Black Panther (2018)

[The Laughing Fish]

To be fair though, just about every super hero fights villains who parallel themselves: Batman has Catwoman (and Manbat), Superman has Bizarro and Zod, Flash has Zoom and the reverse flash, the Green Lantern has the Yellow, Black, Red, and Orange lanterns etc. Black Panther has another one in the comics: The American Panther who has similar skills but is a racist and targets criminal minorities.

That may be true, but you got to admit that the MCU has used this parallel a lot in a lot of their solo films. With that said, fair point about Superman and Zod. Man of Steel does the same thing too.

[Travesty]

If you didn't think Rotten Tomatoes was bad enough, they just ranked BP as the top movie of all time. And this is the All Time list. Not best CBM, or best MCU movie, or best movie of 2018, it's #1 in the All Time list. It beat out Citizen Kane, Godfather, etc. lol

The hype for this movie is now at a comical level.

[The Dark Knight]

If you didn't think Rotten Tomatoes was bad enough, they just ranked BP as the top movie of all time. And this is the All Time list. Not best CBM, or best MCU movie, or best movie of 2018, it's #1 in the All Time list. It beat out Citizen Kane, Godfather, etc. lol

The hype for this movie is now at a comical level.

I knew the reaction to this film would be overblown, but this is really something else.

The majority of reviewers wanted the film to be a raging success. Technically, they NEEDED this film to be a raging success. Black Panther went beyond a movie - it's largely a vehicle for their crusade. Mix that attitude in with a different type of pressure. A hyperbolically positive Black Panther review is virtue signalling advertisement.

Effectively, any criticism towards the film would be considered racism (that's why I posted that GIF on page two.) Racist is the most overused and abused word, but it's what people fear being called. It's their debate ender. These people are trying to 'out woke' each other. It's like a sport. I saw someone on Twitter legitimately asking if they should see the film the week after so they don't suck the 'black joy' out of the room.

Seriously? Others are saying black people should start barking at white people if they 'speak out of turn'. 

Critics have the choice to do one of three things:

1. Be quiet. Don't anger the bully or become a target.
2. Be loud. Call out the bully and get bullied.
3. Join the bully. Earn Brownie points.

If Black Panther has the #1 movie OF ALL TIME tag, it shows how far these people are willing to go.

Wakanda is not real, and nor is Gotham City. However Wakanda is being used as a source of self esteem and pride...based on nothing. Go to YouTube and search for 'Africans Have Never Built a Major Enduring City in 3,000 Years'. James David Manning explains perfectly the reality of the situation. Movies are escapism, but the reality is never going to change unless home truths are accepted. It's all starts there.

[Silver Nemesis]

If you didn't think Rotten Tomatoes was bad enough, they just ranked BP as the top movie of all time. And this is the All Time list. Not best CBM, or best MCU movie, or best movie of 2018, it's #1 in the All Time list. It beat out Citizen Kane, Godfather, etc. lol

Apparently Get Out (2017) is also in the top five. Everyone I've discussed that film has with has echoed my own response – what was all the fuss about? It's a decent horror comedy with an intriguing setup, some good performances and sharp political subtext. But the payoff is utterly preposterous. (SPOILERS for Get Out) A community of affluent white people have perfected the science of brain transplants and are transferring their consciousness to black people's bodies in order to protract their lives and experience a more racially-hip existence (end SPOILERS). It works if you view it as an absurdist comedy, but if you're viewing it as serious commentary it only really functions on a subtextual/thematic level. Narratively, the final act is just too silly to take seriously. It's still a good film. But one of the top five ever made? I think not.

It's no secret that journalists pander to the prejudices of their readers, and for the majority those prejudices are aligned towards one particular end of the political spectrum. I understand that they want to support minority filmmakers and champion their work. But they've got to be more subtle about it than this. It's laughable if every time a female-led movie comes out directed by a woman, or a film with a non-white lead helmed by a non-white filmmaker, the press instantly proclaims it an all-time classic. Such hyperbolic plaudits also undermine genuine praise to the point where anyone who likes the film is suspected of having an agenda. I honestly think Get Out and Black Panther are both decent movies. I just don't think either of them is a great film on a par with The Third Man or Citizen Kane.

