Black Panther Appreciation: Wakanda Forever!

[FLEX HECTIC]

King of Wakanda Job Requirements...


First win the throne in trial by combat... Check!


Second hear the nations tribal issues and grievances... Check!


Third try and get an early bid on a potential queen... Check!


Fourth maintain the isolation status quo and protect Wakanda's interests... Check!


Exactly what kind of development were you expecting when the job requirements are mostly external in nature?


As a king you don't jump the gun on anything you wait for certain things to happen and come your way otherwise the job is not a job but a hobby!


Other super heroes can tinker with technology because Pepper Potts is holding it down back at the office... Even Superman does not suit up until Lois Lane is in trouble!


The close associates and incoming enemies set the table for the narrative otherwise you are a character picking fights just to try out new weaponry and super powers!


How is Queen Gorgo of Sparta any different than Nakia who encouraged the whole narrative for war or outreach to their kings?


Black Panther: "THIS-IS-WAKANDA!!!"


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Prc1UfuokY

[Marvell2100]

King of Wakanda Job Requirements...


First win the throne in trial by combat... Check!


Second hear the nations tribal issues and grievances... Check!


Third try and get an early bid on a potential queen... Check!


Fourth maintain the isolation status quo and protect Wakanda's interests... Check!


Exactly what kind of development were you expecting when the job requirements are mostly external in nature?


As a king you don't jump the gun on anything you wait for certain things to happen and come your way otherwise the job is not a job but a hobby!


Other super heroes can tinker with technology because Pepper Potts is holding it down back at the office... Even Superman does not suit up until Lois Lane is in trouble!


The close associates and incoming enemies set the table for the narrative otherwise you are a character picking fights just to try out new weaponry and super powers!


How is Queen Gorgo of Sparta any different than Nakia who encouraged the whole narrative for war or outreach to their kings?


Black Panther: "THIS-IS-WAKANDA!!!"


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Prc1UfuokY

Truth bombs everywhere.

Whatever sympathies Killmonger may garner, he was not a hero nor was he fit to be king.

T'Challa proved why he's the better man and he earned the right to be king.

[FLEX HECTIC]

Momz aint no joke just straight setting the table for war... If this scene does not happen then the movie ends with Brad Pitt's Achilles chilling eating grapes booed up with some cute honey making pouty lipped babies!


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NPezYaC_viE


This whole war was over Helen of Troy... I tell ya these women just be instigating men to take off their shirts, flex their muscles and go kill somebody!

[LastManStanding]

The story isn't the problem, it's that they rushed to it for the sake of Infinity War. That's why I don't care much for the MCU, or cinematic universes as a whole. You've gotta sacrifice the potential of one, so that it fits in, and doesn't overshadow the whole.

Basically, this is BP's TDK, but he needed a Batman Begins type of movie first. You've got to clearly define the hero's status quo, before you bring in a character that flips it on its head, and makes the hero question everything he knows.

Show flashbacks of training, show why T'Challa was allowed to be the BP before being king, show his position on the social, political, and economic climates of Wakanda, show what he thinks of Wakanda's history, show what drew him and Nakia to each other, etc.

In the movie, the audience is just expected to love him, just like the characters do, but we don't know what he's done to earn such affection.

I get your point but I have a different view.

In the first part of the movie T'Challa benefited from the 'T'Chaka bump' and all the goodwill that went with it. As soon as T'Challa started ruling in his way then the affection went: the council woman wanted a king and not a warrior, he had to address his general by her rank (informality went out the window) and same thing with Zuri; his best friend lost confidence in him and the Jabari Clan were 'not having it'.

To me, T'Challa came off as a 'villain' with his view of non Wakandans and gradually became a 'hero'.

A montage of T'Challa training in the younger days could have been worked in before the Challenge Day scene.

[Pulp Fiction]

Coogler never stated this im not the one to bash
People opinions but don't lie and pass it off as
Fact..

When did coogler state any of this?

http://www.vulture.com/2017/12/ava-d...k-panther.html

[Random4]

as weird as it might be to say

i honestly believe Coates will do better writing Steve Rogers than he has with T'challa

[Montez]

http://www.vulture.com/2017/12/ava-d...k-panther.html

T’Challa, he’s got everything going for him, and in a way when I first thought about it, I was like, “Man, this is gonna be tough, because I’m not sure I would like this dude!” But through the process of making the film and working with Chad and trying to explore these things and find ownership in it, I’m incredibly attached to this character now.

