Page 6 - Florida Sentinel 2-16-18

Editorials/Columns
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‘Black Panther’ Changes The Game
f you don’t have plans
this weekend, and you’re looking for something to do, let me make a suggestion.... Go see the new movie, Black Panther.
I know most of you read- ing this probably have little interest in watching a super hero flick. But this is some- thing much different.
While on the surface, Black Panther could be viewed as just another action adventure that exists inside of the Marvel universe, under the direction of African American filmmaker Ryan Coogler, and starring a pre- dominately Black all-star cast including Chadwick Bose- man, Lupita Nyong’o (12 Years A Slave), Daniel Kaluuya (Get Out) Danai Gurira (The Walking Dead) Forrest Whitaker and Angela Bassett, it be- comes something far more meaningful —- a celebration of Black identity.
From the movie clips I’ve
seen, and the positive re- views that I’ve read, Black Panther appears to be the project that many of us have been waiting for all of our lives; an expensively fi- nanced, cinematic feature that depicts Black men and women in roles that exhibit power, grace, intelligence, beauty and sophistication. A rare piece of high profile artistry that can best be de- scribed as anti-Black ex- ploitation.
The setting for the film is the fictional African nation of Wakanda, a country that wasn’t adversely affected by European colonization. The premise of the movie is that, because of this key factor, the idealized African state was allowed to develop a level technological advancement that surpasses any of their western counterparts.
What makes the release of Black Panther so cultur- ally significant, to me, is that it’s a movie about the African
continent that doesn’t in- volve slavery, oppression, poverty, sickness. dysfunc- tion or any of the ills that are so often associated with the land of our ancestors. It shows what those countries, that were systematically un- dermined through foreign occupation, could have ac- complished without outside interference.
Even though it’s only a motion picture, what I find particularly appealing is Black Panther’s depiction of strong Black masculine and feminine lead characters through a highly influential medium. It is something sorely needed during a time when young Black men often only see themselves on the big screen as effeminate, criminal, clownish or a com- bination of the three. At the same time, the characters portrayed by actresses Ny- ong’o, Gurira and Bassett allow young women to wit- ness the level of strength, el- egance and beauty they can achieve naturally without the use of damaging hair relax- ers, skin-lightening creams, butt-injections and expensive wigs.
The bottom line is that Black Panther has the po- tential to be a huge game- changer when it comes to how we see ourselves as well as how the world, in general, views Blackness. And, hope- fully, its success (critical as well as financial) will ensure that it won’t be long before we see something of equal quality following in its foot- steps.
Reality On Ice is © by the Florida Sentinel Bul- letin Publishing Com- pany. You can contact Mr. Barr at: barr6502@gmail.com.
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Children’s Day At The State Fair: Not
A Day For Children
heck the statistics: 4 jailed, 103 ejected, AND all
of them were Black.
Welcome to Children’s Day at the Florida State
Fair.
Some say it’s always been this way . . . young toughs
smelling their pee . . . swaggering with girlfriends and boyfriends aptly to tell the world “go fish” if it objects to their quite often objectionable behavior.
It’s fun . . . to everybody but gun-toting Hillsbor- ough County Deputy Sheriffs whose job is to keep the peace and continuously decide if their lives or the lives of fellow fair-goers are in jeopardy.
People could get killed. But that’s part of the fun, some may guess.
Well, if that’s what they guess then they guessed wrong.
What has happened year-in and year-out on Chil- dren’s Day that involves the blatant misbehavior of a loud minority of our children is not Fair officials’ fault.
It surely isn’t deputy sheriffs’ responsibility, and it isn’t the schools’ fault. So, whose fault is it? Should we point to the parents? Maybe, so.
Or should we point directly to the kids themselves? For, if they are old enough to visit the fair alone, then they are old enough to take responsibility alone for what they do . . . yes?
Or perhaps, the finger of accusation should rest with all of us along with a voice of conciliation and question.
So, next year, there will be Pastors-On-Patrol walk- ing with Deputy Sheriffs and children at the fair- grounds. Parents and teachers will also be in the crowd.
And there will be peace at the Fairground on Chil- dren’s Day, it’s time out for the few who make it bad for all.
I
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PAGE 6-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2018