I found that the readings for Tuesday\u2019s class provide a solid introduction to \u201cBlack Panther\u201d. I had never seen the movie before, and two quotes from Wallace\u2019s \u201cDefining Moment\u201d helped set the stage for what was to come. On page 3, Wallace writes that \u201csuperheroes are powerful and beloved, held in high esteem by society at large; the idea that a normal black person could experience such a thing in America was so farfetched as to effectively constitute gallows humor.\u201d Further down the page, the article features a quotation from Jamie Broadnax, the founder of Black Girl Nerds, an online community centered around sci-fi and comic-books. Broadnax notes that Black Panther is \u201c\u2018the first time in a very long time that we\u2019re seeing a film with centered black people, where we have a lot of agency\u2019\u2026these characters, she notes, \u2018are rulers of a kingdom, inventors and creators of advanced technology. We\u2019re not dealing with black pain, and black suffering, and black poverty\u2019 \u2014 the usual topics of acclaimed movies about the black experience.\u201d (Wallace 3-4). I think that these two excerpts effectively summarize \u201cBlack Panther\u201d\u2019s significance: a movie that showcases both African-American males and females in a powerful, positive light.<\/p>\n
\u201cBlack Panther\u201d reached movie theaters in February of 2018, a little over a year after Donald Trump took office. I cannot help but draw a connection between these two events, given their proximity. I found an article on The Atlantic<\/i> titled \u201cAn Oral History of Trump\u2019s Bigotry.\u201d This piece exposes many instances in which Donald Trump uses racist rhetoric. Not only does this film bring an African-American story to Hollywood, but it also counters the degrading language that the President frequently uses. Furthermore, \u201cBlack Panther\u201d provides a change in the typical narrative of pop-culture \u2014 that is a different perspective other than the usual white narrative.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
I found that the readings for Tuesday\u2019s class provide a solid introduction to \u201cBlack Panther\u201d. I had never seen the movie before, and two quotes…<\/p>\n