[FLEX HECTIC]

Women Drive The Narrative...


If you seen the Godfather movies you will notice that the only time Michael Corleone completely loses it is not when he got punched by a cop who he later shot with a straight unemotional Poker face but when Kay said this...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_g9RI0GgRIQ


Also if you study James Bond films you know that the "Bond Girls" whether they be a stunning genius or just eye candy make 007 who he is otherwise it's just a spy with gadgets and a British accent...


https://www.007james.com/articles/li...bond_girls.php


Let's add Moneypenny and Dame Judi Dench riding him on basic decency and British protocol!


Shuri is basically Q in black female form whom he rescued from Killmonger when she joined the battlefield and got outclassed in combat!


Even in the Bible when the disciples were hiding out in fear the women found Jesus alive and basically kicked off what's best about the New Testament! (CHURCH... Gospel)


Right now I bet your girl or wife or sidepiece is telling you to take out the trash, leave the toilet seat down or dragging you around on that "Will This Ever End" shopping spree just like the rest of us... HOLLA!

[FLEX HECTIC]

This is Superman starring the late great Christopher Reeve who is given a very detailed backstory in the movie but in one scene Lois Lane upstages him and gives us more info about herself without a definitive backstory and has Clark Kent The man of Steel open like a puppy dog waiting for a biscuit...


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qJvvCSUsZIw


So let's see...


She's pushy, dismissive, can't spell worth a lick, judgmental, disrespects her boss, nosy, rude, careless, obnoxious, ambitious and very very focused on her job!


I think King T'challa gets off easy with Okoye, Nakia and Shuri and their lightweight schtick compared to a mile a minute scene chewing Lois Lane!

[Daoud]

Psychology 101- Why are many not drawn to Boseman's T'challa?


If you study Hollywood carefully you will see a long list of white male actors ready and eager to play the next rendition of Jesus, Batman, Spiderman, King Arthur and whatever hero action adventure script placed in front of them!


Despite the blatant racism this is actually more of a default action if you examine the industry as a whole run by confident white males paying their bills!


Unlike Blade or Spawn or Shaft for that matter the Black Panther covers more bases than a World Series grand slam!


The problem is not enough black creators create or believe themselves as the all encompassing hero like their white male counterparts do as an afterthought!


Coogler, Boseman and Michael B. Jordan are handed a project that had never before existed and must adapt on the spot to something very new with doubts that they would be allowed to finish the final project considering how long it took to get to this point!


America is the land of the free and the home of the brave and the residence of the make stuff up as you go along... As black folks we sometimes miss that nuance!


Spielberg, George Lucas and Stan Lee have no mental or psychological blocks like black men do when it comes to originating fresh characters without hesitancy!


When we as black creators free our minds of last year's nonsense we will have dozens of black actors that can slide into a King T'challa role with little or no problem like stepping to the free throw line and nailing the winning shot!


There is nothing wrong with Boseman's performance because if you were keeping score he had more feats than any other character it's just our eyes adjust to what we come to expect perhaps due to certain insecurities from our past experiences!


Catwoman, Lois Lane, Princess Leia and practically every other Bond Girl upstage the hero just by showing up and the Doras are nothing different get used to it!


King's, players and pimps don't talk much they just sit back and listen to everyone around them and act accordingly... It's in the job description!


Create don't hesitate...

Thank you for this profound and perceptive post Flex!

I loved T'Challa's portrayal in this film as a new king and imagine any significant changes producing a much different and inferior film.

Better fight choreography and CGI are improvements that could be made to the film without distorting the narrative structure.
However people aren't seeing this film multiple times and making it an unprecedented hit because of the fight scenes!
This is petty nit picking and I'm only writing it because I'm on a comic forum trying to find something to critique the movie on.

Coogler et al. produced a film that I think is head and shoulders above movies like The Dark Knight or Avengers!

As you say Flex, some people were just not expecting this type of film and for them perhaps it was a let down.

For me, this film was beyond my imagination and I love it!


Excelsior!

Daoud

[Ezyo1000]

Coogler did say that he didn't like him because he was rich, smart and strong or whatever. He said he preferred a character like batman because of his childhood trauma or something. Also whether he was dead or not I'm pretty sure people came away thinking okoye was a better fighter than T'Challa. She looked better in all of her fight scenes after all.

