Black Panther and the Legacy of Chadwick Boseman

On August 28 of this year, it was announced to the world that the ever-talented actor, Chadwick Boseman, had died of cancer at the age of 43. He passed away at his home in Los Angeles in the company of his wife and family. Boseman was diagnosed with colon cancer four years prior but never went public with his illness.

This shocking news ricocheted around the world. Everyone was caught off guard. No one, not even the directors, producers, and actors he had worked within that course of time had any idea that he’d been ill. When my friend told me that morning, I thought they were making a sick joke to match the tragedies of 2020. I was wrong.

“A true fighter, Chadwick persevered through it all, and brought you many of the films you have come to love so much,” his family said in a heartfelt statement. “From Marshall to Da 5 Bloods, August Wilson's Ma Rainey's Black Bottom and several more - all were filmed during and between countless surgeries and chemotherapy.”

Boseman was best known for his roles as James Brown, Jackie Robinson, and most famously as the ruler of Wakanda in Marvel’s Black Panther. Black Panther was a record-breaking blockbuster success. It was clear that he was destined to embody that hero, and it’s a tragedy that he won’t be able to step in that role again.

“It was the honor of his career to bring King T’Challa to life in Black Panther.”

Grieving the death of celebrities has always felt quite weird to me. Despite them being a perfect stranger, I’ve cried and mourned for artists I have admired and died too soon.

We mourn them because they can represent our past or our youth; because their art has been a consistent comfort in our lives. Because they will never create anything new again.

The movies Boseman created have essentially become a vessel of time, transporting us back to when he still walked this Earth.

On Boseman’s birthday in November, a few months after he passed, I decided to watch Black Panther for the umpteenth time. I wanted to re-examine the experience it gave me back in 2018 as an audience member as well as an audience to its impact on black people around the world. Re-examining it reminded me, once again, why it was such a cultural touchstone.

Yes, it definitely is another installment of Marvel’s billion-dollar Cinematic Universe. However, all other superhero movies have been a Western-Man’s wet dream. Iron Man, Captain America, Ant-Man – all of them have been a fictional attempt to rewrite 9/11, to save ‘Merica.

In the MCU, the rest of the world knows Wakanda was a third world country located in sub-Saharan Africa. Under the cloak of a rainforest is actually a technologically advanced African nation, untouched by the horrors of Western colonialism.

Ryan Coogler and his team of experts, set and costume designers, and screenwriters, had to ask what does liberation looks like in the hands of Black people?

Coogler can’t be credited for defining black liberation, but this move let us glimpse into one version of it. Wakanda offered an Afrofutrist reimagining of a future filled with arts, religion, science, and technology from a Black perspective. It unapologetically celebrated the uniqueness and innovation of Afro culture. We see a futuristic nation that is also steeped in ancient African traditions, social systems, and Black identity.

And the leader of this visionary world? T’Challa. The King of Wakanda and protector of his people. The character has been seen as an inspiration for kids around the world – especially young black children, who rarely get to see themselves reflected in the heroes they watch on screen.

It wasn’t just children who Boseman inspired. This film came at a time where the importance of diversity and representation on screen was in demand. Cosplayers and adult fans were super keen to commemorate T’Challa and their favourite Black Panther characters.

Alternatively, Boseman’s death came after a summer of protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd. His death added a layer of grief for black folks in America and around the world.

After revisiting Black Panther, I’m confident in saying that the film did representation right with one of the greatest black ensembles in pop culture. But in 2020 we’ve moved beyond just representation. Black Panther created a hero, it created a world, it reimagined history without the violence of colonialism. Black Panther was a bubble in space in time where a Black nation is free of global anti-blackness, and they are flourishing.

What an honour to have watched Boseman exist in such a beautiful world.

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Alannah Link

Alannah is a writer whose vivid self-awareness often veers into self-consciousness. She can be found either watching the latest A24 flick, spending too much money at the local bookstore, or curating a thematic Spotify playlist.

Blog: TheCrookedFriend

My Favourite Movies of the Past Decade

Ah…evolution.

The years pass, the years come. Each day bringing us closer to death. What joy. All this time spent living, as humans do, is boring. We need something to pass the time. Something like movies.

