This is the most anticipated film in South Africa at the moment as it's a celebration of everything Africa. From the outfits to the hair to the cast. As a natural hair lover myself, I was thrilled at how this movie aimed to keep everything natural, no relaxer, no press. According to Camille Friend from the film's hair department, "There’s no press and comb in this movie,’ she told the publication. ‘No relaxers, no nothing! That was one of the things that I really was firm about. I requested that people come with their natural hair.’ She drew inspiration from the Zulu, Maasai, and Hima tribes in Africa, from modern styles in the naturalhair movement, and from the Afropunk movement. and we couldn't be prouder.
I haven't watched the movie yet so here's the Wikipedia write up:
Centuries ago, five African tribes went to war over a meteorite of the alien metal vibranium. A warrior ingested a "heart-shaped herb", that was mutagenically affected by the metal, and gained superhuman abilities. He became the first "Black Panther", and united the tribes to form the nation of Wakanda, though the Jabari Tribe chose not to follow the Black Panther's rule, choosing to stay in the frigid mountains. Over time, the Wakandans used the vibranium to develop highly-advanced technology and chose to isolate themselves from the rest of the world by posing as a Third World country.
In 1992, while on an undercover assignment in Oakland, California, Prince N'Jobu became convinced that Wakanda's isolationist policies had done more harm than good, and vowed to share its technology with people of African descent around the world in order to help them conquer their oppressors. N'Jobu enlisted black market arms dealer Ulysses Klaue to infiltrate Wakanda and steal a cache of vibranium. His older brother, King T'Chaka, learned of this from another undercover agent, N'Jobu's partner Zuri, and confronted N'Jobu. When N'Jobu attacked Zuri, T'Chaka reluctantly killed him, and ordered Zuri to lie that N'Jobu had disappeared. They left behind his American son, Erik Stevens, in order to maintain the lie.
In the present day, following T'Chaka's death at the hands of Helmut Zemo,[N 1] his son T'Challa returns to Wakanda to assume the throne. He and Okoye, the leader of the Dora Milaje fighting force, extract his ex-lover Nakia from an undercover assignment so she can attend his coronation ceremony, along with his mother Ramonda and younger sister Shuri. At the ceremony, the Jabari Tribe's leader M'Baku challenges T'Challa for the crown, but T'Challa defeats M'Baku in ritual combat, becoming the new king. He allows M'Baku to live.
When Klaue resurfaces to sell a stolen Wakandan Vibranium artifact to a buyer in Busan, South Korea, T'Challa's closest friend W'Kabi—who lost his parents as a result of Klaue's actions—urges him to bring Klaue to justice. T'Challa, Okoye, and Nakia go to the underground casino where the deal is taking place, to find that the buyer is CIA agent Everett K. Ross, who takes Klaue into custody against T'Challa's will. Wakanda's international image is just a front for a technologically advanced civilization, before being broken out by Erik, now an ex-U.S. black ops soldier who goes by the name "Killmonger". Ross is seriously injured during the attack, and T'Challa decides to take him to Wakanda where their technology can save him rather than pursue Klaue. Shuri heals Ross vibranium, while T'Challa confronts Zuri about N'Jobu- which strains the friendship between them. Killmonger kills Klaue and takes his body to Wakanda as a token, revealing his identity to the tribal elders and challenging T'Challa for the throne. Killmonger kills Zuri and then triumphs in ritual combat. He hurls the defeated T'Challa over a waterfall. After ingesting the heart-shaped herb to gain the powers of the Black Panther, he orders the grove of Herbs be burned. Killmonger enacts his father's plan and prepares shipments of Wakandan weapons to be distributed to operatives around the world, supported by W'Kabi and his army. Nakia, Shuri, Ramonda, and Ross flee to seek the aid of the Jabari.
At the home of the Jabari Tribe, the group find a comatose T'Challa, rescued by the Jabari in repayment for him sparing M'Baku's life. Healed by a heart-shaped herb brought by Nakia, T'Challa returns to Wakanda to complete his combat with Killmonger, who is now wearing a Black Panther armor of his own. Shuri, Nakia, and Okoye join the Dora Milaje and Jabari in battling W'Kabi and his army, while Ross remote pilots a jet to shoot down the planes carrying the weapons before they can leave the country. Within Wakanda's vibranium mine, T'Challa uses sonic mining technology to disrupt Killmonger's suit and fatally stabs him. Killmonger declines an offer to be healed and imprisoned, choosing instead to die free.
Rejecting Wakanda's isolationism, T'Challa establishes an outreach center in Oakland where Erik grew up, to be run by Nakia and Shuri. In a mid-credits scene, T'Challa appears before the United Nations to reveal Wakanda's true nature to the world and plans to help the world progress. In a post-credits scene, Shuri continues to help Bucky Barnes with his recuperation.
BLACK PANTHER