No Makeup Monday

It’s another No Makeup Monday here on the blog, where we take time out of the week right up front, to celebrate exactly who we are! It's a movement. Just like the Kingdom of Wakanda.

My weekend consisted of all things productive, family and the greatest superhero movie I may have ever seen: Black Panther. It’s interesting that the weight a movie carries and the impact on the audience can be so much greater than the plot or casting (though both are excellent). But also by the context of the time they were released. The social impact of an almost entirely black character list living in a world in which the black race is greater, more advanced and more impactful than any other is not only refreshing, but necessary in a time when racial injustice and racial superiority still reign all over the world. It highlights the resilience, toughness and community of the black culture. It emphasizes and celebrates what it means to be black. And what an incredible thing. It’s a movie that does not rely on black stereotypes or oppression in hopes of relating to “the culture”. There’s nothing wrong with a Madea movie, but plots about cheating husbands, inadequate fathers, and loud grandmothers have done little to advance the black perception. Even to see the overwhelming representation of the black cast members, lead by a black director at the front and center of the most lucrative movie franchise of the modern age is in itself, a movement.

And though we all know Wakanda is a kingdom of sheer fantasy, the mentality, strength and attributes of the comic characters most certainly are not.

Wakanda Forever.