AIBU to not go and see 'Black Panther'

[stuckintheblastingsnow]

I have two boys, DS1 (13) and DS2 (8). Myself and DS1 are very much into Marvel/Comic books. Whereas DS2 is very into Manga.

I work as a nurse and have ridiculous shifts, I have an off day today, so I thought I would treat myself, for Mother's day, to watch, Blank panther, bringing the DC'S along.

However, being a fool, I didn't bother to check the age rating for the film. Which I believe is 12a. Would I BU to not go since it may not be suitable for DS2. Like I mentioned, DS2 isn't into Marvel (though he is into action films) and the film may not be suitable for him. But, I have been dying to see this film.

Any thoughts ? Or should I just stay at home and enjoy drinking my cup of tea ? .

[kerryweaverscrutch]

It's not stereotyping, its carefully researched and representative of actual African cultures and history. It's the calling it stereotypical when you don't know that that is a little bit racist.....

[Barbaro]

If it was actually researched and accurate fair enough, I don't do history never have. But it felt like subtle digs through the film at black people based on what white people think of them and I didn't like that.

The tribe did have a gorilla tattoo but the noises still felt wrong, they didn't really have to do that. I mean jesus that's all white people did for years at Black people, make monkey noises at them. And then to put it on screen and display it as an OK thing to show. It's not a great way to get old ideas out of people's heads.

[PaddyF0dder]

I’d say it’s fine for an 8 year old, but I guess it depends on the kid. Some mild violence but nothing exceptional for a marvel film. If you’ve seen other marvel you know what to expect.

[Hoppinggreen]

If there WAS actual research done then that’s fair enough.
There are some strong black actors in the film and many black figures in Hollywood have supported it so they would have much more of an idea than me if it was racist.
Maybe because there have been so much stereotyping of black people in movies for years Im now seeing it where it doesn’t exist

[Hoppinggreen]

Anyway, how awesome were the battle rhinos?

[Barbaro]

Think I'm probably the same as you hoppinggreen.

Forgot about the rhino's, I actually forgot about them in the film too til they appeared in the final scenes.

[BuntyCollocks]

We took our 7 and 5 year olds. Nothing unsuitable and they loved it.

[malovitt]

There were some very small kids there when I went, maybe aged 4 or 5?

[ALongHardWinter]

When I first saw the name of this film,I thought it was about the kidnapping of Lesley Whittle,back in the mid 70s. The kidnapper was known as The Black Panther.

[Rufustherenegadereindeer1]

hopping

The battle rhinos were awesome

I really enjoyed it, and although i enjoy marvel films im certainly not a huge marvel fan (the captain America ones bore me witless and honestly some of the films are a smidge too long)

I missed maplucks comment so i dont really understand why NOT wanting to see the film is racist

[stuckintheblastingsnow]

Just got back.

Beautiful film, beautiful costumes, beautiful cast. I felt there was something missing (though this could be because we missed 20 mins of the film !). I wish we got to know, the abandoned cousin of the King, a little bit more. But other than that, superb.

DS2 loved the action scenes but was reading his manga book at the scenes he wasn’t really interested in.

Glad I made the conscience effort to see the movie.

[DianaPrincessOfThemyscira]

SPOILER! Just in case



The bit that jarred for me was the talk of how the baddy wasn’t taken back to Wakanda as a child when his father was killed. They mention his mother was American, but other than that, no mention of her. Was he brought up in care and I missed that bit? Because I’m not sure a child would be removed from his mother and taken to a different country anyway if his mother wasn’t in favour of that option? I know it’s a common thing with adoptees and children who don’t know both parents that they fantasise about the unknown parent being a king or queen, but that part felt a bit unrealistic.

I was totally ok with the battle rhinos and super suit though

[Trinity66]

I'd let an 8 year old watch it

[Fugitivefrombrusstice]

I thought the ape noises were about reclaiming something powerful. Black people have been compared to monkeys by white people in a disgusting way, but having that tribe use them in a deliberate and conscientious way (in particular, to silence the white character when he interrupted a discussion) was a powerful statement. The ape noises were intimidating and provocative, and seeing them used as a means of asserting power and dominance was really effective.

I didn't consider the portrayal of Africans stereotypical either. The producers had drawn from a huge range of cultures in the depiction of wakanda. They showed examples of different African cultures from Egypt to South Africa, and also from the black diaspora (so that traditional woven baskets were shown alongside urban art from the US, for example).

It was also amazing to see the stereotype of Africa as a poor continent challenged. Africa is one of the most resource-rich continents in the world (oil, gold, diamonds, coffee etc) and the film really asks the question of why it is that such a rich continent has so many people living in poverty hint: it's because of colonialism

I loved it - much more thought-provoking and political than the average marvel fare, and gorgeous to watch as well.

[Youshallnotpass]

I wouldn't, not my cup of tea and i'd rather go and see a film which included people of my own race as well if im honest, just a personal preference for seeing people similar to myself. Not sure why im like this, im the same with sitcoms etc. Ideally most films should have a mixture of races.

What the fuck? We are all the same race... its a skin pigmentation for crying out loud

[DianaPrincessOfThemyscira]

I think you really need to examine why a cast of mainly black people is not as nice as a cast of mainly white people. Because I guarantee every other film is a cast of white people.

[downthestrada]

boopsy What is your race? There were white people in the film, just not as many as usual.

Anyway, I think the film is suitable for an 8 year old. I also loved it. My husband quite liked it too and he usually hates superhero movies so wasn't expecting to like it.

[NurseButtercup]

I just think its nicer to see a mixture of people rather than one race. Feel the same about an all white cast.

ok, I'm going to take the bait, you quoted the film "The Greatest Showman", this film has a majority white cast. Please could you share an example of at least one film that is currently at the cinema that includes an equal mixture of all races? This will help to give your statement context and balance and make you sound less racist.

I'll wait patiently.

[Fugitivefrombrusstice]

@boopsy so your personal preference is... to be racist?

Can't think of any other possible reason why you'd automatically prefer a film because everyone is the same race as you.