Eye-catching visuals, characters keep audience hooked

The highly anticipated film Black Panther has dominated the box office recently, and rightfully so. A strong cast full of black people and strong female characters is a breath of fresh air as well.

The movie features a well-designed plot, and while it does fit the mold of many other Marvel movies, something just feels different about this movie. Maybe it’s the amazing characters and development or just the incredible subject matter, but this movie seems much better than other Marvel movies.

The characters in Black Panther seem to have so many levels to them and it makes them much more enjoyable. The characters aren’t just one dimensional and they have so much more development. A lot of superhero movie characters have always maintained the classic ‘unbreakable will’ but Black Panther is different and I really like that.

Black Panther also made their villain masterfully. Much like how the movie broke the role of a superhero, they also broke the role of a villain.

Most villains in movies always have some morally wrong goal and the hero stops him. But the villain named Erik Killmonger, played by Michael B. Jordan, has a much more morally acceptable goal and that makes him feel much more real. He is a villain that you can really sympathize with and that makes him a much more acceptable villain.

Costume design was also beautiful. The designs for the Wakandan clothes borrowed from all different cultures with some pieces from Indian designs and some from all parts of Africa. The costumes just go to show the intense effort and attention to detail.

The movie was masterfully shot, the videography was just beautiful with mind bending aerial shots and great landscaping views. The clips featuring Wakanda were equally as beautiful and had me feeling like I was in the middle of a bustling market or in a royal palace.

While the soundtrack gained a lot of clout due to the amount of star power on it, the musical score deserves just as much credit. The songs in it were extremely powerful and super emotional.

Songs in the score like “Ancestral Plane” were bangers and Ludwig Goransson, the person who made the score, deserves an equal amount of credit.

The cast featured many people of color, like Michael B. Jordan and Chadwick Boseman and this was a breakthrough in Hollywood. The movie made a whopping $241.9 million it’s opening weekend, in America, and that can be attributed to the crossover into the black community.

Black Panther attracted a lot of different people to the movie and I feel like that was definitely the goal of the movie. The heavy amount of black actors contributed to this goal and attracted so many people to this movie that wouldn’t have seen the movie if it wasn’t for this.

Black Panther definitely lived up to all of the hype and deserves a lot of credit for inspiring culture through the amazing job that Marvel Studios did.

COMMENTARY: African character representation overdue

Black Panther has done more good than people would like to admit. After watching it I’ve come to the conclusion that it may have been the greatest Marvel movie yet. Before you charge me with your torches and spears, let me explain.

As an African, I’ve struggled to come to terms with the lack of positive Black personalities in Hollywood. Too often are we portrayed as drug leaders or the principle source of criminality. I yearned for more characters who I may reflect on and who my younger siblings may look up to. However, as I watched Black Panther I couldn’t help but to feel proud of my culture. It symbolized the Black strength and unity that the media has tried to destroy for far too long. The colorful blend of different African cultures, in the movie, illustrates the sort of unity people of color have had to employ.

We are all one. We all have the roots that may be traced back to the motherland. If we can’t fight for ourselves, who will fight for us?

It proves that being Black isn’t a trend. Instead, we are a group of people wanting the same recognition that our counterparts have received since the beginning of time. Since when has repping who you are a bad thing? The fact that the movie premiered in Black history month could not have been any better. It demonstrated what being black truly entails. By taking what we are given by society we have the knack in creating some of the greatest works the world has ever seen.