Thread by @ellardent

Time for some #tweetnotes on Marvel’s Black Panther. Mute for SPOILERS.

In short: Clicks into place by being the story of how a whole nation/culture can be a superhero.

BP: I want to be up-front about this - it took me two goes to fall in love with this movie.

The first time it was ‘a capable Marvel flick with an especially good cast and design, hampered mostly by lousy greenscreen’.

The second time, I cheered and cried.
#tweetnotes

BP: Black Panther is a movie about Wakanda having the potential to be a global superhero. And finally waking to that (oh yes) that power and responsibility. #tweetnotes

BP: Wakanda is a character. One who was one day blessed with superpowers from space. One who now leads a double life with a secret identity.

Be in no doubt, the final beat here is the national equivalent of “I am Iron Man”. Declaring your superpower to the world. #tweetnotes

BP: It’s such an MCU thing, too, to throw off Wakanda’s secret identity.

They made an early choice to not do those mask dances on film, and it’s maybe taken to now to see just how useful that is, how it sets the films apart from the comics. #tweetnotes

BP: This threads all the way down to T’Chaka, the Uncle Ben of Wakanda.

Of T’Challa, too, but that’s not the core of it. A nation losing a king is the way to make this personal to a country, not just a son. #tweetnotes

BP: Check out how little the death of Odin means to the Thor movies in comparison. How personally Wakanda relates to its king, how close they are compared to the Odin family. #tweetnotes

BP: The first time, it bugged me that this film never asked “Is it right to be ruled by a king?” No debate about female rulers, say, or about worth beyond combat. #tweetnotes

BP: And while that still bugs the anti-royalist in me, it’s simply not what the film is doing.

Black Panther *is* Wakanda. One is a personification of the other. They’re indivisible, and that only works if the film treats them as such. #tweetnotes

BP: Check out how *nobody* questions the rituals and powers. Not even Killmonger.

Nobody says “Why can’t we all have the heart-shaped herb? Why can’t we all have Panther suits?” #tweetnotes

BP: At one point Okoye is called “the most powerful warrior in Wakanda”. There is no ‘except the Panther, of course’.

Everyone in Wakanda is a superhero. Nobody covets another’s powers. There is no jealousy. #tweetnotes

BP: That’s extraordinary. To say everyone is the powers they are. And that’s all they need be.

I’m trying to think of a more literal rendering of ‘empowerment’ in this genre and I can’t. Someone’s always jealous of Parker, wants Stark’s tech, etc. #tweetnotes

BP: Even Killmonger’s quest isn’t about jealousy. It’s entirely ideological. He takes the Panther powers because they come with the throne. That’s all. #tweetnotes

BP: And this is what I missed the first time - that this isn’t ‘a Black Panther’ movie, any more than The Crown is about the literal crown.

I was expecting a film that fetishised a black hero. Instead, it empowered a black nation and said ‘How about this?’.
#tweetnotes

BP: Once I got out of my head my more…limited and obvious approach, I saw what Coogler and Cole had written. the texture of it.

Wakanda *as* superhero. Powered by fortune, hiding it’s true identity, learning to share the good it can do. #tweetnotes

BP: Suddenly flaws become statements of intent. There’s no scene where T’Challa ‘proves’ to us that he is the best man to be king. His Save the Cat (ahem) moment is notably absent.

Because he doesn’t need to prove himself as ruler. He is ruler. That’s just fact. #tweetnotes

BP: Likewise, the lengthy section with T’Challa “dead” which could really drag somehow works because this was never his story, he’s just its figurehead.

He dies, Wakanda keeps going. And it brings him back. #tweetnotes

BP: The end result of this? It’s about a nation realising its responsibility.

Textually, that’s to Wakandans worldwide. But it cleaves more deliberately close to ‘black people everywhere’. #tweetnotes

BP: Is it any wonder this landed so well in 2018? Wakanda stands up, in the person of the Panther, and says “We’ve got your back”. #tweetnotes

BP: Every critic noted the pointedness of choosing 90s Oakland, the specificity of Killmonger’s request to be buried at sea like so many slaves.

