I remember the immense excitement and over anticipation of the release of the Marvel superhero film, “Black Panther”, in 2018. Though African American superheroes have been featured in various superhero films before, this movie was to be different. Christopher Lebron, an esteemed author on Boston Review, gives his own take on his beliefs about the movie. Lebron’s, “ ‘Black Panther’ Is Not The Movie We Deserve”, emphasized that though “Black Panther” features an African American superhero, it villainized other African American characters and culture. He makes a very interesting and valid argument that the movie did not add to black empowerment but was rather counter-productive and disappointing. 

Looking beyond the film, the exigency of this op-ed becomes clear as it’s not so much about the film, but racism. While reading this article, I agreed with many of the points Lebron made about the movie, film industry and the United States’ desire to deflect the responsibility of racism. At first glance, “Black Panther” seems like any other super hero movie, the good guys triumphing over the bad. But who exactly was painted as the villain in this movie? Lebron’s breakdown of the film and all it’s moving pieces was aimed to convince his audience and create transparency about the obvious racism that still exist today, even in the film industry. 

Because this article is hosted on a website and takes the form of an opinionated editorial, the genre is not limited to one single domain. On the left hand side of the article, there is an area with icons in which an individual can use to share on social media platforms such as twitter and facebook. “Black Panther” is a super hero movie and these tend to attract a much younger audience including children. However, Lebron’s article might be intended for an older and mature audience. Since he addresses the topic of racism, I felt he also wanted the attention of other black folks who agree with his sentient. 

Lebron’s call for action becomes evident throughout his article in phrases such as, 

“But the lessons I learned were these: the bad guy is the black American who has rightly identified white supremacy as the reigning threat to black well-being; the bad guy is the one who thinks Wakanda is being selfish in its secret liberation; the bad guy is the one who will no longer stand for patience and moderation—he thinks liberation is many, many decades overdue. And the black hero snuffs him out.” 

Clearly expresses the author‘s viewpoint of the film, and represents a larger scale issue that still exists in the United States. Not only does he make the distinction between the movie as an insult to the Black Panther Party, a political movement for black empowerment in the 1960s but refers to another superhero show, Luke Cage as the same. 

Lastly, the author leaves his audience with a question. He holds the authority over his audience throughout the length of his op ed, however gives back some of that control in the conclusion. His question goes as follows, “Why should I accept the idea of black American disposability from a man in a suit, whose name is synonymous with radical uplift but whose actions question the very notion that black lives matter?” 

This is a very complex question indeed, and requires much thought from the reader. It is at the end of his article where we must ask ourselves, what was the true message in the movie, how did this movie embody preexisting issues, and why should we accept the manipulated image of a black man as represented in this film.

Link To Article: http://bostonreview.net/race/christopher-lebron-black-panther

What did you think about Lebron’s Op-Ed and do you agree?