Black Panther (Ryan Coogler, 2018)
Added 2018-12-19 05:25:23 +0000 UTC
1. What if Africa were the center of the world? I mean, it's the cradle of humanity. So why not an economic superpower? Black Panther imagines a scenario in which a nation has the technological wherewithal to defeat colonialism, or at least ignore it.
2. What if a summer blockbuster were also a referendum on black militancy? Yes, Killmonger (Michael B. Jordan) has some very confused ideas, mostly on account of being a U.S.-bred mercenary. But his insistence that Wakanda has an obligation to outfit the wretched of the earth with superior firepower is not easily dismissed.
3. What if your hero responded to the threat of KIllmonger's militancy with an unconvincing NGO-style flex? T'Challa (Chadwick Boseman) finally brings Wakanda out of isolation and starts making positive change for people around the world (starting in Oakland, Killmonger's old hood), but there's a whiff of bureaucratic arrogance to the initiative, perhaps befitting a king who somewhat casually teamed up with a CIA agent (Martin Freeman) despite the Company's obviously horrendous track record in Africa. (What Would Lumumba Do?)
4. What if you made a film that was ostensibly part of the Marvel Expanded Universe, but it had virtually no connection to any other film in that synergistic netweb? As someone who doesn't give a flip about superhero movies, I appreciated the standalone character of Black Panther, but it also felt a bit....segregated?
5. What if the architecture looked like Metropolis as envisioned by a Musee de l'Homme infused Antonio Gaudi, and the afterlife of the ancestors resembled a scene from Apichatpong's Uncle Boonmee?
In short, I had a good time.