Your gonna have to link the interview because I haven't seen that at all and i have read most of his interviews and he Never talked about not liking him.

As for Okoye.. Nah.. she is definitely better then widow for Sure but BP is head and shoulder's above. I don't know who these people are, but it sounds like because Nakias line (that came after T'Challa was presumed dead) this hyperbole of her being better than T'Challa sprung up.

[Daoud]

Your gonna have to link the interview because I haven't seen that at all and i have read most of his interviews and he Never talked about not liking him.

As for Okoye.. Nah.. she is definitely better then widow for Sure but BP is head and shoulder's above. I don't know who these people are, but it sounds like because Nakias line (that came after T'Challa was presumed dead) this hyperbole of her being better than T'Challa sprung up.

Ezyo, it was a Vulture interview.

http://www.vulture.com/2017/12/ava-d...k-panther.html

Coogler ends up liking the character.

RC: T’Challa is a very interesting character, and on the surface, I think he’s kind of difficult to write. He’s great in so many different ways: He’s extremely wealthy, extremely smart, culturally knowledgeable. He’s a king who’s got this power. Especially in comic books, I was always drawn to characters where you got into the stories through their flaws, like Batman, who’s reliving this terrible moment that’s happened to him. With T’Challa, he’s got everything going for him, and in a way when I first thought about it, I was like, “Man, this is gonna be tough, because I’m not sure I would like this dude!” But through the process of making the film and working with Chad and trying to explore these things and find ownership in it, I’m incredibly attached to this character now. In our film, you find him at a time when he’s just lost the most important person in his life, his father, and he’s inheriting all this responsibility at a time when Wakanda is struggling over what their identity is going to be, so he’s incredibly conflicted and aware of this responsibility.

Excelsior!

Daoud

[Ezyo1000]

Sure it's my opinion but when I see so many others that share the same opinion it's hard to overlook. The very fact that opinions like this exist in a larger quantity than expected should be concerning even to those that don't share it. Like all the MCU movies before it, this movie was supposed to build up anticipation for the main character's future appearance. Is he supposed to bring his whole cast with him in future avengers movie or will they go in his place instead? Will this lead to less focus on T'Challa in sequels even though, after being a plot device, he's in desperate need of it?

T'Challa is my favourite comicbook character and I felt there was something off by the end of the movie. Do you think those that didn't give a damn about him before the movie, give a damn about him now? His first movie and some folks are already calling for him to take even more of a backseat.

As I said, all eyes are on infinity war.

Again your saying a large amount are saying this but I have seen the opposite. There os nothing to be concerned about Because there id no BP movie with out Tchalla. They try a spin off or backseat him (like say blade Trinity)
and it will backfire har. People say he didn't have any motivation and he was reacting a bunch, be say his CW was better.. but the thing is in CW all he was doing was trying to kill Bucky, he didn't say much at all. He was like bucky in WS. So when you get a Movie that takes screen AFTER he is clear of revenge, then he has to tackle the big traumas that happened a week ago when the movie starts. But it doesn't matter. There will be a sequel, there are a lot of people who liked Tchalla and liked his portrayal. The fact that the supporting cast is even talked about (unlike say, Thor's supporting cast) means they made a lasting Impact

[Yaw]

http://www.vulture.com/2017/12/ava-d...k-panther.html

Thanks. This is the quote I was talking about

T’Challa is a very interesting character, and on the surface, I think he’s kind of difficult to write. He’s great in so many different ways: He’s extremely wealthy, extremely smart, culturally knowledgeable. He’s a king who’s got this power. Especially in comic books, I was always drawn to characters where you got into the stories through their flaws, like Batman, who’s reliving this terrible moment that’s happened to him. With T’Challa, he’s got everything going for him, and in a way when I first thought about it, I was like, “Man, this is gonna be tough, because I’m not sure I would like this dude!” But through the process of making the film and working with Chad and trying to explore these things and find ownership in it, I’m incredibly attached to this character now.

[SKJoker]

T’Challa, he’s got everything going for him, and in a way when I first thought about it, I was like, “Man, this is gonna be tough, because I’m not sure I would like this dude!” But through the process of making the film and working with Chad and trying to explore these things and find ownership in it, I’m incredibly attached to this character now.

Hm, seems like the statements people criticize from "unfans."

Or wait, were we supposed to say something about "Priest didn't even want to write the character at first."

Something like that. Well, he's definitely not a Gary Stu here!