And in the wake of this new decade, an old one lingers by. Let us dwell on all the movies that I loved most each year. (This is list is being conducted only on the movies that I actually saw that year. So, as much as I want to sound cool and pretend I have the best taste in movies, that’s not always the case.)

Shall we?

[dreamworks animation]

2010: How to Train your Dragon

Can you believe it was that long ago? I was nine when I saw this in theatres. NINE! Whatever, it still holds up. Since 2010, I’ve seen it so many times I swear I know it by heart. I sold my nine-year-old soul to Astrid, and I’ve yet to get it back. I like this movie a lot.

[paramount pictures / bad robot]

2011: Super 8

I still don’t know if everyone saw this movie in 2011 but I did and I did not like it. But I’m biased

I saw this at least six times in one summer when I was ten. I hated going to summer camp, so after grovelling to my parents to let me stay, I quickly realized my downfall: boredom. I had nothing to do, nowhere to go. I was stuck. Until my dad rented Super 8 on demand, and I watched it. I watched it over and over during the three days that I still had it, and it gave me something to do. I never liked it, but I’m indebted to it. That’s why it’s my favourite.

[universal studios / gold circle films]

2012: Pitch Perfect

I meant it then, and I mean it now. Yes, I am a little ashamed, but not enough to make myself forget that I love this movie. When it first came out, I would not shut up about it. I knew all the songs, I worshipped Anna Kendrick (still do), and I used my personal Instagram account to scream at people who haven’t seen it. I violently loved Jesse, and I quoted lines back to my parents even though I didn’t know what they really meant. (Upon rewatching, I am horrified). I loved it. Plain and simple.

[20th century studios / regency enterprises]

2013: The Internship

This one’s embarrassing. Let me preface: I like this movie just fine by itself. I think Vince Vaughn and Owen Wilson play off each other well. I enjoyed the conflicts. But, if I’m being honest, this movie is my favourite of 2013 simply because Dylan O’Brien was in it. And he’s wearing square glasses and a beanie, and he has a snarky attitude. I was twelve, and I was enchanted.

[20th century studios / marv films]

2014: Kingsman: The Secret Service

I’m not ashamed of this one! I love this movie. I love the wit and the twists and the challenges these people have to go through. It’s so well thought out. Yes, the villain is actually kind of cliché, but that’s part of the allure. A villain who vomits at the sight of blood! Brilliant! I love this movie.

[20th century studios]

2015: Spy

Don’t ask me cuz I don’t know. It’s just a feel-good spy movie. It had comedy, it had action, and it had Jude Law. I’m very okay with this movie. And besides, while making this list, I realized that 2015 was not the best movie year for me. Oh, well.

[marvel entertainment / 20th century studios]

2016: Deadpool

I watched this in theatres with my mom and her friend. It had swear words, it had sex scenes, and it had some nasty mutilations happening. It is not family-friendly, and I loved it. Mostly, I loved the humour, the banter, the satire all culminated to make a pretty solid film.

[marvel studios / columbia pictures]

2017: Spider-Man: Homecoming

I am faithful to Tobey Maguire, but I also adored this movie. It’s Spider-Man. It’s a classic superhero character, and I think Tom Holland did a good job.

[20th century studios]

2018: Love, Simon

What a heartwarming movie. What sweetness, what joy. This movie is so pure and warm that it hits right where I needed it. I praise it.

[annapurna pictures]

2019: Hustlers

And finally, the most recent movie that stole my heart; Hustlers. I watched this late last year and died. I love it so much, it’s dear to me. There’s no overly fascinating reason other than I enjoyed myself. I had such a good time watching these characters on a screen, it was music to my eyes.

That’s my list! Thanks for reading!

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Linda Deslauriers

Linda is the most “fangirly” person you will likely ever meet. She’s a second-year student in Algonquin College’s Professional Writing program. She enjoys hot chocolate, rainy evenings, literature, and cinema. If looking for her, you will find her on her bed; enthralled in whatever new addiction she’s developed since.

