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Black Panther is more than a movie
Black Panther was released this week in cinemas across the UK. It is a Marvel movie, set in Wakanda, a fictional African country and features a predominantly black cast. It is also on track to become one of the biggest ever superhero films.
To me, Black Panther is so much more than another movie.
It is finally showing that black people are not a monolith and that they exist outside of Tyler Perry movies.
It is seeing people who look like me on the big screen and not the small screens in our homes. (I still love you Nollywood.)
When I was a young girl, I remember being genuinely confused that I didn’t have an American accent, could barely sing and that I wasn’t (that) loud because that is the only representation I saw of young black females on TV. White was always the default and white people were the ones who could transcend more than one personality type.
This movie is more than just another Marvel film. I am looking forward to seeing amazing actors and actresses who just happen to be black.
Even seeing celebrities going to the premieres wearing African attire makes me feel so proud and happy. Clothes I used to be embarrassed about wearing are now being flamboyantly worn in all their colourful glory on the red carpet.
