American culturologists and natives of the continent, even from the beginning of the middle of the last century, not even notice the difference, and the mental gulf between ethnic Africans and their counterparts from the United States. The abyss, which is not limited to the territorial context and social differences. The fundamental difference is that, although both spaces are faced with the problems of the colonization of the white West, Africans, in contrast to African Americans, have a more integral racial as well as national identity. After all, whatever one may say, despite all the ruthless struggle with the consequences of slavery, segregation, and racism, the black population of America is not yet able to get rid of the gloomy shadow of a white man who still leaves its imprint.
Thus, it is not at all surprising that the very concept of the "Black Panther", both comic and film, found a huge response in the hearts of millions. This, to some extent, a personified myth and a childish naive dream of a world in which the culture and civilization of whole nations did not become a fertilizer on the path of European imperialism, the dream of the Africa it could become. In other words, the context of the tape as a phenomenon of art and the display of topical social trends is almost a Proust dream of lost time.
Proceeding from these premises, the tape should be evaluated at least for its idea. The visual deconstruction of the super-ego of the whole race was the shortcoming frame in the history of socio-political cinema. The aspect of cinema, dedicated to this still delicate topic, has become obsolete in the past ten years. No one else depicts black people as victims of US public stratification. Ghetto, skirmishes, tragedy of slum romance have long ceased to inspire both the target audience, and sympathetic viewers. The time of Tupac Shakur and radical groups has passed, the time of Byronic lyrical Lamar and multicultural voluntarism has come.. This, in fact, is the main conflict of the film.
Confrontation between the young King Wakid and his rival goes beyond the usual conflict for Marvel protagonist and antagonist. T'Challa, heir to the throne, technological paradise in the depths of the African savannah, is shown by embarrassed and tortured contradictory aspirations. The isolationist model of the state, which the Wahoda rulers were loyal to for centuries, no longer seems to him to be true. The world is changing rapidly, and the Black Panther intuitively feels - either Wakida will change too, or will remain at the dead end of history. And this, perhaps, is the only thing that connects him with the antagonist - the ethnic son of Wakandy and at the same time the dazzling reflection of the militaristic grimace of the United States, Killmonger.
Eric Stevens quite unexpectedly turned out to be the most successful find of the film and one of the brightest stars in a small pleiad of accomplished villains of the Marvel universe. Against the background of monotonous megalomaniacs, his predatory grin looks like a breath of fresh air. A man who grew up in the conditions of the "black" ghetto, a veteran of the colonial wars of world democracy in the Middle East, a murderer with the number of casualties in the population of the middle town in the southern outback of America - unlike his noble mirror double, he stands firmly on his feet, knows what he wants and as. If his role can be interpreted as a regular invader seeking to transform the ultra-developed African Switzerland into the Fourth Reich, then from a deep perspective of the character of Michael Jordan it can be freely interpreted as a painful symptom of the crippled mentality of African Americans of all time, embittered, vindictive, aggressive, and at the same time - deeply unhappy.
Aggression, naturalness and quite human longing for a real homeland, to which he was deprived all his adult life through the fault of the royal family of Wakanda - all this makes Eric the prettiest of all the characters. After all, he is not only symbolic, but also quite persuasive and alive. The viewer can only repeat after Kendrick Lamar: "All Hail King Killmonger.
To the same extent that Killmonger is intended to serve as the embodiment of the "dark" side of culture, which is the central subject of the "Black Panther", secondary characters, although less significant, but no less naming. Separately it is necessary to note heroines Okoya and Shuri. Despite the fact that only one of them was able to qualitative actor's performance (the problem that is relevant for most of the caste of the whole film), their embodiment shows everything that needs to be shown: on the one hand, the public sees perseverance, loyalty, loyalty to traditions and conservatism, on the other hand, youth, pressure, disregard for obsolete patterns and rituals, the fruit of the influence of world culture.
However, if we still consider the film outside its context, if we wrest the narrative with meat from its discourse - what remains in the dry residue, as a product and as a quality? Unfortunately, not too many. The graphic novelty and brightness is compensated by the weak dynamism of what is happening, individual strong and emotional moments are counterbalanced by the sluggish development of the very predictable even for Marvel movies of the plot. The authors have made a lot of serious applications: starting from flirting with the themes of geopolitics and racial issues and ending with the impact of globalization as a necessary global phenomenon. Alas, their ideas quickly exhausted themselves, as a result of which, on a promising foundation, the triumphs that caused the stubbornness of the convoy were established: "War is bad" and that the world is ruled by "Love and friendship".
Ultimately, the "Black Panther" certainly deserves to see the world and the film is also worth seeing. However, one should not succumb to a massive media tape attack in the context of a movie as such does not deserve not that the title of a magnificent, but even excellent.
A brilliant and significant idea combined with an attempt to play on topical issues can not replace the absence of a harmonious narrative, talented cast and generally mediocre director's work. The film needs to be viewed corny because similar ones have not been filmed yet, but this does not mean that one should blindly blind oneself to his shortcomings - and the shortcomings are too flashy.
Source: Flashforward Magazine Join the TSN group. Blogs on facebook and follow the updates of the section!.