Whitewashing: Because White People Are Sooooo Underrepresented

Left: Ghost In The Shell (2017) [DreamWorks Pictures, Reliance Entertainment, Arad Productions, Paramount Pictures], Right: Ghost In The Shell (1995) [Bandai Visual, Manga Entertainment, Production I.G]

Throughout my life, I rarely saw any brown people in the media, much less Iranian girls. When I did see brown people on T.V., they were either minor characters, stereotypes, or both.

Recently, I discovered a film called Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. All I saw was the word Persia and immediately got excited. I did some research on the movie, and lo and behold, Jake fucking Gyllenhaal is playing the lead role. A white man portraying a Persian prince. Disappointment replaced my joy.

Thanks, Hollywood.

Whitewashing: You Should Really Stop

Whitewashing is when the film industry casts a white actor in a non-white role.

The Last Airbender (2010) [Nickelodeon Movies, Paramount Pictures]

A classic example of whitewashing is Hollywood’s adaptation of Ghost In The Shell, as they have Scarlett Johansson play the role of Motoko Kusanagi, a Japanese character. Another movie guilty of this practice is Breakfast At Tiffany’s, with Mickey Rooney doing a racist portrayal of another Japanese character, Mr. Yunioyushi. There’s Aloha, where we have Emma Stone playing the half-Chinese, half-native Hawaiian Allison Ng. The Last Airbender’s cast is mainly white, despite the show it’s based on having no white characters whatsoever. Netflix even adapted a Death Note film based on the manga, Americanised it and had Nat Wolff play Light Turner (whose actual name is Light Yagami, but they changed that, too). These are only some examples.

The issues are that not only are non-white actors not given the same opportunities as white actors, but non-white people watching these films don’t get to see themselves represented. The latter is already a problem, so to have white people play roles made for minorities makes things worse. It’s a subtle way of telling us we don’t matter.

Reverse Racism isn’t Real, Karen

On the rare occasions that we get to see a non-white actor play a white character, those actors have to deal with immense hate (cough racism cough).

Let’s take the live-action remake of The Little Mermaid, for example. In the animated 1989 film, Ariel is a mermaid with white skin and red hair. In the live-action remake, however, we have our protagonist played by Halle Bailey, a black woman. While there were fans who were supportive of the casting choice, there were others who were anything but that. From crying out about Ariel being white to telling Bailey she should’ve played Tiana instead, the young actress received a lot of negativity.

Left: Halle Bailey, Right: The Little Mermaid (1989) [Walt Disney Feature Animation, Walt Disney Pictures]

Let’s discuss why this specific change isn’t a problem:

1. Ariel’s skin colour has nothing to do with the plot. Having her be black won’t change anything in the story. Besides, you do know that mermaids aren’t exclusively white, yeah?

2. The people telling Bailey to play Tiana instead are only further admitting that black people have little-to-no representation. White people have more than just Ariel; they have Aurora, Cinderella, Belle, Snow White, Rapunzel, Merida, Elsa, Anna, etc. People of colour only have a few princesses that look like them. Black people only have Tiana. A black actress playing Ariel won’t change the fact that white people always have representation and will never need to fight for it.

3. “If the roles were reversed, and a white actress played Tiana, you would say it’s racist!” That’s because it is racist, Karen. Tiana being black is significant to her story. The Princess and the Frog is about her having to work hard to reach her goals given her circumstances (which is her being a black woman in the late 1920s in New Orleans). Besides, the roles are reversed; THAT’S THE PROBLEM.

Simply put, whitewashing is erasure; the other way around is minorities’ way of giving themselves the representation they don’t have.

Parting Words From an Angry Brown Woman

Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time [Walt Disney Pictures, Walt Disney Studios]

If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times: It’s not forced diversity; people just exist. I can assure you; it’s not hard to find a good non-white actor. There are plenty of them waiting for opportunities you don’t give them because diversity makes you uncomfortable. Give us proper representation so that no more children of colour have to look for it themselves.

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Shireen Agharazi-Dormani

An artist with strong opinions, a fear of social interactions, and one hell of a sweet tooth. Needs at least 10 hours of sleep and lots of hugs. Handle with care: very sensitive.

