PANTHER Film
should never take our moral lessons
from them; as believers we draw the line
between entertainment and ideology. The
fact that Stan Lee through the body of his
work has upheld moral imperatives that
were accepted as norms in his time is a
blessing to later generations. However,
we cannot depend on the entertainment
industry for our values as believers. As for
the content of ancestral beliefs and sorcery
in the film these are present in many other
genres as well as Superheroes, we will have
to make the judgement for ourselves what
to expose ourselves to according to our
level of faith. “All things are lawful unto
me, but all things are not expedient... but
I will not be brought under the power of
any.” 1 Cor 6:12
Why is the film important to
Africans globally?
Historically, the under representation of
Africans in mainstream entertainment,
has been segregated and biased resulting
in generations being without any hero,
in popular culture. Conversely, white
children could easily find identity in
numerous characters from Marvel or DC
comics, or television cartoon heroes. The
Black Panther is an overdue hero. Marvel
Comics’ struggle with The Black Panther
character due to racial tensions during the
height of the Civil Rights Movement in the
USA, (late 50s-to 70s) echoes mainstream
society’s fear of ‘Blackness’. After many
evolutions and reinventions Marvel, to
its credit, did not abandon the franchise
believing it deserved its fair shot. There
was a large market awaiting such a hero.
What themes in history does
The Black Panther address?
The film rattles the ‘Colonialist Cage’
exhibiting Wakanda, a Utopic future
Africa, as a self determined leader
alongside other nations via technological
advances and shrugs off any hint of past
servitude. We are introduced to a diversity
of African cultures: Dahomey, Ethiopian,
Himba, Igbo, Lesotho, Masai and Zulu.
‘Killmongers’ among us) with love.
Furthermore, humility and courage is
needed to accept that there’s an (Everett
K. Ross) out there and work with him
Secondly, strong women have been towards a better future. Pioneering
portrayed centre stage alongside leading African American directors/producers
men in Wakanda. They were the vanguard Spike Lee, Tyler Perry and Oprah, among
of the nation, in charge of warfare. It was others have made significant steps but
beautiful to see warrior women who love more is needed to get us over the line.
and respect their men and who still are Many more Black owned banks and
‘a whole lotta woman.’ A failure of the financiers, lawyers and politicians, judges,
Wonder Womanesque Amazonian way in in short, not just athletes and entertainers
but more Black representation around the
my opinion.
executive boardroom table, is needed.
Also, su