The Big Deal About Marvel's 'Black Panther'

Whether you are a fan of DC, Marvel, or neither, you likely know that 2018 is a big year for comic book movies, with a range of films from Deadpool 2, Avengers Infinity War, Black Panther, Venom, Aquaman and more. Of all these the most highly anticipated has been Marvel's Black Panther. The Black Panther (T'challa) made his debut in the Marvel cinematic universe in Captain America: Civil War, where he won the hearts of many and not long after, the Black Panther mania began.

The Black Panther movie was released on February 16, 2018 and has now raked in little over a billion worldwide. Even after such undeniable success, there are those who don't understand why a movie like this is important, so here I will list my top 3 reasons why I feel it's gained so much worldwide interest. Number 1: The all Black cast. For the first time, there is a superhero movie with an almost all Black cast. In a world where media has a lot of influence on people, positive representation is crucial. People want and need to see not only people who look like themselves but also people who are different in the things they watch, read, and listen to to help reinforce the notion that as human beings we are all equal and capable of greatness. Secondly, THE WOMEN. The movie features an array of strong powerful women who make no apologies for being so. The beauty of Wakanda is that men and women are equal in their society. Women are given the freedom to be themselves and do what they want to do without worrying about offending men. The men around them are also very supportive and never feel intimidated by having strong women around them. This is wonderful to see because even in this day and age women are still being made to choose between career and family, told to be strong but not so strong as to undermine man's masculinity. The strong, fierce warrior women of Wakanda are given the freedom to do both without being questioned. Lastly, number 3: it's political. The world is currently at a point where people are feeling more divided but also more free to speak up about injustice. This movie offers a different experience than all the other superhero movies. It talks about and highlights taboo things like systematic racism, slavery, feminism, privilege, and poverty. This is vital to the world right now and moving forward because it opens up dialogue between people about topics they usually try to ignore.

My personal thought after watching Black Panther is that it's taken too long. Despite what some crazy folks out there may believe, this is not just a movie for black people. It's a movie for all people. No matter who you are or where you come from there will be something in this movie you can relate to. As an African myself, I felt a great sense of pride in my culture watching this movie; not only me but lots of people from all over the world are starting now to feel like it's OK to celebrate and be proud of their cultural heritage, which is simply a beautiful thing to see. First it was Wonder Woman and now Black Panther; it looks to me like Hollywood is finally going to start representing all the people of the world regardless of race, gender or sexual orientation. Now all we can do is wait and hope that there is more to come.