Black Panther, Second Viewing

[lydy]

I noticed a couple of things this second time. Cut for minor spoilers: First, the opening story, giving the exposition about Wakanda, is being told to _Erik_ (Killmonger). Which means that the story is very deliberately about Erik, not just T'Challa. His story is central to the themes and action in a way I hadn't realized, first time through the movie. The second thing I see is that the relationship of father and son is very important in this movie. The fact that Erik is deprived of his father is a very central motivating force, and T'Challa's love of his own father is central to his motivations and actions. The sin that T'Chaka commits is not killing his brother, but abandoning his nephew. (This is a thing that the reviewers often get wrong, which is odd, since it is explicit in the text.) I am not seeing much discussion of the importance of the father-son relationship in the reviews I've read. I am aware that this is a somewhat fraught topic in the African-American community, most especially because mainstream press tends to frame the issue of missing fathers as a result of a failure of the community, rather than the result of abusive policing and horrific policy decisions around poverty. Am I not seeing these discussions because I'm not reading the right reviews, or is the conversation not happening because it is so uncomfortable and fraught?

Comments

[thewayne]

I hadn't caught that about the opening, I do plan on seeing it again.

Thanks!

[lydy]

I thought it really rewarded a second viewing. The pacing seemed better the second time, and that was probably because I wasn't trying to absorb unfamiliar information the second time. Also, it's just so damn pretty.

[thewayne]

Normally I see MCU movies 2-3 times in the theater, just haven't gotten out to see this one again yet.  Might happen in Phoenix, we leave tomorrow.  If not, the spousal unit works next weekend, I can sneak out then.