Black Panther

The African Screen

- Josh Winning

There’s a lovely, remarkably potent idea at the heart of Black Panther, and it’s this: just because you can’t see Wakanda, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. That notion is so powerfully evocative it helped turn Marvel’s 18th film into a phenomenon, one which went on to garner a record-smashing $1.3 billion. But what makes the film so compelling is that it gave audiences – and specifically black audiences – something usually reserved for stories set in a galaxy far, far away: hope.

Our eyes have now been opened up to the wonders of Wakanda, and its impact on contemporary culture can’t be ignored. Here’s a multi-million-dollar blockbuster featuring a predominantly black cast who talk about black issues and celebrate their blackness in a way that’s so joyful, it mobilised A-listers like Octavia Spencer (who bought out cinemas to ensure impoverished communities could see the film) and opened up a dialogue about inclusion in Hollywood blockbusters. And in T’Challa (Chadwick Boseman), the film presents a complex hero who is proud of his African heritage and will fight tooth and claw to protect it.