Black Panther: Afrofuturism and Feminism As A Form of Resistance and Black Empowerment

Black Panther shows millions across the globe different images of black people that have never been seen before in media.
     

       The opening weekend of Black Panther was such a big event for black people everywhere. From Friday to Monday alone, Black Panther raked in $218 million in domestic sales over the President’s Day weekend. According to the NY Times, it is the top-grossing film in history by a black director and a majority black cast. It is being called a “cultural event”, shattering the myth about overseas viability of movies rooted in black culture. It just made $22 million in China.

       According to PostTrak, 56% of Black Panther viewers were male, 44% were female, 37% black, 35% caucasian, 18% hispanic, and 5% Asian. To say the least, everybody went to see black panther. As a superhero movie, it is relatable to all audiences and has one of the best storylines for a superhero movie. However, the film was groundbreaking and revolutionary to people of color.

“I don’t think we’ve been excited about anything like this as a collective since President Obama’s inauguration,” says movie-goer, Erika Totten. Squads showed up to theatres in their best African attire to commemorate the occasion. While on the topic of fashion, the fashions of the movie, by costume designer, Ruth E. Carter, executed African history and Afrofuturism in the most authentic, innovative, and beautiful way.

       Afrofuturism is a term coined by Mark Dery in his essay, “Black to the Future”. Afrofuturism is the manifestation of fusing elements of the African diaspora with sci-fi, fantasy, and elements of the future. “African Americans whose histories had been obscured by slavery and racism were in danger of being written out of the future as well--unless they engaged in the areas of art, literature and technology through which the future was being envisioned,” says Dery on what Afrofuturism means to him. Afrofuturism is a form of resistance because it allows blacks, whose histories have indeed been obscured and whose identities have been smeared by oppression, to re-imagine themselves in roles that we aren’t particularly included or we don’t imagine ourselves. It inspires black to think of themselves as having a bright future, free from burdens and obstacles of the past. Better stated, afrofuturism is “people of African descent looking at themselves in the future and what their society and culture will look like ten..fifteen..twenty.. A thousand years from now,” says Fikayo Adeola, the founder of Kugali, and arts and animation company. A theme in Black Panther is that Wakanda, the country that the Black Panther hails is the most technologically advanced country in the world, and they maintain their wealth and savvy concealed from the world. The fact that they’ve never been colonized is what contributes to their success. This speaks for how prosperous African countries could have been if it weren’t for colonization. A thought.

       The women of Wakanda are the backbone, and indeed are the backbone of the movie. Strong leads, played by Lupita Nyongo, Danai Gurira, Angela Bassett, and Letitia Wright are the best portrayals of black women I’ve seen on the big or small screen yet. In media, there have been four major roles that black women have portrayed in movies and in television--the mammy, the jezebel, the sapphire, or the welfare queen. The homegirl is an honorable mention.

       The mammy is the nurturing, maternal, domestic, subservient to whites character that many black women have been typecast to play. The image was contrived during slave times to be a model of black’s loyalty to whites and to portray being a servant as an honorable job. The jezebel, also known as the “sexual siren” is the oversexualized, aggressive, promiscuous, and unempathetic portrayal of black women. She often uses sex to capitalize or get what she wants. This image was contrived to excuse or justify rape of black women during slave times and used as a way to blame the victim for their own victimization. The sapphire is the overly aggressive, independent but castrating, usually either a single mom or a business woman portrayal of the black woman. The welfare queen is the woman who has alot of kids, doesn't work, and relies on scamming the government to get by. These stereotypes have been recurring themes in media portrayal of blacks for centuries.

       The king of Wakanda is protected by a small army of powerful female warriors lead by the general, Okoye. Never before have we seen the image of a powerful man surrounded by black women who aren’t there to perform sexual favors or serve him. They are to protect him fiercely, but also to council him. Nakia is a spy, humanitarian, and chief diplomat of Wakanda. She is the king’s love interest and he wishes for her to sit beside him on the throne of Wakanda, but she is far too independent to be crowned Queen just yet. She handles business when things go awry in Wakanda when the king is gone, alongside another strong female, the Queen Mother, played by Angela Bassett. Black Panther’s sister, Shuri is the brains of Wakanda. She is the genius and innovative scientist that is responsible for the infrastructure and technology of Wakanda.

       These outstanding female characters completely challenge past stereotypes of what it means to be a black woman. Little girls can look up to the female characters, who are the general, the scientist, and the humanitarian. The women were not oversexualized and meant to be admired for their bodies or their looks. They are beautiful because they are extremely powerful characters.

Black Panther is a movement.

       The character of Black Panther has always been a political character since it was written as a comic in the 60s during the Civil Rights movement and creation of the Black Panther Party. It was a moment for black people. The movie came out at a great time, in an era of re-defining black pride, black excellence, and black resistance. The numbers that the movie did, are owed to millions of black fans who went out to support the movie in honour of showing the world what it means to have black pride.