withdifferenteyes

Two months before its premiere, my friends and I sat around the dinner table asking anyone who would listen if they wanted to make plans to go watch “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.” We had all waited four years for the world of Wakanda to return to the screen and the time finally came. Fizzing soda overflowed our overpriced giant cups, the smell of buttered popcorn permeated the room with 96 seats, and an eager person sat in every one of them. I remember seeing the trailer with my family for the first time and hearing my dad’s surprise when he said, “Oh wow, they’re going to incorporate Aztec culture!” As the lights dimmed, I sat in between my friends, eager, but hesitant to see how this film would portrayour Latin community.

The story begins with the kingdom of Wakanda going through a season of grieving after their Wakandan King and defender, the Black Panther, died of an unexpected illness. It follows Angela Bassett and Letitia Wright as they defend the security of their homeland from the U.S. which is determined to scour the depths of the ocean to acquire Wakanda’s most precious resource, vibranium. They didn’t expect to find an unexplored civilization that becomes Wakanda’s primary adversary. The Empire of Talokan is made up of Mayans who escaped the Spanish conquistadors by using supernatural powers procured from a mythical flower. These supernatural abilities allowed them to sustain an underwater civilization.

Black Panther is widely known for symbolizing the colossal advancements of the black community in the film industry with its predominantly black cast, director, and African-inspired outfits and music. But in this new film, the creators invited a new culture to this revolution. Wakanda Forever draws inspiration from the Mesoamerican culture which today includes Mexico, Guatemala, Costa Rica, etc. Mabel Cadena stated: “it’s crazy because I can find in the movie the little things from my Mexican culture.” Lead actor Tenoch Huerta shared that, “It’s not common in Latin America that the brown-skinned guy could be the main character…it’s powerful and deep and I hope the kids in their homes can feel identify [with this]. And I’d just say to them, you know what guys, never in the life was nothing wrong with you. It was in the eyes of the people who [were] looking at you. But not in you, not in your skin, not in your roots, not in your blood, not in your history. So please… feel proud.”

An analysis by the National Association of Latino Independent Producers focused on the different portrayals of Hispanic characters in films when they did make it to the screen. 28% of the principal Hispanic characters were involved in violent crime in the movies, and just under 24% were presented as lawbreakers. 17% of top-billed Latino characters were portrayed as poor or impoverished. Painting a similar picture, 54% of Latin characters were shown to have an occupation that did not require a college education.

But a biased portrayal was not the only wrong done to this community. Latino leading characters have been objectionably sparse. In 2019, there was 6.2% (a total of seven) Latino leads/co-leads. In 2017, only forty-eight lead roles were Hispanic, in 2017 there were seven, and in 2018 there were five. Congressman Joaquin Castro stated, “How are Latinos almost 20 percent of the American population, but less than 4 percent of protagonists in American films?”

Mauricio Mota, co-president of Wise Entertainment shared his strong feelings regarding this when he said: “We can’t blame ‘a lack of stars’: They are there and they over-deliver…We can’t say there are not enough Latinx/Hispanic stories: There are 700 million people consuming them. It’s time we are not taken for granted anymore.” Lead actress Danai Gurira worded it beautifully when she said that “There’s a story and complexity that comes with people who we rarely ever see on this sort of a platform.”

This movie proves just that. The story is about the journey from vengeance to forgiveness. Princess Shuri wrestles with the reality of her brother’s death and her grief drives her insatiable anger toward the world.When she meets Namor, the leader of the Talokans, he feeds the fire of Shuri’s rage with the hopes of convincing her to share his desire for war against the world. Both Namor and Shuri are overwhelmed bygrief, but Namor chooses to hold on to the idea that Talokan was born in loss as a consequence of imperialism while Shuri remembers the lost but lives to honor them.

Even though Namor was drowning in resentment toward colonizers, he based his every move on how it would affect his tribe, his family. Huerta explained that his character “is not a selfish person. [Namor] is taking care of a community.” And as I watched this character dedicate his life to protecting his family, the sense of pride that Huerta spoke of surfaced in me because my own family lived out this fierce commitment.

There’s been a great deal of controversy about whether the sequel met the expectations set by the first “Black Panther.” But there was something about the film that was indisputable; The movie commanded every emotion in the audience.

That night, everyone in the room was experiencing the same scenes and feeling the same emotions. Quiet sniffles broke the silence of a still theater when Queen Ramona opened Princess Shuri’s eyes to the strength of moving on for the sake of the lost. Laughter permeated the room when our “favorite colonizer” returned to the screen. There were moments when we could tell the Wakandan women were about to go into war because we had heard those same war drums four years ago for the first time with King T’Challa. I felt my friends slapping their seats with excitement as a beloved character unexpectedly returned to the screen. Joanna Insco, a friend, shared “my favorite scene was when Shuri entered the ancestor’s realm, and it revealed that it was Killmonger sitting in the chair instead of T’challa who we all expected. I gasped really loudly and a lot of other people did too.” And as the end credits rolled, nobody immediately got up to leave. We just sat in silence, in awe, drying any evidence that we had all cried at least three times during the film.

I couldn’t help but get thoughts on the film. My dad, a cinephile who also cares greatly about his Latin roots shared, “This film extended the reach of representation Black Panther started, and this is not a small thing. Wakanda Forever has provided an important platform for brown actors not only to represent Meso- American cultures in the Marvel Universe but also to speak up and bring awareness to the blatant racism in Latin America’s media which reflects its society. This could be the beginning of a paradigm shift in Latin-American countries.”

As I sat in the silence, I couldn’t rest on a single emotion. I was surprised to see so much culture in its true nature embraced and displayed. “Wakanda Forever” has taken steps that no other film has dared to. Not only for people who are a part of our culture but for those who wish to know more about it as well. I relish the memories where I shared aspects of my culture with my friends, but I was always hesitant to take that first step. I would listen to Spanish music through earbuds or quietly always making sure not to be too loud because my friends wouldn’t like it. But whenever they heard it they would always ask for Latin music recommendations. When my mum would make tacos de lengua for my friends, she would not tell them what it was until after because most people would not come close to trying it when they knew what it was.

But sitting in that theater changed everything because I realized we never had to wait for permission to share our culture with our friends. This movie shared this story with the world knowing that the beauty was always there.