My thoughts on Black Panther, in order that they popped into my head while viewing it a third time:
NOTE: I paid twice. #fortheculture
We're starting out in Oakland? I’m not a comic book fan, never read any of the Black Panther series. I read that Killmonger is originally from Harlem. Gonna guess the change to Oakland is because BP Director Ryan Coogler is from Oakland. His first mainstream film, Fruitvale Station was about the murder of a black man by police in Oakland. Bruh puts on for his city. Not mad at that.
Wait… is that Randall? Oh, sh--! That’s Randall. Hey Randall. They got everybody Black and excellent in this film!
These women with the swords are hot. Not like sexy hot. I mean sexy hot too. But like powerful AND sexy is the hottest. You don’t need hair to be beautiful. You need beauty to be beautiful.
And melanin.
Ooh! The king is hot too. This T’Challa’s daddy? Hey, Papa Panther.
Wait. Randall left Wakanda to come here? W-w-why? It’s not like they were there to help. Just to look at the landscape and be like that’s sad. And he in the hood too?
I‘m like Semi (Coming to America). I’ll go, but I have to have some decent accommodations and some cash. Otherwise, I would have been here two days and called someone to come get me. Send the royal G2000. I’m out.
I’m not really mad at Randall’s “revolutionary” ideas. I’m sure it’s no coincidence he has a Black Panther-esque philosophy in the birthplace of the Black Panthers. I see what you did there Cousin Ryan.
So Randall-- and you can call him what you want, his name is Randall-- he didn’t go about helping the black liberation cause the way I would have liked—I mean, it’s a bad idea to alley-oop a terrorist attack on your country; that’s no good—but Black folks everywhere but Wakanda do need help. And Wakanda has the resources, and isn’t helping. That’s a problem. I don’t condone what he did, I understand.
Wait. How you gonna be mad a James for lying about being Wakandan, but YOU lied to James about being Wakandan?
Ok. They’re in the spaceship. We’re just seeing Chadwick Boseman. He look good. I always thought he was cute and nice-looking, but now I’m like “what your interests are, who you be with?”
Danai is gorgeous. Gah! That’s a beautiful woman. Who is lighting this film? This melanin is popping. All of it! Everywhere!
T’Challa’s going on a mission.
Ok, so you the heir to the throne and you’re risking your life—not to save your ex, because she didn’t need saving—but to solve her mission for her so she can see you become king? Oh.
I would have felt a way about him interrupting my mission if his daddy wasn’t dead.
Danai told him not to freeze. This dude saw Lupita and went full Fitz. “hi….” Ugh! Men.
I love that there’s a dark-skinned black woman with short kinky-hair and full lips as the king’s love interest. Come thru melanin.
Are the rescued women supposed to represent the women and girls stolen by Boko Haram? #bringbackourgirls
They’re back in Wakanda. Wakanda is beautiful. It’s like…. It’s like nothing I’ve ever seen. Jesus. It’s just so wonderful. And Black. Wonderfully Black!
Angela Basset looks f---ing amazing.
Ok we’re out of Wakanda. We’re in London now.
Michael B Jordan is at the museum. Whew! He is fine.
He told the white lady he was gonna take the weapon. She was like, it’s not for sale. Mike was like, “how you think your ancestors got it?”
All this truth-telling. Who wrote this? This is brilliant!
His little girlfriend he don’t care about is cute. He told ol' girl, “it’s gonna be okay” then shot her dead in head. Bong!
We’re back in Wakanda again for T’Challa’s coronation
Wait did the sea just part? Like Moses?
It took me forever to catch on the Forest Whitaker was the older version of James from Randall’s apartment. Totally didn’t get it until T’Challa confronted him trying to figure out who Killmonger was.
Wait… who are these big ol’ broad backed men of the Jabari tribe? M’Baku fine as sh—
He ain’t feeling T’Challa’s coronation.
M’Baku: “We will not have it.”
Me: But, Sir, I’d like to have you…
Ya’ll saw the post on Facebook post about the actor that plays M’Baku that went viral? The lady was like, he the type that get you get you pregnant after your tubes been tied. LMAO.
