In this episode we take a slight detour from our regular programming to squee about Black Panther, because we love it, and in celebration. Thank you for getting us to over one hundred subscribers on YouTube!
Shownotes:
00:00:00. We thank you, our beautiful listeners, for 100 subscribers on YouTube! We love you!
00:01:23. Our initial reactions when Black Panther was announced, and our mounting excitement as we learned more (and after that amazing intro to T’Challa in Captain America: Civil War!).
00:08:50. Anisa recounts how she cried as soon as the credits rolled, and nearly tears up again.
00:09:41. Paroma expounds on the bravery of the writing and themes, and the brilliance of Director Ryan Coogler and co-writer Joe Robert Cole.
00:12:40. We acknowledge the objective truth that Killmonger is the best Marvel movie villain, and discuss how the central conflict of the film speaks to the black experience in real life, and how Killmonger is sort of like Batman.
00:20:02. Why this is the rare case in which the familiar “I’ve come too far to turn back now” trope actually works.
00:21:13. Paroma discusses why the first act initially felt quiet to her, but why it’s necessary for Wakanda to come alive in our imaginations. Also, the way this movie challenges our stereotypes about Africa and African people, and is a revolution in small moments.
00:26:37. SHURI. (As Anisa says in her review, not the guy in the chair, but the girl in the driver’s seat!)
00:28:35. The record-breaking phenomenon that this movie continues to be globally, with every audience, and how it’s especially poignant for formerly colonized peoples.
00:29:54. How Black Panther, like all the best science fiction and fantasy, allows to tackle difficult real-world issues more easily and effectively.
00:32:32. Stolen artifacts stored in the museums of former colonial powers, and THAT MUSEUM SCENE.
00:34:50. How the US military must approve the script of any movie that portrays them. We reference this video. Anisa explains why she feels CIA Agent Ross, ostensibly useless, has an important role to play in the movie.
00:38:36. On Wakanda’s new foreign policy strategy.
00:41:17. The amazing characters, especially the women, who were so integral to T’Challa’s success.
00:47:10. Paroma re-dubs the heart-shaped herb “The Purple Bulb of Life,” and it is the best.
00:47:51. We love how Black Panther is actually Wakanda’s origin story; how T’challa is the hero precisely because he has Wakanda, and how the opposite is the foundational tragedy of Killmonger’s life.
00:49:43. We ponder the idea that Killmonger is the real hero, and reference an article Anisa’s cousin wrote.
00:50:07. The MUSIC! Why we loved it, why it’s so different from generic Avengers themes, and how critical the music is to the storytelling in this film. See Ryan Coogler’s Notes on a Scene video here.
00:54:56. Paroma discusses why T’Challa’s arc, such as it was, felt unsatisfying to her.
01:00:43. Anisa brings up her issues with the movie: the questionable representation of Muslims, and the ways in which the idea of a rightful king with royal blood don’t represent justice. We discuss Wakandan society and how it works.
01:10:24. #WakandaForever
Dramas Over Flowers 