Black Panther is a Marvel comic character created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in July of 1966, first appearing in Fantastic Four #52. Much like other Marvel films, Black Panther has been in development for quite some time and had been released in February 2018. A month has passed since it's release and it has grossed $1 billion worldwide and is in the number 5 spot of highest domestic opening weekend.
With Avengers: Infinity War just over the horizon, Black Panther is coming close to the end of it's run theatrically.
There have been politics surrounding the movie, however unlike Sony Pictures with Ghostbusters, neither Marvel Studios, nor Ryan Coogler even issued a political statement slamming detractors of the movie as far to my knowledge (If however I am wrong, I will correct that Lord Willing in this paper as an additional note).
I won't give my thoughts on the movie entirely here but I will say while not as good as Captain America: Civil War and Doctor Strange, Black Panther certainly is in the top three best Phase 3 moves of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
This article is more of a look at the identity politics surrounding it as well as the themes and points the movie actually makes.
No Whites Allowed Identity Politics
If you were to replace Whites with Blacks, people would be demanding that the person in question would be removed from their job and prosecuted, dragging their name through the dirt but for some reason, no outrage when racist individuals, tell white people to let people of colour see the movie first and then whites can see the movie afterwards.
This is obscene. The melanin (the stuff that determines your skin colour) in your skin doesn't have a deciding factor in whether or not to see the movie first. There are even white people who said that we should wait for people of colour to see it first. Can you imagine the backlash if people for Captain America: The First Avenger said No Blacks Allowed, there would be outraged protests but when people start saying the same thing regarding Black Panther, silence. Total hypocrisy and shows us the irony of leftists (not all) that they are the most racist and bigoted people of all.
I saw the movie on the 13th of Febuary 2018, which was the earliest screening for the UK, before the United States even saw a release. The fact Marvel Studios, specifically Kevin Feige, the architect of the MCU and head of Marvel Studios, and Ryan Coogler, the director and co-writer of Black Panther, have never issued a statement regarding the movie's detractors speaks volumes. I don't know their political stance but they seem quite tolerant, inclusive and the things the left go on about.
Sabotage of Rotten Tomatoes
For Christians not in the know, Rotten Tomatoes is a website that gathers reviews from critics and using those reviews, calculates a numerical rating, it goes up if a positive review is posted and goes down if a negative review is posted.
Individuals were deliberately trashing the movie to tamper with the Rotten Tomatoes rating days before the movie has been released and an individual had given rules for white people to sit in the theatre at the back, not to see it in the opening weekend letting people of colour see it first and post a positive review on Rotten Tomatoes before seeing the movie? (All said by a white man by the way).
What a cancerous atmosphere identity politics have created.
Kevin Feige's political stance I am not sure, it could be centre left but at least he isn't engaging in this silliness and attacking people for not praising his movies.
Ryan Coogler (himself black) doesn't seem to be criticising people for disliking or liking the movie.
Just watch Black Panther, regardless of ethnicity, it doesn't define what time you may go to the cinema for any movie, it's open to everyone and the same would also apply to home media.
Identifying with a particular character based on race
I understand the issues in Hollywood in the past, some have complained about blackface and yellowface which is understable, but it annoys me when individuals say they identify or are pleased when a child can identify with a character and not have to dress up as an Asian or Black version of that character (I honestly don't care as a youth leader I knew years ago dressed up as Rey 2 or 3 years ago and didn't make a statement about her being an Asian Rey, she just dressed up as Rey and that was it).
If you are talking about films in a time where there was anti-Asian sentiments, the points would hold weight, but that has passed.
Should a child identify with a character because of gender and race? Or should they identify with a character because of the struggles the individual goes through. I could understand the struggles of T'Challa, the Black Panther in the film and how he ticks and I don't have as high of a melanin count as he does. It's so superficial and it reminds me of people of the comments about Meghan Markle, that some people now have someone to identify with in the modern age (i.e, someone who is black). Maybe what one should be doing is focusing on her character and even her achievement. Who is she as an individual is what counts.
God is not interested in the melanin count of someone's skin, unlike us, he is not predjudiced and will judge man accordingly. Jesus is not going to say to an individual that due to their skin colour on Judgement Day that they shall be sent to hell or allowed to enter heaven, That isn't how he judges someone. Did Jesus condemn the Phonecian because she was not a Jew, or did he commend her for her faith? Did Philip say that black people were not entitled to the Gospel or did he like Jesus commanded, start making disciples of all nations, including the blacks?
The melanin count of a human is inconsequential to the merit of a human being in the sight of God, what matters is whether he is in Christ or not.
Is Black Panther an expose on the left?
Interpretation of a film is subjective, so I'd advise people to see Black Panther for themselves and come to their own conclusion on the matter. But the thing I believe I have noticed. I have seen Black Panther twice and I do think that there is a case you can make is that this movie actually destroys the left's false narratives. One point of theirs is a bit of a grey area but we'll get to that.
Firstly, T'Challa becomes the king of his native Wakanda, a nation that is highly advanced, with amazing technology through the usage of an metal from space called, vibranium (which is also what Captain America's shield is made of, but I digress). Vibranium has multiple usages, for medical purposes, fuel, electricity etc.
