There is More to this 70mm Panther
The Black Panther is the movie that is on everyone's mind. It is the Wonder Woman of 2018. Black Panther is not just an action packed superhero movie with an engaging plot and amazing visual animation.
The movie wrestles with questions about race, gender, and culture. When we hear the word Africa, what comes to mind first? We have this stereotype of Africa as a technologically backward continent ravaged by war and poverty. We immediately visualize and stereotype the African people as uncivilized and exotic natives. The movie Black Panther challenged this stereotype and perception of Africa. The fictional kingdom of Wakanda is far more advanced then the rest of the world. Wakandians already have access to hover bikes and magnetic trains while the rest of the world is still trying to acclimatize to hover boards.
Wakanda is depicted as a utopian society concealed from the rest of the world. Yet, they wish to help Africans and African Americans without endangering their way of life. This is a question that many countries struggle to answer today with the influx of immigrants and refugees form war torn countries. It also highlights the impact of colonialism on Africa. Wakanda thrived without colonization. Although, Wakanda was never colonized, Wakandians have a deep mistrust of foreigners, illustrating the long term impact that colonialism had on the perception of Africans.
The portrayal of the All Female Guard, high priestess and scientific genius Shuri is symbolic of the advancement of women in all spheres of life. Without Shuri or Nakia it would be impossible for T'Challa to defeat his adversaries. Although, the Black Panther is a male, a woman grants him his extraordinary abilities. The movie shows girls that it is cool to become scientists, mathematicians, politicians or soldiers.
The story presents an all too common trilemma experienced by us all on a regular basis: when faced with situations in life, do we enforce our perspective in the way we deem right or do we let things continue as they do or should we present alternative insights and input to allow people the opportunity to evaluate alternative options for their merits, by themselves.
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For more on 70mm format: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IMAX
