Black Panther is Both the Film We Need & the Film We Deserve

I feel like I've said this a thousand times but, I don't see myself in media. Light- skinned black girls with good hair are in film and television, in small doeses. They grace the silver screen as prototypes, not fully flushed out characters and not in abundance. As if too much melanin will not sell. Of course there are exceptions but not enough to make this post irrelevant. And so when Black Panther was announced, nearly two years ago, I wondered. Not unlike when Barack Obama announced himself as a presidential candidate, I dreamed, hoped, and wished, but I kept my emotions in check. Not wanting to get carried away, for fear I would be disappointed, but then it grew bigger. Kendrick Lamar's involvement on the soundtrack emerged and I was giddy. I swore to my husband that even if the movie was horrible I would tell everyone it was good because there was too much at stake to do otherwise. When was the last black super hero film (20 years ago, Blade with Wesley Snipes)? When was the last time multiple award winning black actors were involved in the same film (Never.)? When was the last time a 90 percent black cast worked with a black director and co-writer (fairly recently but when was it not marketed only to the black community)? When was the last time there was a soundtrack that was black (see answer to above question)? We needed this because as far away as this film is from my life, it is also utterly intertwined.

My kids don't get to see themselves reflected on screen for an uninterrupted two hours - where they don't have to latch onto the first and only black character but can select who they relate to most. I can't remember having a choice as to which black woman resonated with me, in a mega-Hollywood backed blockbuster, where the characters weren't a stereotype.

Black Panther is a black film in the sense that it is a film where yes natural hair is celebrated, racism and its admonishing effects are discussed unabashedly, but it's black in that it vows to be more than that. These characters are allowed to be layered and multifaceted because they aren't weighed down with carrying every black person with them. Whenever you are the first, or only, you have to be everything. You have to make sure to make everyone proud. Now do I think this cast felt that pressure, of course but they were surrounded by one another rather than the lone marganilized group member saddled with carrying all the answers of their community.

To say that I loved this film is an understatement and also a bit bittersweet because it reminds me of how rarely I have this feeling - I was literally dancing in my kitchen after returning from the theater. Is this how many women felt after Wonder Woman? Is this how men feel after every super hero movie? Cuz this feeling is Hella dope.