Having said all this, I can understand why people are happy to see this movie doing so well. I'm not emotionally invested in the film's success myself, but I do think it's nice that there's a family-friendly superhero on the big screen that black kids can more easily identify with. Black Panther is not, as some have erroneously claimed, the first black superhero movie. But the previous CMBs headlined by black heroes tended to be either A) crap or B) good but unsuitable for children (e.g. the first two Blade films). The new Black Panther film is good and contains nothing too unwholesome to stop little boys and girls from going to see it. Plus it's made on a much bigger scale than any previous black superhero film and has an expansive and imaginative mythology comparable to that of Superman or Wonder Woman. So while I don't think it's the watershed moment in American history that some are claiming, I do appreciate that it's an important cultural event for many people.

I'm also glad they decided to adapt a character that is intrinsically black and always has been, as opposed to taking a white character and minoritizing him/her for the sake of political correctness. Hopefully Hollywood and the comic industry will learn a lesson from this. Why make a white hero black when you can take a pre-existing black hero and build him up to the equal status of a white hero? It's the same question I'd pose regarding the recent trend for gender-swapped remakes: why take a male character and make him female when you can create an original female character from scratch?  Marvel Studios handled this the right way and now they're reaping the rewards. I suspect this movie is going to elevate Black Panther to A-list status the way Iron Man (2008) did for Tony Stark. Don't be surprised if the Black Panther graphic novels are displayed more prominently in book stores from now on, or if a new animated series or videogame is announced in the near future.

The majority of reviewers wanted the film to be a raging success. Technically, they NEEDED this film to be a raging success. Black Panther went beyond a movie - it's largely a vehicle for their crusade. Mix that attitude in with a different type of pressure. A hyperbolically positive Black Panther review is virtue signalling advertisement.

Effectively, any criticism towards the film would be considered racism (that's why I posted that GIF on page two.) Racist is the most overused and abused word, but it's what people fear being called. It's their debate ender. These people are trying to 'out woke' each other. It's like a sport. I saw someone on Twitter legitimately asking if they should see the film the week after so they don't suck the 'black joy' out of the room.

I saw that Tweet too. I wish I could say that woman was joking, but I fear she was in earnest.

The ad hominem defence mechanism is one that's become troublingly common in recent years. Instead of refuting a criticism, respond by calling the other person a racist, a misogynist or a hypocrite. That way you undermine their credibility without having to engage with the argument they were actually making. It's a fallacious line of reasoning. Ok, so what if the other person is a racist, a misogynist or a hypocrite? That doesn't automatically mean the specific point they're making in this instance is invalid. If it is wrong, point out why. By ignoring their argument and attacking them on a personal level, you're tacitly acknowledging the validity of their argument.

A good example of this is the way Sony kept calling critics of the Ghostbusters remake misogynists. They never once addressed the multitude of non-misogynistic criticisms fans levelled at the movie. The end result was that the film flopped and cost the studio millions of dollars. Pandering to identity politics is a great marketing tool for getting the press on your side, but it's a lousy strategy for counteracting consumer resistance. It entails making the consumer the bad guy instead of winning them over. And an embittered fan base is not going to change its mind just because a filmmaker accuses them of racism or misogyny. If recent history has shown us anything, it's that fans are likely to double down on their hate when a studio deploys shaming tactics against them.

I can't say I've seen Disney or Marvel adopt this strategy with regards to Black Panther, and I certainly haven't seen Ryan Coogler use it. I have read one or two interviews with Coogler where journalists were clearly baiting him on the matter, but he tactfully sidestepped the issue. I have, unfortunately, seen a lot of people on social media use the racism card against people who don't like the film. What happened to the good old days when two people with opposing viewpoints could enter into a respectful dialogue without calling each other names?

