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Black Panther: Wakanda Forever: Similar, Emotional, yet Still Empowering

 

Black Panther: Wakanda Forever poster. Photo courtesy of Disney.

When I saw Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Friday night, I was reluctant at first because of the reminders of grieving a loss. From the first scene, it seemed pretty heavy, and god rest Chadwick Boseman's soul. And the plot and musical score seemed similar to other films, namely The Lion King and Aquaman, and it was heavy again with more reminders of the violent racism other people of color had to face. But the good parts of the film came from Dominique Thorne's character of Riri Williams/Ironheart with her scientific genius and geeking out with Shuri, Angela Bassett's empowering mother spirit (she should get an Oscar for this), Letitia Wright as Shuri for snapping out of the grief in time, the fighting choreography, and the costumes and makeup. I'd recommend you try not to read too much into the dark parts of the film, but try to do what Rihanna did and lift yourselves up, lift Chadwick Boseman up, and lift Wakanda up. Wakanda Forever is not just a saying, it's a way of life when you think about it. It means you carry a whole nation of fighters in you against any trying time. And if it does get too emotional, you can count on Ironheart's hip nature to lift you up, along with more girl power and reminders of what Black Panther stood for.

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