I’m a “lady” in America. I’d be a ho in Wakanda. A proud ho. An equal—opportunity ho. They seem like a world that has evolved past sexism, but they might bring back that title for my antics. I’d be criminally ho-ing.
THEM: Did you knock down the king.
Me: I did.
THEM: And his cousin?
Me: I did. I connected all his dots!
THEM: And his father?
Me: *growls* Papa Panther still had it. May he RIP.
THEM: That’s disrespectful to the Queen Mother!!!
Me: Angela Bassett look good. I tried, but didn’t succeed.
THEM: Did you holla at Lupita?
Me: I risked it all.
I would leave Get Out and Michonne alone tho. She wields a weapon a little too well. She ain’t calling on some, “Hello Barbara? This is Shirley…” She showing up at your door with her Dora Mijale soldiers. Ain’t no D worth dying for.
This fighting is so intense. Ya’ll gonna fight to the death in water on the edge of earth? OK.
T’Challa won. He’s in the ancestral plane with his dad.
When did Dad die? He didn’t have a Black Panther suit? T’Challa seems sad here, but up until now, no one seemed all that sad about dad dying. It’s been a minute? If I saw my dad die in an explosion, I would be a little contemplative, at least.
I love the line, “a man who has not prepared his children for his death has failed as a father. There’s a worthy essay to be written about the themes of fathers and sons in this film.
Back in the real world, T’Challa is walking the streets of Wakanda with his ex like he ain’t royalty. (Akeem couldn’t even go to the Knicks game without someone having a meltdown and he was just a prince.) I love T’Challa’s version of royalty. T’Challa’s like, let me go be with the people.
I love Lupita as Nakia, the love interest spy. Like, a rich man wants you, the king wants you, and she’s like, "yeah, the terms don’t work for me, and my life’s purpose isn’t sitting on a throne, so… you’ll figure it out. In the meantime, 'Ciao for now'.”
And to credit, T’Challa’s first act as king was to go to his consigliere, W'Kabi, and be like, “So Nakia had said…”
Get Out (W’Kabi) pissed me off this whole film. Like T’Challa is his boy. He comes to W’Kabi with relationship problems and what not. He’s debating if Wakanda could do more to help… and W’Kabi is full Trump, sitting up cozy in his blanket, like “nope, refugees come with refugee problems. We good.”
You’ve known this man your whole life. The first time T’Challa doesn’t deliver by not capturing Klaue, you sh--on him and practically commit treason. This is what TSA rescued your naïve ass from the woods for? (You never shoulda been up in the woods alone with them white people.)
Danai “calls” to tell the men there is a problem. I love the portrayal of black women in this film. Like they are the brains of the operation and the protectors of the realm. You got Danai and the Dora Mijale. The High Council got lady elders. Lupita is out there saving the world and women. Little Sis is fueling the technology.
Wakanda is the most advanced nation on earth for many reasons. There’s the virbranium, of course. And they’ve never been colonized so their best resources, including people, weren’t stolen and they don’t get the inferiority complex that comes with being subjugated. But on top of all of that, they’re winning because the entire population is allowed to operate at their full potential. You create a society where half of the population are given agency, allowed equal seats at the table, and encouraged to thrive and you end up with a really dope place; you end up with Paradise.
Someone get Dap Dunlap on the bullhorn and tell him to wake people up.
Got Damn, T’Challa is fine. He kinda walks like Forever 44.
They’re in Korea looking for Klaue. Danai has on a straight-haired wig that she calls a disgrace. LMAO. But really, that’s a horrible wig. I loved Danai for using her wig as a weapon. And for fighting in a couture gown.
The CIA guy is sooo the token white guy. How does it feel? How does it feel?
Who’s the guy that took all the chips from the table? The theatre reacted. I don’t know. This is my first Marvel movie.
I really like Klaue as a villain. He likes being a villain. It’s not honest work, but he enjoys his job. That’s half the battle. He shot at T’Challa with his arm cannon and was like, “I made it rain!” He was so excited.
