Naleighna Kai's Literary Cafe Magazine NK Literary Cafe Magazine - April 2018 Issue | Page 7

Sierra Kay
Finding a fresh, different way to write about the
Black Panther movie proved harder than a virgin
finding a g-spot. Plus, I’ve written and rewritten this
piece because the topic is so rich that it deserves ten
articles on its own.
Let’s start with the fact that I am a fan of Marvel
movies. The minute one comes out, my godson and
I are making plans for when, where, and at what time
we are going to grace the theater with our presence.
It’s our thing.
Now, Marvel does have a formula. They even have
an in-house writing program. And as their banker
will surely attest, it’s a great formula. So I went to the
show thinking that I’m simply seeing another great
Marvel movie that will set me up for the next great
Marvel movie.
I completely underestimated Marvel, Ryan Coogler,
and Joe Cole. For that, I must apologize. I would hate
for someone to underestimate my brilliant prose. So
as a writer, I should have known better.
Think of it from my point of view. The warrior
queen, Amina of Zaria from North Africa, was
reputed to be the inspiration behind Xena, the
warrior princess played by Lucy Lawless, a New
Zealander. For Black Panther, I was just happy to see
so much melanin-kissed skin on the big screen.
What I didn’t expect were the layers of Marvel
Universe, Africa traditions and the African-
American experience woven as tight as though it was
made from the looms found in the Ancient Egyptian
tombs.
Theatergoers in 1959 must have felt the same way
watching A Raisin in the Sun on Broadway. It was as
if the studio heads had been asleep at the wheel and
someone’s head was going to roll for greenlighting
such a project. But as a underrepresented party
finally having one of your stories represented, you
weren’t going to question your good luck.
(Sierra Kay)
In addition to the intricate storyline, there were
also strong characters, not caricatures. Part of it
may be the ability to create characters from an
uncolonized nation and therefore not filtered
through any stereotypes. But the other part is quality
and talent of writing. And dare I say, the fearlessness
exhibited and infused in the scripts.
These were adult characters. They were experienced,
but not held victims by their experiences. Not whiny.
Not excuse filled. Everyone had a point of view.
Everyone made decisions good, bad, or otherwise
based on the information they had at the time; and
they moved forward.
In the real world where personal responsibility is
often a four-letter word, the character development
in Black Panther left me speechless.
The female characters alone were a testament to
this. You didn’t need a weak female to counteract
the strong one. All of them were powerful, smart
and determined. Each one took responsibility for
their role in the society. They could fight with a
wig and heels or a spear, then drive a car barefoot
to chase after the villain. And when one asked
the other about the Black Panther, she was told,
“He’ll catch up.” And yet, they could love fiercely
and protectively without it detracting from their
strength.
In most cases, we choose friends that are similar to
us. It’s rare to find close knit-friend groups that are
complete polar opposites. Trust me, the party-all-
the-time girl isn’t staying at home all weekend with
the “they’ll-have-to-bury-me-in-my-o ld-holey-
robe girl.” The robe d girl will own party clothes,
and the party girl will own fuzzy slippers. That’s the
complexity of friendship. Often, I feel scriptwriters
take the easy way out. The straight-laced versus the
comic relief. Rare is it that you find authors that
integrate the complexity of the human condition
well. Coogler and Cole did.
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