Yesterday, Timur and I went to see Black Panther. It was released last Friday and already broke all kinds of records and earned a lot of acclaim. Not just because it is a black film, but because it is a damn good film. Certainly the best superhero movie I’ve seen. But, of course, it is a black film. (And why it shouldn’t be, for vibranium’s sake, if Wakanda is in Africa!) It’s written and directed by African-Americans and starring black actors from all over the place. They even speak Xhosa in Wakanda. True, there is a minor white goodie (Bilbo Baggins) and a secondary white baddie (Gollum); both of them, however, were meant to be outsiders.
Although we watched the Spanish-dubbed version, not only the name of the movie was left as is (not Pantera Negra), they also use the expression “Black Panther” throughout as the king’s title. (I know, I know, it’s Marvel Universe, nobody should really translate Spider-Man as Hombre Araña either, although they do.) Could it also be because pantera is feminine and doesn’t sound right applied to a male? And here’s the problem: T’Challa can only survive because he is surrounded and helped by smart and ass-kicking women. I mean, he is the king all right, I don’t mind him, it’s just “his” (they are not his) women are so much better. Why can’t Wakanda be ruled by a woman, or, better still, by women?
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