The Phenomenal Black Panther

A bigger than life movie opened recently it seems the whole world is watching and celebrating. Black Panther is part of the  Marvel family and yet - it is so refreshingly different. Not only are all the main characters of color, many of the warriors are women.

Wakanda, the utopian setting for the movie is located in Northeast Africa and no one is supposed to know about it, except of course, the people who live there. They want to keep all their incredible progress to themselves - or most of them do.  The technological advances are endless, the people are thriving - the advances in medicine are quite miraculous.. The world outside of the rocky Wakandan borders consists of the normal downfalls of a conflicted society suffering from a lack of resources.

Leaders and warriors from Wakanda try to figure out how to fit the resource starved world into theirs and make it one.

One of the lead characters, T’Challa, returns home after his father passed away. It was his job to hold the long standing legacy and become King. Other tribal leaders in Wakanda are allowed to physically battle and challenge T’Challe for the coveted throne. One brave warrior chooses to battle and it is a breathtaking, nail biter of a scene.  

“The conversation that surrounds this movie will make it a must-see event for so many people—and not just in North America, but around the world,” says Paul Dergarabedian, the senior media analyst for comScore.

Black Panther started breaking records within the first 24 hours of tickets sales according to Erik Davis, managing editor at Fandango.  “It’s outpacing all other superhero movies—literally every other superhero movie in the modern era,” says Davis.  

Black Panther is thoughtful and funny -  great for all audiences and is already a massive cultural phenomenon. This movie is an important story in the whitewashed movie industry, and the superhero genre in particular. The movie has some violence - naturally. Be aware of fighting scenes and some gun violence. It is rated  PG-13 and you can find the official Black Panther trailer here.

There has been grassroots support for the film under initiatives like Black Panther Challenge which raises money so children of color in underserved areas can see it the movie for free. To date, the Go Fund Me account has raised over $775K and has appeared on Ellen Tube.