Queer Coding and Queerbaiting: No Homo! Unless…

Photo by Rene Baker, Unsplash

When people like to remind me that our society is so much better than it was about 50 years ago in terms of acceptance, I remind them in return that “better” doesn’t always mean “good”. It merely implies it could’ve been worse. When it comes to the LGBTQ+ community, they can get married now (in some places), they can adopt children (in some places), and they get to see themselves represented in the media.

Sort of.

Queer Coding: For a Little Bit of Backstory

Photo by Amy Humphries, Unsplash

For those who don’t know, queer coding is when creators give a character typically queer traits, all the while never explicitly labelling them as queer. This trope, for the most part, is neutral. It’s the historical context that’s the issue.

In the early days of filmmaking, the U.S. government discouraged any form of overt sexuality, fearing the influence the media had on the public. While LGBTQ+ depictions weren’t outright banned, shining a negative light on them was fine. This is where the problem with queer coding came into play. Male villains were effeminate; female villains, devious.

We can see plenty of examples of the bad guys being portrayed this way in Disney movies. There’s Ratcliffe from Pocahontas, with his concern for fashion. Scar from The Lion King is another gay stereotype, from the limp wrist to the sway of his hips as he struts. We also have Ursula, who was inspired by the late drag queen Divine. Maleficient, with her features drawn sharp to give her a more masculine appearance to juxtapose Aurora’s femininity. Etc. Etc.

Again, queer coding is technically neutral, and plenty of queer people still like these characters (including me). The problem lies in the villainization of queerness. Although we can now have LGBTQ+ onscreen, the harmful tropes haven’t gone away. Plus, another problem arose in the process.

Queerbaiting: Progress (Except I Lied About the Progress Part)

Queerbaiting is a marketing technique where creators hint at their fictional characters being part of the LGBTQ+ community but never depict them as such. It’s similar to queer coding, only the issue is they’re trying to lure in an LGBTQ+ audience by convincing them they’re going to get the representation they’ve wanted for so long. “Fake woke shit,” as I like to call it.

An example would be J.K. Rowling. With her only announcing that Dumbledore was gay after finishing the books and never showing his sexual orientation in the Harry Potter films, Rowling’s fans were rightfully skeptical. Even when the opportunity arose to show some proper representation in the Fantastic Beasts films, they got nothing.

We also have the live-action of The Beauty and the Beast, with LeFou and his little crush on Gaston. This comic-relief of a side character was already queer-coded in the animated film, but in the live-action, he’s just a little bit gayer. Staring at Gaston longingly and… yeah, that’s it. It’s enough that the producers can lure in an LGBTQ+ audience but not too much that they’ll lose their homophobic audience.

Fake. Woke. Shit.

Queer Words from a Queer Person:

Photo by Delia Giandeini, Unsplash

I’m not saying queer villains shouldn’t exist. What I am saying is that you should do more research when it comes to creating queer characters. When coming up with characters who are from marginalized groups, you must always take into consideration historical context. Even if you didn’t mean to write a gay character that plays into negative stereotypes, it’s the impact that counts at the end of the day. When creating a straight character, no one associates their flaws with their sexual orientation because people see being straight as the default; they see it as normal, human. Queer people don’t have that luxury.

The LGBTQ+ community has claimed some of these characters as queer; we don’t hate them. However, we shouldn’t have to decide their sexuality to see ourselves onscreen. Being LGBTQ+ isn’t taboo; we deserve to exist without being viewed as inappropriate. Even if accidental, creating a queer character that plays into harmful stereotypes can negatively affect the queer audience that is already so starved of seeing themselves accurately portrayed in the media.

If you don’t see the importance of representation, it’s because you’ve always been represented.

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Shireen Agharazi-Dormani

An artist with strong opinions, a fear of social interactions, and one hell of a sweet tooth. Needs at least 10 hours of sleep and lots of hugs. Handle with care: very sensitive.

5 Reasons Why 'When Harry Met Sally' is the Perfect Romantic Comedy

‘When Harry Met Sally’ was released in July 1989 and just over 30 years later, we can still see its impact on pop culture and the world of romance. I, for one, would argue that it’s the blueprint for all romantic comedies that came after it.

From it’s quotable one-liners, the autumnal NYC scenery, to the iconic Carrie Fisher – here are 5 reasons why ‘When Harry Met Sally’ is the perfect Romantic Comedy.

