Why you need to see Black Panther

I love going to the movies, I love the sound, the effects, hot popcorn, and I love that for about 2 hours, I am in a different world. Whether it’s an enchanted world, a 18th century world or the future, if the directors, actors and producers are good, you get a hell of a ride. It’s a cheap plane ticket to a wonderful journey. As you might have guessed, I went to see Black Panther. Yes, I adored it. The casting was amazing, they chose talented actors, and of course you can never go wrong when you go Lupita. The director did an amazing work; as always, Marvel movies make you want to live in a different world; and this time, they made me want to go back home. They made me want to go back to Africa. The sound and visual effects were absolutely mesmerizing and the dialogue was hypnotic.

Here are the reasons why you need to see Black Panther:

First of all, T’challa, aka Black Panther, is HOT. Just kidding. Yes, he is, but that’s not why you should see it. For the first time, in the history of big productions, we have a black hero. Do you know what that means? It means your little brother, your son, or your nephew, has a black hero to look up to. For the first time, little girls are taught that they can be warriors, they can fight bad guys, they can run an army. They’re also taught that they can be engineers, they can be very smart and brave. Black Panther shows a self-sufficient African country, and that’s the dream I have for my country. They show smiles, happiness, technology. They show respect for our ancestors, history and manners. They put in value our landscapes, clothes, and attires. That shows a whole new face of Africa. It shows that there’s not only wars, crimes and poverty. It is a beautiful continent, filled with a large number of countries. Each having different languages, cultures, resources and history.

I love that the hero, a smart, strong and good hearted man has an African accent. A lot of people think, and that mostly concern African people, that an accent means less intelligence, less knowledge, less importance. Well, the world is filled with different languages, and you hardly hear Americans talking other languages without an accent, or French people or German. I am very glad that the hero who saves the day, has an African accent, and it doesn’t make him smaller at all.

I love that the general of Wakanda’s army is a woman who is strong and embraces her natural beauty. At one point in the movie you see her wearing a wig and in no time, thinks that she’s prettier because she conforms. This to me, means a lot, and I hope at lot of little girls notice that scene. Because it confirms what I always thought. You can do whatever you want with your body, if you want to wear a goddamn wig, wear it, but do not think for a second that you need it to be pretty.

I love that all characters have authentic names. We should be proud of our names, no matter how difficult they seem to pronounce to others. Other nations won’t ever name their kids after African names. So why should you name your son George or Michael when we have beautiful African names?

I love this story from one of Uzoamaka’s speeches: she came back home and asked her mother to call her Zoe, because nobody could correctly pronounce her name at school. Her mom replied “If they can say Tchaikovsky, Michelangelo and Dostoevsky, then can learn to say Uzoamaka”.

https://www.facebook.com/glamour/videos/10155598495785479/ Here’s the link to that video.

So big shout out to all my peeps whose names encounter laughter and judgment. From Umuheza to Mohammed, you should never be ashamed of your name.

I’m gonna stop here before I start spoiling. I hope you go see it and encourage everyone you know to go see it. I hope they make more movies picturing a strong and beautiful Africa. I hope we get more black heroes for kids to look up to. #WakandaForever.