From Vioja Mahakamani to Daktari March 2018 | Page 34

In 2013, Lupita made her American
film debut in Steve McQueen’s ‘12
Years a Slave’ as Patsy which led her
to win her first Oscar in the 86th
edition of the Academic Awards for
best supporting actress. With this,
she has become the 7th black actress
to win the award. Lupita has worked
in several movies including the most
talked about Black Panther, Queen of
Katwe, Non-Stop, among others.
It is fascinating how Director Ryan
Coogler assembled an All-Star
cast, that include Boseman, Angela
Bassett, Sterling Brown, Winston
Duke, Martin Freeman, Danai Gurira,
Michael B. Jordan, Daniel Kaluuya,
Lupita Nyong’o, Phylicia Rashad,
Andy Serkis, Forest Whitaker and
Letitia Wright.
“Black Panther is the first superhero
movie that resonates all African and
thus a reason to celebrate,” noted Patel.
would not be a Marvel production
without manly skirmishes and digital
avatars. Yet in its emphasis on black
imagination, creation and liberation,
the movie becomes an emblem of
a past that was denied and a future
that feels very present. And in
doing so opens its world, and yours,
gorgeously.
On the flipside….
I have read a lot of critics’ views
on the movie and nothing appears
negative about it. However, I have a
different angle of the movie based
on what I saw and what I know about
Africa as a continent. First, looking
at comic book series, Wakanda
is an afro-futuristic paradise. In
Black Panther, Wakanda is a dowdy
reimagining of Dubai, a utopia that
is the best paragon of a country
ravaged by the twin evils of white
supremacy and capitalism. This is
problematic in the movie.
The premier had an African theme
that was motivated by the fact
that the film is set in Wakanda,
an imaginary African nation. Not
forgetting that most of the main
characters are black and some of
African descent, this including our
very own Lupita Nyong’o, Uganda’s
Florence Kasumba, South Africa’s
John Kani and his son, Atandwa Kani. Secondly, Erik Killmonger’s evil
stems from his unwavering loyalty
to capitalism. His insidious plan is
to open Wakanda to multinational
corporations for exploitation of
Wakanda’s resources. He wants to
provide the oppresse