‘Black Panther:’ When art imitates life
certified blockbuster. The recent Marvel Studios “Black Panther” movie made over $300 million worldwide in just its first three days of global release! It’s achieved a few historic milestones in its debut – fifth largest box office movie opening ever, largest February box office release ever, and Marvel Studios’ largest box office superhero debut!
This movie is legit on so many cerebral levels. I took my whole family to see this historic film and we universally extolled it! Directed and co-written by Ryan Kyle Coogler, a 31-year-old African-American young brother, this cinematic juggernaut still has many days ahead to obliterate other longstanding box office records. The financial windfall of this movie proves that an allblack cast is bankable, especially given that most Hollywood blockbusters are traditionally cast with all white actors.
Spoiler Alert! One of the most emotional and pivotal scenes in the movie is the death of N’Jobu, the uncle of the lead character T’Challa (The Black Panther). When N’Jobu is killed, his young son N’Jadaka is left an orphan – abandoned in the United States and forsakened by his African homeland country of Wakanda. Over the years, this orphaned young boy matures into an angry man of war; according to comic book lore, N’Jadaka changes his name to Erik Killmonger. As an outcast of Wakanda, Killmonger becomes a most lethal combat soldier. Yearning for revenge, Killmonger spends years killing hundreds in wartime battles as practice for his epic return to Wakanda to challenge T’Challa (the newly crowned king) for his throne. A battle to the death.
In real life, so many black villages throughout urban America recognize this all too familiar scenario: Black boys growing up abandoned by their fathers, angry at the world! The National Center for Fathering (NCF) reports that “more than 20 million children live in a home without the physical presence of a father.”
What’s most alarming is data reported by NCF:
• “57.6 percent of black children, 31.2 percent of Hispanic children, and 20.7 percent of white children are living absent their biological fathers.”
• According to 72.2 percent of the U.S. population, fatherlessness is the most significant family or social problem facing America.” further Though Killmonger is a fictional villain, his on-screen family dysfunction (i.e., murdered father, abandonment by village elders) is very real to so many in America; such dysfunction often has a hugely negative impact on children of fatherless homes – white, black, Hispanic, or otherwise. Killmonger becomes a masterful killing machine with a huge chip on his shoulder. Art imitates life – according to NCF, children of fatherless homes are four times likely to grow up in poverty; are high risk for drug use; are high risk for behavioral and emotional problems; are high risk for suicide; 71 percent of high school drop-outs are products of fatherless homes; and kids from fatherless homes are higher risk for delinquency!
Programs like Big Brothers-Big Sisters of Philadelphia, Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity’s Guide Right Program, Daddy University, Don’t Fall Down In The Hood and other such initiatives provide mentors, social-cultural programming, parenting classes, life skills planning, guidance on college access, anger management, to help fatherless kids and male role models develop positive-healthy familial bonds.
It’s so important for children of fatherless homes to have positive male role models active in their life. So many criminals, drug users, illiterates, impoverished and suicides attest to the widespread negative impact of fatherless homes. “Black Panther” depicts the lethal havoc of an angry-abandoned-fatherless kid who becomes an adult supervillain.
As a community, the men must do a better job of supporting the single mothers within our communal villages to help groom the fatherless children for success. Otherwise, we may see the rise of real-life Killmongers venting unfettered vengeance within our villages. Sound familiar?
support and treatment to those who have become addicted. We want to ensure that our country, our neighborhoods, and our schools are safe. We want to empower parents to make decisions about their children’s education. I am ready to tackle the best approaches and the best solutions to these issues.
The Inquirer suggests that women need to lead and blames us for not standing up, but at the same time seems to believe that only liberal women are the voices that need to be heard. This bias marginalizes voices like my own, voices that I consider to be more representative of a vast array of Republicans, Independents, and even some Democrats who feel left out because their party’s extreme platform on some issues effectively excludes them. So if some women get elected to Congress from Pennsylvania this year, please do not assume they all will be registered the same way. Just as our next generation of leaders will reflect a diversity of genders, it will also reflect a diversity of views.