There’s an extraordinary scale of solidarity here. And it’s built on creation, on unity, not destruction.
#tweetnotes

BP: Killmonger’s plan is essentially one of Empire. But Empire’s the enemy here, no matter who’s building it.

The solidarity in the outcome is one of protection and enabling, empowerment. Not taking, not conquering. Owning. #tweetnotes

BP: It says “If you make it to the throne, and your country has these powers, it’s your responsibility to raise up more like you.”

It’s taking your success and using it to make more. It’s being a black filmmaker and hiring black crews. Inclusion rider! #tweetnotes

BP: Pretty much everything in the movie is on these themes.

The team have contrasts, but don’t clash. They’re not the early Avengers. They are united, voice and deed and fist. #tweetnotes

BP: Once I was done expecting Black Panther power porn, I dug it.

Cos in fact there are only three Panther sequences - an intro, a big set-piece and the finale. He’s fun, but he’s not the nuts.

Wakanda is the nuts. This is Wakanda empowerment porn.
#tweetnotes

BP: So, flaws.

Yep, the lousy compositing and digital double work. Some stuff here that felt temp, still a pass away from signing off. That’s not great. #tweetnotes

BP: The publicity blew a thing the film plays as a twist - that Klaue is not the big villain.

Serkis has the status for it, and he’s the easy go-to - white South African exploiter, perfect foil for a black hero. And his missing arm tech is textbook Bond villain…
#tweetnotes

BP: The shape of the film makes Klaue the big villain until his shocking murder - BY HIS SIDEKICK.

But that wasn’t so shocking when we’d all seen the marketing… #tweetnotes

BP: It’s a shame, because the black sidekick villain biding his time, running rings around his white ‘boss’ is a *cracking* shape. It speaks volumes.

Yet it’s hardly spoken about because the trailers kinda told us who to watch. #tweetnotes

BP: Still, in 20 years time some kids are going to watch this on TV one night with no idea about the context and Killmonger blowing Klaus away is going to make them *howl*. #tweetnotes

BP: The finale also hits a bum note with the dual Panther fight being so, so drab in its staging, and so plastic in its effects.
#tweetnotes

BP: It’s a Marvel movie that really earns the trip of a battle between equally powered heroes.

But of all the beats in that third act, it’s the one that’s rendered the least well. #tweetnotes

BP: Structurally, it’s spot-on. T’Challa’s fought twice for the role of king, both without his powers. Third time’s the charm.

To round that out here, we find a new way for him to be balanced with his opponent - but in fact you don’t need the mag-lev stuff at all…
#tweetnotes

BP: The suits *already* made them equally matched.

Removing the powers a third time feels like an echo of the waterfall battles, sure, but in fact it makes two balanced fighters switch to…a new way of being balanced. #tweetnotes

BP: It’s frustrating, cos the finale has so many good calls. Nakia, Shuri, Okoye, M’Baku, Ross - everyone gets their moments.

Someone smart solved the old ‘Ross is flying a virtual ship so how is he in real danger?’ problem, too. Big tick.
#tweetnotes

BP: And that’s it, really. I loved the Bond sequence - overly-familiar imagery or not, this is Shaft all over again, saying this territory can belong to more than white male heroes.

And again, check out how it’s a *team* sequence, not one about a lone hero. #tweetnotes

BP: I loved Shuri especially, but the deep bench of well-drawn characters - and all so quickly, with ruthless efficiency - gave everyone moments to shine. #tweetnotes

BP: Wakanda is a superhero.

It just took on that responsibly. As a nation. Announced its cape and powers.

Just in time for Thanos to show up.

No wonder Wakanda’s featuring so prominently in Infinity War. We’re gonna need it.

Wakanda forever!

#tweetnotes

Yeah, I kind of agree with this. It’s played with Killmonger praising his nice move, respect following defeat immediately. But the final blow itself…’because he fought harder’ is never going to quite cut it. #tweetnotes

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