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| Photo by Olga Lalo |
On what would have been a regular Wednesday evening, The New Yorker generously invited its faithful subscribers, on a rather short notice, to a special screening of Black Panther at BAM Rose Cinemas, followed by a Q and A with the movie's co-screenwriter, Joe Robert Cole. This was a unique opportunity to not only watch an amazing film that everyone must see, but also to get a peek behind the curtains for an insight of how the film was made and how the screenwriters Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole collaborated to make it happen.
Since one of the main themes in the movie was choosing the common good over personal ambitions, it is interesting to know that the screenwriters had a similar approach to their script. Focused on the story, they can no longer tell who came up with some of the audience's favorite lines. Black Panther is a product of selfless teamwork by people who had their minds and hearts invested in the story. With a medley of action, love, politics, philosophy and other themes it explores, the film is thought-provoking, engaging and relevant to all types of audiences.
Based on the comic book story by writer/editor Stan Lee and writer/artist Jack Kirby, Black Panther takes place in a fictional African nation, Wakanda, which is technologically advanced and hidden under the guise of a third-world country. Having in possession one of the most powerful minerals, vibranium, the Wakandans are cautious to keep it a secret from the rest of the world. Concerned with their country's safety first, they nevertheless can't help wondering how much good their technology could have done to the world, which introduces one of the main conflicts in the movie: isolation versus globalization. How much can we give without hurting our country? As one of the characters, W'Kabi, rightfully notes, "If you let in refugees, they will bring in their problems." It is a moral question that resonates with the current political situation in the world and cannot be answered unanimously. The king of Wakanda, T'Challa, chooses people's lives over politics again and again, driven by his heart rather than powerlust. Yet, his choices are not met with 100% approval.
Torn by their own moral dilemmas, many characters in Black Panther are complex by design, which makes them all the more interesting. Turning the villain Erik Killmonger into T'Challa's cousin, whose father T'Challa's father had to kill, the writers make him an orphan literally and figuratively, as an African-American, whose ties with his roots are severed. Both of these losses make him bitter and angry, moving him to hurt others for what was done to him. Though his anger is justified, it ends up destroying him, while also affecting T'Challa, inspiring him to make positive changes in his own royal policies.
Discussing the setting of Black Panther during the Q and A session, Joe Robert Cole explained that they had intended to portray Africa independent of the European lens, explore the dialogue between Africans and African-Americans and root the modern world in African culture. Hence, the film depicts Africa through the screenwriters' loving eyes. Committed to staying truthful and respectful, they conducted extensive research on African traditions, and their Wakanda is a contemporary version of paradise that encompasses beautiful nature and high-tech health care and infrastructure. With different tribes peacefully co-existing under the rule of the same king, who can be challenged for his throne in a fair fight, Wakanda is strongest in its unity, when it doesn't allow outside influences to corrupt its citizens and turn against one another for political reasons.
Having superior technology, compared to the rest of the world, Wakandans neither imagine themselves better than others nor entertain the idea of conquering other nations. On the contrary, Black Panther advocates for inclusivity and diversity, inviting us to love our neighbors, regardless of their origin and cultural background. As T'Challa says in his UN address to the world in the end of the movie, "We have more similarities than differences." When we focus on our differences, fights arise and wars begin, and when we concentrate on our similarities, we forge friendships and set in motion a circle of goodwill. In the end of the day, we shape the world we live in, and it's our responsibility to keep the toxicity of biases and hatred out, or else it will poison us and prevent us from enjoying life and the company of other people.
Discussing the setting of Black Panther during the Q and A session, Joe Robert Cole explained that they had intended to portray Africa independent of the European lens, explore the dialogue between Africans and African-Americans and root the modern world in African culture. Hence, the film depicts Africa through the screenwriters' loving eyes. Committed to staying truthful and respectful, they conducted extensive research on African traditions, and their Wakanda is a contemporary version of paradise that encompasses beautiful nature and high-tech health care and infrastructure. With different tribes peacefully co-existing under the rule of the same king, who can be challenged for his throne in a fair fight, Wakanda is strongest in its unity, when it doesn't allow outside influences to corrupt its citizens and turn against one another for political reasons.
Having superior technology, compared to the rest of the world, Wakandans neither imagine themselves better than others nor entertain the idea of conquering other nations. On the contrary, Black Panther advocates for inclusivity and diversity, inviting us to love our neighbors, regardless of their origin and cultural background. As T'Challa says in his UN address to the world in the end of the movie, "We have more similarities than differences." When we focus on our differences, fights arise and wars begin, and when we concentrate on our similarities, we forge friendships and set in motion a circle of goodwill. In the end of the day, we shape the world we live in, and it's our responsibility to keep the toxicity of biases and hatred out, or else it will poison us and prevent us from enjoying life and the company of other people.
