Africa: U.S./Africa - From Wakanda to Reparations, Part 1

analysis

Jelani Cobb: "Chadwick Boseman's T'Challa, the Black Panther and the King of Wakanda, confronts Erik Killmonger, a black American mercenary, played by Michael B. Jordan, as a rival, but the two characters are essentially duelling responses to five centuries of African exploitation at the hands of the West. The villain, to the extent that the term applies, is history itself." Karen Attiah: "Indeed, ´Black Panther´ offers a radical vision of what black national power and internationalism could look like, if we trusted, respected, and elevated black women … In ´Black Panther,´ as in real life, black women be saving ev-ery-body, white or black."

Although it did not win the best picture award*, "Black Panther" won three Academy Awards this year, for costume design, production design and musical score. Its cultural as well as commercial success is undeniable. In addition, if there were a ´most thoughtprovoking ´ film award, it would have clearly been the top contender. A superhero film is not intended to be a portrayal of reality. But the film offered, and still offers, multiple opportunities to explore deep historical questions.

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