The film has an interesting contrast between blacks raised in Africa, specifically Wakanda and that of African Americans in the West.
Admittedly I still think Black Panther is a good movie but the politics surrounding it (no fault of Ryan Coogler or Marvel Studios) is cancer.
Just seeing a headlines title is enough to turn me off reading like "white people are the side kick in Black Panther and should shut up." It's ridiculous.
Here's the thing, The Wakandans have have been isolated in the film for years and it's a big deal when Everett Ross is brought into Wakanda and wonder if it is a good idea. W'Kabi even states if they let refugees in, they bring their problems with them.
They have a right to be concerned about their borders. How disastrous would it be if murderers, sex offenders, benefit scroungers etc were let into Wakanda potentially? Granted a place like Wakanda is unrealistic, it still raises a concern protecting one's borders, even if Wakanda is extreme in that regard. Still, even they seem to recognise open borders and letting any immigrant into the country can only lead to disaster.
Could it be a subtle condemnation of closing the border and we should be open? Possibly. Watch the film for yourself and make a judgement regarding the ending of the film.
Ross saves Nakia (T'Challa's ex-lover) from being killed by a grenade but gets hurt badly and has to be brought to Wakanda to be saved. Ross took a piece of shrapnel for Nakia... So much for the narrative all white people are racist.
In return, Shuri, T'Challa's sister fixes Ross's back and even allows him later on to use a Wakandan simulator to pilot a ship to stop the vibranium from being shipped out of the country.
No predjudice from either Ross nor the Wakandans is present toward each other. What does that tell you about them?
Then you have Erik Killmonger, himself a Wakandan raised in America believing himself to be oppressed. Even his final line of dialogue reflects this. He is a man who refuses to move past the trauma in his life and remain a victim.
He also sought to use the vibranium to conquer the earth and free who he sees as the oppressed, making Wakanda an empire to rule over others.
Killmonger hates T'Challa's bloodline because T'Chaka killed N'Jobu, who himself witnessed the drugs and crime in black neighborhoods believing that if they had weapons from Wakanda they could defend themselves against their oppressors, or so he claims. Judge the film for yourself.
And yet the SJW parasites say Stan Lee's cameo is racist? Ignoring the fact either due to ignorance or deception Stan Lee and Jack Kirby were themselves the creators of the Black Panther character.
I still like the movie despite the identity politics of the cancerous racist scum who seek to politise a movie that can be judged simply on the merits of Ryan Coogler's direction, his and Joe Robert Cole's writing and the cast's performances in the film, rather than making a political statement of leftist ideology that seeks to destroy and disunify people rather than build them up and bring them together.
The mere fact that Voddie Baucham exists as he does now, ie a great minister of Christ refutes the idea that black people cannot overcome problems because of systematic oppression of black people from whites, even though institutionalised racism and slavery were abolished years ago at two varying points in history. Despite his background, Jesus Christ in his mercy came to Voddie Baucham and used him mightly, even to this day.
Diversity
When this word is used by the left, it doesn't mean diversity of thought, but diversity based on something irrelevant as race or sex.
Anyone who uses diversity as a code word or buzz word to mean anti-white which is not the most common definition these days, they are engaging in racism and bigotry. There is also the usage of the phrase "check your privilege" which is designed to shut down any meaningful conversation and it is not an argument and doesn't valid anyone's position more than mine.
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon and Black Panther are films that have a predominantly Asian and Black casts, why? Because they are either the majority or entire population of their settings. So of course in most Hollywood films the cast are mostly white.
Yet Black Panther is called a win for diversity because 90% are black? How? I like the cast yes, they all do a great job but their skin colour has nothing to do with it. Same with Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Civil War.
It is also worth noting that James Earl Jones, known as the voice of Darth Vader and Mufasa respectively was not chosen because of his skin colour, a fact he made clear when he said Lucasfilm wanted a darker voice in terms of timbre, not ethnicity.
Avery Brooks of Deep Space Nine fame who was the character Captain Benjamin Sisko, has said that he didn't wake up to play a brown captain, just a captain and yet Star Trek Discovery highlights that their main character is a black woman named Michael (No I am not kidding and I prefer to call her Mikaela or Michelle.)
Not picking on any race just saying. There are talented actors like Idris Elba, Michael B Jordan, Daniel Kaluuya, Lupita Nyong'o, Zoe Saldana and many more I could list but I don't judge them good or bad actors or actresses based on race.
People just can't let a franchise be can they? There must always be an objection against a program because "RACIST!!!" Or "WHITEWASHING!!!" And praising something because there are no white males (except for gay white males because diversity).
All this talk of diversity is just a cover for subtle racism, sexism and bigotry with the most intelligence insulting double standards and disgusting comments.
Ironic how the ones who are against racism and sexism are the ones projecting their bigotry onto others.
Conclusion
My advice for any Christian, watch Black Panther for yourself , make your own judgement and see if what I say holds merit.
Answering Judaism.
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