[The Dark Knight]

A good example of this is the way Sony kept calling critics of the Ghostbusters remake misogynists. They never once addressed the multitude of non-misogynistic criticisms fans levelled at the movie. The end result was that the film flopped and cost the studio millions of dollars. Pandering to identity politics is a great marketing tool for getting the press on your side, but it's a lousy strategy for counteracting consumer resistance. It entails making the consumer the bad guy instead of winning them over. And an embittered fan base is not going to change its mind just because a filmmaker accuses them of racism or misogyny. If recent history has shown us anything, it's that fans are likely to double down on their hate when a studio deploys shaming tactics against them.

Good points.

I have, unfortunately, seen a lot of people on social media use the racism card against people who don't like the film.

I've seen quite a lot of this, too. This is just my opinion, so anyone is free to say it's nonsense. But I really do think critics felt strong-armed into giving very positive reviews to Black Panther. If they genuinely loved it, then that's great. But greatest movie of all time status really raises my suspicions. How can it not?

What happened to the good old days when two people with opposing viewpoints could enter into a respectful dialogue without calling each other names?

My simple viewpoint is 'see something, say something'. That's going to draw fire from the other side (point two on my three choices for critics/people in general). But I don't like the alternative of being silent. I'd like to always have a civil debate about these issues, like we're having now. But sadly, it's not always going to be the reality. I always think it's not necessarily the comment/action in question, but how we REACT.

[The Laughing Fish]

If you didn't think Rotten Tomatoes was bad enough, they just ranked BP as the top movie of all time. And this is the All Time list. Not best CBM, or best MCU movie, or best movie of 2018, it's #1 in the All Time list. It beat out Citizen Kane, Godfather, etc. lol

The hype for this movie is now at a comical level.

I won't watch the video because it comes from those pathetic shills known as Collider. Nonetheless, anybody who uses Rotten Tomatoes as indicator to measure popular consensus after this has no credibility to me. I liked BP, but come on! It's not THAT good!

[The Laughing Fish]

I've seen some people on social media bragging about Okoye, one of the members of the Dora Milaje, and how she could take on Wonder Woman, even going far to say she was a better character.

I don't see how. Okoye was fine, but it's not like she had a hero's journey of her own or anything. The only conflict she has in BP is [SPOILER]strictly serving to Killmonger after he dethroned T'Challa because of patriotic loyalty, but even that gets resolved very quickly as soon as the Wakandan civil war begins [/END SPOILER]. It's just unnecessarily overpraising a fairly good side character, in my opinion.

Putting that aside, I did like her line "Guns. So primitive" during the Korea chase scene. That was clever.

[The Laughing Fish]

So, it appears that BP has been nominated for three categories at the Golden Globes...including best motion picture drama. This is why I've never taken awards ceremonies seriously.



Once again, I find BP to be a decent movie, and certainly the best in the MCU within the last two years. But it's not a masterpiece the media made it out to be. There's no need to overhype something decent to be greater than what it actually is.

[The Laughing Fish]

Awhile ago, this deleted scene was released online.

I don't buy Ryan Coogler's excuse that the scene didn't work in the film. I always thought W'Kabi betraying T'Challa and pleading his allegiance to Killmonger was too much of a plot convenience, but this scene fills the gaps. I could be wrong on this other detail as I've only seen BP once, but I don't remember the film had established Ulysses Klau had murdered W'Kabi's parents when he stole the virbanium, so this scene would've definitely showed us what his motivations were.

It's a very strange decision by Coogler to cut this scene out.

[The Laughing Fish]

The politicisation with this movie continues. It has been nominated for 12 categories at the Critics Choice Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Michael B. Jordan as Killmonger and Best Picture.

https://marvelstudiosnews.com/2018/12/10/black-panther-nominated-for-12-critics-choice-awards-including-best-picture/

At this stage, I wouldn't be surprised if the movie gets overblown Oscar nominations, because the Oscars is nothing more than politised, agenda-driven rubbish as well.