Ravynn and I are here for the new Black Panther franchise.
Very very here for it. One of us still wears pigtails, the other is getting her
Ph.D and yet we find so much common ground in our Black Panther excitement. Our
previous KOTBM posts will tell you why (yes, this is absolutely a plug to get
you to read the rest of our stuff).
I like when Black people have regal sounding names. Winston,
Isabella, T’Challa…So it only makes sense that the guy giving a face to the
King of Wakanda has a regal name of his own. Ladies and gentlemen, allow me to
introduce you to Chadwick Boseman.
(courtesy of tvguide.com)
If you haven’t already guessed, I’m a really big fan and not
just because homeboy looks like a Nubian prince, but because he has mad chops
as an actor. Seriously. Like a lot of people, I was first introduced to
Chadwick with the film 42, the Jackie Robinson biopic. Over the course of a
month, a saw the movie about four times and became more impressed with each
viewing. The only thing I love more than a good period piece is a good Black
period piece with an actor that carry the film believably, effortlessly, and
with a distinctive heroic swagger. He was charming, vulnerable, and big all at
the same time. Chadwick’s performance gave me another reason to believe in us.
(Courtesy of collider.com)
Fast forward a year and Chadwick is playing…James Brown?
Yeah, I thought it was kinda weird, too. But by this point, I was already a
loyal fan, spouting out his full name just to prove that I knew it and you
didn’t. Get On Up surprised me in a lot of ways. I never really doubted that he
could play the role, but Boseman never really struck me as “funky." Even
though this movie’s plot structure sort of threw me off, I believed that he was
James Brown (although I think an amulet will fit him better than a perm and a
fat suit).
Biopic number three for Chadwick is in production now. It’s
an upcoming film called Marshall and tells the story of, you guessed it,
Thurgood Marshal, NAACP Legal Defense Fund attorney and the first
African-American Supreme Court Justice. My sister religiously celebrates
“#ThurgoodCrushThursday,” so you know that we're beyond hype.
Are you noticing a trend here? Chadwick Boseman has amazing
transformative ability. Playing a historical figure is difficult. You have to:
1) Live up to people’s expectations of a person etched in the annals of
African-American history in a realistic way 2) Fulfill the writer’s mission,
dispelling myths, exploring a different angle or taking a different or more
in-depth and 3) If you’re a good actor, the character must exist in a way that
naturally brings your own nuance to the performance.
These are three very, very different characters that he has
taken on. I mean, really, could you see Thurgood Marshall doing a split at home
plate? The fact that he has taken on the roles of such different Black men speaks
to his talent as an actor. He checked off all three things on my must-do list
for biopic actors and did it in unique ways. Yas Chad.
So do I think Master Chadwick can pull this off? Absolutely.
There’s no reason why an actor of this caliber can’t play a
fantastical hero. We’ve already seen him flourish as two real-life ones. His
background as an actor makes me hope that he will approach the franchise with
the same intelligence and rigor. Chadwick’s background is important. Our Hero
matters to us and therefore must be as real as Mike Brown or Emmett Till. Black
youngsters need to be able to believe that this monarch from a land far away
can draw near to our struggle and save us from our plight. Yeah, T’Challa is
make-believe, but our troubles tangible and ever-present. We need real hope,
even on the silver screen. For that, you need a fierce actor at the helm.
(courtesy of thedailybeast.com)
I think it’s important that the Millennials’ imaginary
King first played real Black royalty. The progression of heroes says that Black
pioneers slaying in the sports, entertainment, and political arenas is just as
important as slaying in superhero ones. He is carrying the stories of Black
game-changers with him as he takes his rightful place as King of Wakanda.
Superheroes like Black Panther cannot exist in isolation. They become powerful
on the shoulders of the Kwame Nkrumah’s and Simone Manuel’s and Nat Turner’s of
the world that remind us how beautifully powerful we are.
On top of that, the confirmed actors list is giving me more
chills with every new name…but that’s another post for another day. Keep
reading, won’t you?
(courtesy of vibe.com)
And who better to lead the on-screen charge? Chadwick Boseman
is the man for the job. We have already seen him come through in Captain America: Civil War. May he lead us Wakandans with as much poise as his own
name possesses and may his acting ability and experience carry cinema forward
with each punch for justice.