He’s also a straight up racist tho. He told T’Challa, “you savages didn’t deserve it” about why he stole the vibranium.
But, Sir. You’ve been to Wakanda. One of the few outsiders to see it. Savages?
One of the many things I love in this film is how it shows how white people’s racism gets in their own way. Like, they heard there was this magical place with this magical metal, and they looked everywhere but Africa for it, which helped Wakanda to thrive untouched. Or in the clip after the credits, T’Challa is at the UN, I think, like, “hi, Wakanda is gonna share its resources with the world.” Dude was like, “what could you possibly offer?” Like, he couldn’t even fathom that Africa had resources. You know what? None for you. Everyone else gets some. You get none.
T’Challa’s is in sweats at the police station and still look good. Like… WTF. What is going on? Im mad at myself for sleeping on Chadwick.
I wanted to throttle the token white guy when he touched T’Challa all familiar. Like, he’s a king, a KING. You’re a federal government employee. Show some GD respect.
Michael B. Jordan shows up to break Klaue out of jail. Is this his first time playing a villain. He’s so wonderful at it.
And really, is he a villain? Or is he a visionary? He’s angry, but for a great reason. His dad was killed and he was abandoned in a foreign country. We never hear what happened to his mother and I want to know what happened to her. He’s got some serious issues with women that need addressing.
Wakanda has some serious moral issues that need addressing cause they’ve been practicing slackness for centuries. They turned a blind eye to slavery, and the colonization of either almost the entire continent of Africa or the entire continent (Ethiopia and Liberia are questionable. Ethiopia because of Mussolini. Liberia because of America.) You did nothing? I get why Killmonger’s mad at everybody in Wakanda.
And his cause is the sh--. Liberate black folks from oppression worldwide using Wakandan weapons. Colonize the countries that colonized Africa and participated in the slave trade. Create an African nation with the power of Ancient Rome or Elizabethan England where Black people are on top. Please let me know at what point I’m supposed to find this problematic, or appalling.
I’ll wait….
The CIA white guy jumps in front of Lupita to save her. T’Challa says they have to take him back to Wakanda to save his life. Do you? White people in black places seldom ends well for black people. And Lil Sis was decidedly un-thrilled to save him, “Like, another broken white man for us to fix!” She had better things to do with her time that day. Wait… was there another broken white man at some point? Or I’m thinking too hard about that line?
As soon as the Colonizer got up and started walking around, I was like, “nooooo. Nooooo….” Cause he was looking too much, and wanting too touch and asking questions and Sis was answering, and I was like, “no!" They find sh—and say they discovered it! They steal and act like they always owned it. And always think they know better. MBJ showed up in Wakanda and Danai, a military general, was like “he’s Wakandan” and white dude was like, “no, he’s CIA.” Um. You can be both. (Like Black and Latina.)
Meanwhile, T’Challa goes to see Forest Whitaker to ask about Michael B Jordan who had T’Challa’s grandfather’s ring. Idi Amin ain’t got no better excuse for leaving the baby than “we had to maintain the lie”. I swear that’s a line from The Wire.
Killmonger has shown up in Wakanda, calling Angela Bassett “Auntie” and saying, “I want the throne.”
T’Challa’s ol Ned Stark ass is like, yeah, “I agree to the challenge!” Um…. Why? This is why Papa Panther was like, “it’s hard for good men to be king”. Lock this mofo in a dungeon or kill him too, I mean, if you want to stay on the throne. You gonna "do the right thing" your ass right over the edge of the mountain.
This mofo killed Zuri. HE. KILLED. ZURI!!!!!
Queen Mother and Little Sis steal away with Lupita before The Mad King tries to kill them too. They take the Colonizer with them. They end up going to see that fine ass Jabari king, M’Baku.
Let me get this straight, it’s a whole city of big ol’ men wearing animals and what not? Fur and leather, and loin cloth. Where is this village? Just give me an address. I’ll put in Waze. I’m not asking for a friend. I want to go to this village. I want to #seesomeJabari men.
As it turns out, the Jabari tribe has T’Challa. Umm… why y’all didn’t call anyone and say, “hey, we got T’Challa”?
