It Begins With a 'B'

The little one had bragged about it earlier in the day.  "Guess what I saw last night?  It begins with a ‘b.”  I guessed wrong twice before she confirmed that she had seen "Black Panther."   "Really?  When?  It's here?  Let's see it tonight."  I remembered that it was supposed to arrive here in China in early March.  She was more than ready to see it again two nights running and we all decided to see the 9:00PM show last night. 

I have gone over to our local mall here in Hou Sha Yu, to see a number of other comic book movies, most of which I've written about in this blog.  Reluctantly I took in the Avengers most recent flick.  Hated it.  More recently we saw Wonder Woman, which I actually enjoyed a great deal, despite the hangdog American pilot and his smug, self-assurance.  Wonder Woman herself, was a surprisingly compelling heroine.  This time, dangerously perhaps, I went in with very high expectations.  I hadn't heard a bad thing about the movie, to-date.  

And other than my difficulty with my contact lenses and my 3D glasses, it was wonderful to spend the evening in Wakanda, where technology and tradition fuse and strong women have real roles and Africans with English accents and costumes from all across the continent, can teach Americans, African and otherwise, a thing or two about, diplomacy, international responsibility.  Disappointing perhaps, that white CIA operative is transformed into a hero while the black American cousin, who despite his special opps pedigree still talks and acts like a thug, remains bitter and lost.  Still, how often does Hollywood explore the different world views of African Americans and Africans themselves?  The innovation challenge I always cast between China and the U.S. here, completely reimagined as Wakanda leapfrogs the rest of the world, with indigenous disruptive technology.  Entertained and challenged,  I thought it was a compelling upending of expectations.  

On the way home I mentioned Sun Ra's "Space is the Place" as an important, (seminal?) work of Afro futurism.  My wife was intrigued so I dug it up on Youtube and shared the opening scenes with her.  Surely the Black Panther's spacecraft is a bit more credible than Sunny Ray's two-eyed UFO.  But the humor and the biting Afro-centric critique and the sublime weirdness of 'Space is the Place' more than makes up for the questionable credibility of Arkestra's space propulsion.  June Tyson certainly looks as cool, as well, in her shades as Danai Gurira does with her bald dome and spear.   Americans imagination of and appropriation of Africa have evolved in ensuing forty-four years.

I read Manohla Dargis review, in the New York Times, which was sharp and salutatory and then searched in vain for something in the Chinese press telling the Chinese citizenry how they ought to interpret 黑豹.  Most things were just translations of summaries written in the West.  A Variety article though suggested the movie had made it to the number one slot on its first day of opening here in China.  A movie that castigates Americans and glorifies Africa then, embraceable for the public and the censors alike, even it it was made in Hollywood.   I wish I could find the transcript of the Black Panther Party representative’s speech he made at Tiananmen Square during the beginning of the Cultural Revolution.  I had read it twenty years ago, and seem to recall the guest regularly refers to his host as "Brother Mao."  This might be an interesting if unlikely point of departure for any such review.

Sunday, 03/11/18