SPOILER ALERT! Plot Is Partially Revealed
When I realized I had the chance to see Black Panther in the theater (a rare feat as a parent) I was really hoping it lived up to the hype. Now that I’ve seen it, I’m happy to say it definitely delivered. There were many interesting topics in the film, as it touched upon various current social issues. For me though, two themes rose to the top.
On a personal level, I was very happy to see African culture celebrated on such a large stage. As the son of Nigerian immigrants, I didn’t have many mainstream examples of African culture being praised. When I was young, I was the kid with the weird name, whose family spoke a strange language and had marks on their faces. I was the “African booty-scratcher.” I remember that my family and I loved the movie “Coming to America,” but people mostly looked at the African culture it presented as a joke, and not as something to be admired. Black Panther was much different. It beautifully elevates African culture for the world to see, which is refreshing, even though it fictional. Because of this film and the way African culture has gained mainstream acceptance, I hope that little African boys and girls in America won’t be ashamed of their heritage the way I was.
On a societal level, this movie gave me much more than I expected. I thought it was just going to be a really good comic book movie. However, it gave what I thought was a really good lesson on the responsibility that people with means have to people without means. In the movie, the Black Panther is the king of Wakanda. Wakanda is a very wealthy African country that hides its technology and resources from the rest of the world. For generations, Wakandans have feared that venturing out into the world would disrupt their way of life and the peace and prosperity they’ve enjoyed. However, there are some Wakandans that feel an obligation to use their resources to help the outside world. This idealogical difference sets the stage for the main conflict of the film.
To me, I saw the parallel with a challenge we face in our society. Jesus commands us to love our neighbors as we love ourselves; and while most people agree with that, how far are they willing to take that command? The truth is that truly loving your neighbor takes sacrifice. Unfortunately, we are often not ready to sacrifice very much. We are satisfied with dropping money into a homeless man’s cup, but we are unwilling to invite that homeless man into our home for a meal. We might drop off some clothes in the donation bin, but we don’t actually want to spend any time in the “bad” part of town may feel the call to improve that “bad” part of town. In either example, the limitations of our level of sacrifice have real consequences. As depicted in the movie, those who are disadvantaged end up suffering, sometimes needlessly, because we are unwilling to do more.
This is obviously an issue that people have grappled with for a long time and Black Panther didn’t address it in a shallow way. They were transparent about how exposing themselves to the world could make Wakandans vulnerable. Likewise, there are serious concerns about inviting a stranger into your home or going to neighborhoods that might be dangerous. In the end though, I think the movie made the right call. As the Wakandans were clearly well positioned to do more than they had been doing, it was clear that they were secure enough to risk being vulnerable for a greater good. In response we must constantly reevaluate ourselves and our willingness to sacrifice for others and ask if we are doing all that we reasonably can do. Without being too preachy, Black Panther will give millions of people an opportunity for some much needed self reflection.