From Vioja Mahakamani to Daktari March 2018 | Page 33

“This is yet another historic moment for us as Africans as we celebrate another milestone made by fellow brothers and sisters as they represent the continent in their global ventures as actors and actresses’’ Said Trushna Buddhdev-Patel – Managing Director, Crimson Multimedia Ltd. The movie which has been under development for decades, is about a young man T’Challa (Chadwick Bosman) who after the death of his father, returns home to the African nation of Wakanda to take his rightful place as King. When a powerful enemy suddenly reappears, T’Challa’s mantle as King -- and as Black Panther -- gets tested when he is drawn into a conflict that puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world at risk. Faced with treachery and danger, the young king must rally his allies and release the full power of Black Panther to defeat his enemies and secure the safety of his people. The axis point of Black Panther is rooted in a fantastical nation of Wakanda, an African Eden where verdant-green landscapes meet blue-sky science fiction. Flooded with spaceships with undercarriages resembling tribal masks soaring over majestic waterfalls, Wakanda is a beautiful land with a rich aura of African culture, bringing us closer home. The creation of the Black Panther started in 1966 when Stan Lee (script) and Jack Kirby (art) met. The original Black Panther was a ‘hepcat’ in a slinky suit with claws and ears and debuted alongside the Fantastic Four in an adventure in Wakanda, which is powered by a mystery metal, vibranium. This occurs after the country is struck by a meteorite. Over the decades, Black Panther has evolved with various costumes under the direction of filmmaker Reginald Hudlin, and more recently, tapping on Ta-Nehisi Coates. To complete the equation Marvel approached Ryan Coogler, the brain behind Creed. Wakanda is walled by a phalanx of women, among whom a battalion of women warriors, Dora Milage. T’Challa is enveloped by women who cushion him in maternal, military, sisterly and scientific support. A female general (Danai Gurira) stands by his side; his baby sister (a vivacious Letitia Wright) provides gadgets and withering asides à la Bond’s gadget guy. Angela Bassett swans in as the royal mother, while Lupita Nyong’o, as a spy, makes the case for her own spinoff. The creators of the Black Panther have a way of mixing things up, veering here and there, taking us from Wakanda to Busan, then to South Korea, in what appears as a ‘cocktail’ of James Bond with a touch of some Spidey monkeyshines. As if that is not enough, the Black Panther sneaks into a ritzy casino, where all hell breaks loose- mayhem erupts, legs and gowns twirl and the whole place looks like a real havoc. CNN reported that ‘Black superheroes have reached the screen before but seeing the collective weight of Marvel/Disney thrown behind a blockbuster like “Black Panther” still feels like a cultural watershed, one that the movie exuberantly embraces. Boasting perhaps the strongest supporting characters yet among Marvel titles, director Ryan Coogler’s visually dynamic film should transform a lesser-known comic-book hero into a household name.’ Wakanda is an interesting country. Buoyed by its groovy women and Afrofuturist flourishes, Wakanda presents the strength of the movie. It appears to have evaded the historical traumas endured by much of the rest of Africa, freeing it from the ravages of both colonialism and postcolonialism. The movie’s politics and myth-building show how With over 10 years of acting in the movie industry, Lupita has become the Kenyan star who has made us proud and was once rated the most beautiful person on earth. Since a young age, Lupita was passionate about acting. Locally, she played lead role in MTV award-winning drama series, Shuga in 2008, after which she went to Yale to advance her career. The mix 33