Lupita gives T’Challa the last purple flower and he shows up at the ancestral plane to confront his father, who ain’t got no good reason for leaving the boy behind than, “he was the truth we choose to omit.” Nah, B. He was a kid you left to fend for himself. I’m so disappointed in Daddy.
Back with the Jabari tribe, T’Challa is sitting there in a blanket just looking f---ing amazing and full of melanin.
I love this movie so much. Like, I really, really, do. The people, the outfits, the city, the land, the technology. Just all these happy and purposeful and proudly black, black people. This is amazing. This almost makes up for white folks making Cleopatra with Liz Taylor. Almost. Gimme a Black Panther sequel and we’ll discuss Hollywood reparations.
Michael B Jordan is on the throne. He said, he in Africa; he ain’t wearing a shirt anymore. Just dots and dots, and mo dots like that's a whole outfit.
What is the weather like in Wakanda? Cause MBJ is walking around shirtless and in a robe-ish situation; Get Out has been in his Vibranium blanket the whole movie.
MBJ is activing his plan to build the Wakandan Empire by sending weapons off to the rest of the world. If you’re still waiting for me to be mad, keep waiting.
T’Challa shows up in his BP suit to challenge his cousin, and MBJ did exactly what T’Challa should have done. He was like, “nope. I’m the king, crowned and all. You ain’t challenging sh—“ and then sends Get Out and his army to fight T’Challa. These men ain’t loyal!
So everyone’s fighting—the Get Out men, the Dora Milaje, Lupita, Lil Sis— and no one’s really winning. They just scrapping. Get Out called in the rhinos and folks still going at it.
The Jabari show up. Big, wide, fine Sir said he wasn’t coming, but he came. He’s all, “witness the might of the Jabari firsthand.”
Sir. My eyes, are open. I am looking hard, witnessing all that I can. I am bearing witness. I can bear other things too. If you allow me the opportunity with an enthusiastic yes. Or we can just practice the process. Let me know how you wanna carry it. What’s up? What’s up?
Finally, a winner is emerging. Danai ends up drawing a sword on her ain’t sh—man. Get Out hits her with, “you would kill me, my love?” Oh, now she’s “my love”?! You been having your men out here fighting her women and wasn’t thinking about love.
Their relationship is done. She told him she’d kill him, “for Wakanda? Without question.” He surrenders, but really. Where do they go from here?
T’Challa and Killmonger been battling it out in neon-light costumes in an underground train station. I wish Killmonger would have agreed to let T’Challa save him. I mean, they are blood. And maybe there could have been some redemption. I don’t know. I get why Killmonger wanted to die.
That line about “Death being better than bondage”. Yikes. And he wanted to be thrown in the water with his ancestors who jumped from the slave ships? My God. Helluva image. At least he got to see the sunset that his dad told him about, and he got to be with Randal again. And thank you for rubbing Wakanda’s silence on slavery in T’Challa’s face before you died.
T’Challa is king once-again, and maybe the last king because there’s no more of the syzurrp to make Black Panthers left. He didn’t promise Killmonger anything, but he took to heart the core sentiment that Wakanda should help people. T’Challa goes back to Oakland with Lil Sis, bought up the projects and she’s gonna be in charge of tech.
There’s this ‘lil kid playing basketball, like Killmonger in the beginning of the film. He asks T’Challa “who are you?” I’ve seen this movie three times and it’s the only part I cry. Something about that scene reminds me of that picture of Obama bending over to let the little kid touch his hair, essentially showing him that someone who has hair like him, that has skin like him, could be president. It’s like, the little boy ain’t never seen a T’Challa and now that he has, his perspective on what’s possible is that much bigger. Like black faces in high places aren’t enough, you need to operate on all cylinders, like giving back time and money. But representation matters. It’s why black people (like me) are flocking to this film like it’s Revival Week. I keep thinking that kid is going to turn out to be someone amazing in the sequel.
$387 million in worldwide sales over the weekend? There will definitely be a sequel.
WAKANDA FOREVER!!!!!!
Fin.