Black Panther is a super hero movie that is based around a Marvel character that was created all the way back in the late 1960’s. The superhero movie, released on February 16th, 2018, came out at the perfect time. With the political climate we are in right now, I think this movie was something the black community could really celebrate as a “win”. The movie was produced by Ryan Coogler, a black man, and one of the first to produce a Marvel film. He is also Marvel’s youngest film-maker. Those are two HUGE accomplishments to make. Black Panther was not only a win for the black community, as we get to see a superhero that looks like us, but it has broken many records: it was the highest rated superhero movie of all time by Rotten Tomatoes; the presale tickets for Black Panther passed any other superhero film; while also having the most presale tickets ahead of any other Marvel film.  

All the records this movie has broken are amazing, but what I really want to get into is how important this movie is to me and other black people. This movie showed us black people in forms we rarely get to see them in. Ryan Coogler, the black producer, made it a point to make visibility and inclusivity very important to the film. Coogler made sure all the key department heads off-screen were African-American, women, or both. For the black community, this is just as, if not more, important then seeing black people on screen. Knowing that Black Panther had a huge budget and a being a black producer, Coogler was able to make sure all of his community got to “eat,” meaning they all won, all got jobs, and exposure we needed.  

This movie has inspired lots of kids to follow their dreams and has shown young black kids that there are superheroes who look like them. The society we live in has had white superheroes for so long, I feel like our generation doesn’t understand the depth of how important this movie is. The generation under us is exposed to so much more media and can use their voices at younger ages then we could. Ensuring they feel inspired, and know that they can do anything they put their mind to, is going to change the world.  We need to make more of a conscious effort to expose all cultures and races to on-screen characters that look like them. You don’t realize the little things that you see can influence how you see yourself and your self-worth. Let’s keep inspiring black kids around the world; 10/10 for Black Panther.