
Africa. from its language with Wakandan people speak Xhosa a language spoken by
7.6 million people in South Africa, the costume is also deprived from African
culture, from the costumes the characters wear an example being Killmonger's
mask displayed early on in the film which is from the Igbo tribe in Nigeria and
was used during the local ritual and is known 'Mgbedike' which roughly
translates to 'time of the brave' as Bravery is one of the key themes of the
film. Other costume inspirations include Queen Mother Ramonda (Angela Bassett)
sporting a zulu headdress which is traditionally worn by married women. African
culture has never been displayed so proudly before cinematically so many people
of colour brought it upon themselves to represent formal African regalia from
various diverse African countries that they are either from or feel connection
to.
Coogler chooses to use his characters to represent and accentuate the double consciousness held within the film mainly through T’challa (Chadwick Boseman) and Erik Killmonger (Micheal B Jordan) which are presented as the main hero and villain in the film. When we first see T’challa it is obvious he is intended to be the good character as he arrives on screen to save the female character, the day before his coronation to secure his place as king. When we first see Killmonger he is assisting Ulysses Klaw (Andy Serkis) who is initially presented as the main villain but is betrayed by Killmonger for reasons that relate to his backstory. This is when the character really begins to flesh out, Coogler chooses this moment within the film to explain his back story which details the character’s clear obsession with Wakanda and the reasons behind it as although his father was born in Wakanda as a price nonetheless he feels somewhat separated due to his place on birth not being there despite everyone originally coming from Africa and . Contextually many African Americans within America feel lost due their roots to their African heritage lost after the events of the slave trade and abandoned by the current America due to Donald Trump’s presidency and the rise of Trumpism.
Black Panther works as a counter to this through its role as a superhero movie and the influence that provides Coogler deliberately creates a film in order to inspire, almost a reminder of the Obama era which is known as a happier time in America which promoted hope instead of hate. Coolger shows the absence of hope through Killmonger, a character who should be the hero of the story but is the villain made by the abandonment of Wakanda in Oakland, California (homeplace of Coogler and the Black Panther Party.) Killmonger appears to want the liberation of black people worldwide who were affected by slavery but in reality he is simply striving for revenge, and it’s easy for the audience to emphasize as his idealism is relatable but like many he goes about it in the wrong way similar to the Black Panther Party and a representation of the part in its later years as it turned to bloodshed. This is made worse by the inclusion of the the American Military system, which Coogler highlights to again be corrupted as quoted by Killmonger lead to him kill his own brothers and sisters on the continent of Africa in the form of various civil wars, this is further emphasised by the scars of each kill that stain his body and Agent Everett Ross (one of the only two main white cast) who refers to Killmonger as ' not Wakandan, he's one of ours' which is an explanation of his training by the US government to kill, showing that the part of him that made him evil cannot be his African side as the US taught him to kill. While T'challa is presented as a he only actually becomes one after meeting Killmonger and learning that although he must be stopped he's not wrong, and he learns from this, instead of becoming his enemy he overcomes him by not only being better than him but beating him a better way. The film also manages with ease to be pro women without degrading men in the process by promoting an all female army and placing the female characters in the same level of importance as males are normally portrayed in films by allowing them fight freely against males in combat similar to Wonder Woman's opening battle scene as they should be able to, women are also killed multiple times within the film which is wonderful to see as many films are hesitant to show violence towards women in battle scenarios which socially insinuates that women have no place on the battlefield.
The film's soundtrack is headed by 12 time Grammy winning Kendrick Lamar, Sza, Trippie Redd, The Weeknd, Future, Schoolboy Q and other black artists predominantly from the West Coast of America, the home of the Black Panther Party. It has already hit number one on the billboard 100 list and stayed there for several weeks.
In conclusion Black Panther's multiple endings is intended to be the film's last message of hope with the creation of the Wakanda outreach program, which is done to end Wakanda's chosen isolation from the rest of the world and teach the young about all it can do as a country. This is led by T'challa's sister teenage genius Shuri (Letitia Wright) as he places her in the position of teaching them about Wakanda by leaving her and his spaceship in Oakland in order for her to inspire the children in that area that are in most need of help. Meanwhile he visits the UN and reveals Wakanda, offering to share their resources. A tone Coogler suggests many world leaders should take, to place importance on all the people of the world not just the ones within their countries.
‘Who’s more moved emotionally, that kid or the people sitting in the U.N.?’ Who is that a bigger deal to for T’Challa to walk in, who’s more connected to him?” - Ryan Coogler
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