KrashingWaves

*THIS PIECE WAS WRITTEN IN OCTOBER 2017, BEFORE THE RELEASE OF THE HUGE MARVEL SUCCESS THAT IS BLACK PANTHER. THE PURPOSE OF THE PIECE WAS TO WRITE FOR THE PUBLIC (LIKE AN OP-ED) IN RESPONSE TO AN ARTICLE I FOUND AND IT HIT A NERVE. THE LINK FOR THE ARTICLE IS POSTED HERE.*

Haters Gon’ Hate

After perusing the praise for “Black Panther” releasing its official trailer on Twitter, I happened upon an article full of tweets from people saying they’ll boycott the upcoming film. What do all of these tweeters have in common? They’re all White.

The first trailer shows the (fictional) African nation of Wakanda in all of its glory with few to no White people in the film and it didn’t sit well with viewers. As posted in the article, one person stated that when they first saw Black Panther as a subsidiary character in “Captain America: Civil War”, they were excited but, “when the Black Panther movie is gonna be Black Lives Matter and anti-White crap” they “lost interest” (@mcarolinalball).

…

What kind of racist, anti-inclusive nonsense is this? A lot of people are upset at Black Panther’s debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with his backstory being unapologetically, well, Black.

It’s sad to see that a character who has been an influential piece in the comic book world since before these tweeters’ parents were able to walk are offended to see him finally get his place in the spotlight. What did they expect the Black Panther to be? Another submissive Black character that only adds to the depth of his White counterparts and not have a backstory of his own? Absolutely not.

It’s easy for those who have been represented in the media as the pure, the good, and the never wrong since media came to be, but for those who have only been portrayed as the mammy, the thug, or the slave, it’s empowering to see a Black man with superpowers and a bulletproof suit to match. To see a figure that history has deemed as inhuman, savage, and unworthy of compassion be portrayed as the wealthiest character in the Marvel Universe and have pride in his culture and heritage… Threatening.

The tweets say it all:

• “Its racist when someone tries to exclude other races. Black Panther is simply a comic book movie, it’s not some epic film on black history” (@lucidanz)
• “I mean for me with the Black Panther movie, I just want it to not be racist and to be entertaining. I don’t expect much more.” (@RickyRawls, name Neo Liberal on twitter)
• “And for those defending it, okay, let’s have a white Storm in the next xmen movie, or Black Panther be asian, no? Why not?..” (@FlyingHellFrog)

The complete and utter ignorance of these Twitter users has me baffled, and I’m sure it does for others. Not only do they not know the history of Marvel Comics since its inception after WWII as a form of American unity, but they show how their inherent racism is a way of making them sound “cool” in this current political climate.

Since the United States elected a President whose campaign was based out of pure hatred for the “other”, anyone who wasn’t a white, heterosexual, or able bodied man, White people feel the need to share their hatred online, going after a fictional character that goes against their beliefs.

Why should a Black man (mind you, he’s not even African-American but from the continent of Africa) have his own film? Why does Storm have to be Black? Why are there superheroes who don’t look like me and only me?

This, right here, is the prime example of White tears. Please take your hatred somewhere else and far, far away from what is said to be one of the most successful superhero films of all time.

The Marvel Universe’s purpose is to show diversity amongst its weirdos. If these characters were real and we had a blonde haired demi-god with a huge hammer, a man biologically changed into a superhuman from a German scientist, and another man who turns into a giant green creature when his emotions are too much for him, do you think society would welcome them with open arms? Absolutely not.

Anything different causes fear and fear causes a reaction to get rid of what scares them. So, when a Black superhero finally gets his debut film and giving him a storyline that deals with colonialism, it’s seen as cause for complaint, backlash, and boycotts.

When White people understand that there are more things to complain about in the United States than a Black superhero, maybe this country will be as progressive as it claims. It’s not like we have over $3 trillion dollars of student debt, a militarized police force, and an environment that is rapidly deteriorating as we speak.

But yes, go ahead and throw a tantrum about a movie that isn’t as Wonder Bread as you are.