Black Panther brings controversy?

Black Panther, directed by Ryan Coogler, is the eighteenth Marvel Cinematic Universe film released. The film follows the superhero Black Panther and explores the mysterious country of Wakanda. The film features Chadwick Boseman as Black Panther, Michael B. Jordan as Erik “Killmonger” Stevens, Martin Freeman as Everett K. Ross, Lupita Nyong’o as Nakia, and many more. The casting was fantastic and every actor got their moment to shine. Not to devote too much attention to the quality of the film, Black Panther raised many controversies regarding race through its cast and story.

Firstly, Wakanda is supposed to be a fictional city in Africa, and even though it is a film with a mostly black cast, none of the black American actors are born on African soil. Many people are arguing that the characters should’ve been played by Africans born on African soil. Tensions have re-ignited between continental and diasporic(scattered) Africans due to this casting choice. Many Africans online have called the film’s adaptation of African culture as “appropriation”. A ludicrous claim, as even if the black Americans are not born on African soil they are still African in their roots. African culture, therefore, is a part of their lives as well and not something that was taken without acquiring permission beforehand. Especially considering that most of the culture and customs presented in the film were taken from the comics or made up for the film.

Secondly, the story of Black Panther had a cultural significance and dealt with issues regarding white supremacy. One of the few non-black characters in the film, Martin Freeman’s Everett Ross, was called out for being a “broken white man” in the movie. One of the few jokes attempted in the film, this action was criticized as an attempt to poke fun at white people. The ideologies behind the antagonist Killmonger was also over Black oppression. Killmonger wished to help Africans around the world to stand up to their oppressors, an ideology which gained the support of many movie-goers. The film was criticized to be anti-white due to these factors. However, in the context of the film, Freeman’s character was indeed “broken”, therefore the phrase was simply an honest description of the character without any prejudice that’s purposefully expressed. The Ideology behind Killmonger was also true to a certain degree. Black people have been oppressed around the world for a long time and even now. Then there is also the fact that the opinion of people should be free and open, even if they are not always right.

Overall, the controversies surrounding Black Panther were unjustifiable and brings only unnecessary harm from the progress we’ve made. The movie portrayed a strong and independent nation in Africa and should not be criticized for its content which can be a view from many different perspectives. Furthermore, it is important to note that most of the controversies are started by opinions of people, there is no guarantee of fact involved with these opinions and they should be read objectively. Including this one.