5. The main characters are nut-jobs, but in the most endearing way possible

‘When Harry Met Sally’ opens in 1977 when the title characters are forced to take an 18-hour road trip from Chicago to New York City. Almost instantly, their characters clash.

Harry is the over-sexed pessimist who uses humour to guise his sadness. And Sally is the romantically naïve optimist who’s in the dictionary next to the phrase “high maintenance”.

Billy Crystal isn’t an impossibly dashing romantic lead. He looks like a guy you’d walk past on a street. If you had given that script to the wrong person, Harry would’ve been absolutely miserable. But Crystal was able to soften the character’s cynicism with charm.

Sally’s anal retentiveness isn’t a quirky quality likened by manic pixie dream girls. When she carefully analyzes every vegetable she pulls from the salad bar, and demands the ice-cream be beside the pie, not on top – it’s just who she is, and while easily maddening, Meg Ryan makes it endearing.  

4. The film feels like a warm cup of Autumn

When I think of autumn, I think of the famous scene where Harry and Sally are strolling through a golden brown Central Park, with Sally wearing a grey bowler hat and tweed pants, and Harry in a brown leather jacket.  

Some of my favourite parts are the ones where the two characters are wrapped in blankets in their own separate beds, talking on the phone while watching the same show. While the film itself is aesthetically cozy, their conversations bring another sense of comfort, like the kind you feel when you talk to that person who is always willing to listen to your endless problems and musings.

Autumn is also the season of transition, and it just so happens to be the point in the film where the title characters feelings for one another change. I mean, who wouldn’t want to fall in love to Harry Connick Jr’s big-band/jazz soundtrack?

At the end of the day, ‘When Harry Met Sally’ is the quintessential autumn movie. It tastes like a warm cup of apple cider, feels like a thick, knit sweater, and sounds like crisp leaves crunching under our feet. It’s as bittersweet as unrequited love.

3. Carrie Fisher… need I say more?

When someone says Carrie Fisher, most people think of Princess Leia, and I mean… I do too. But what quickly follows is her role as Marie, Sally’s best friend in ‘When Harry Met Sally’.

Rom Coms just couldn’t get the best friend and B-romance right after Carrie Fisher perfected it in this film. She just set the bar too high.

Marie is a one-liner machine. Her romance with Harry’s best friend juxtaposes the title characters’ 12-year long stint of unrequited love as they almost immediately tie the knot. Marie and her partner coach their friends through romantic crises and turn to one another, grateful that they found a stable partnership while their peers are suffering in singledom.

It takes an incredible actor to steal the show as a side character, and Carrie Fisher does just that.

2. The story and script are timeless

Nora Ephron’s ability to write believable women and believable relationships with such sincerity is exactly what got her the Oscar nod for ‘When Harry Met Sally’.

The dialogue is witty and realistically depicts life and dating in 1980s New York City. The amount of iconic scenes and quotes the movie contains is remarkable, including the infamous fake-orgasm scene famously followed by “I’ll have what she’s having.”

While each character is fully developed, Harry and Sally are stripped of most things except for their relationships with one another. Their personalities are revealed through conversation, and in contrast with one another. Their love story is grounded by interspersed interviews of actors retelling heart-warming love stories of real-life couples, and ends, fittingly, with Harry and Sally telling theirs.

Despite its curly wired landline phones and shoulder pads, these are the things that make it feel timeless.

1. The romance is a perfect slow-burn

So many romantic comedies condense the romance into one night or a week. The thing about romance is that the longer it swells up, the sweeter the release is (if you know what I mean.)

‘When Harry Met Sally’ spans over 12 years. We get to see them grow up, mature and make mistakes. The story unfolds through low-stakes hangouts and well-written conversations that take place during walks against the backdrop of autumnal Central Park. They spend a day at the MET, banter in silly voices, and eat sandwiches at Jewish Delis.

When Harry and Sally start realizing they have feelings for one another, it feels so organic and real. You feel like their friends who so obviously know that the two are meant for each other but just can’t get over their own reservations. It tugs at the heartstrings, the only way a perfect romantic comedy can.

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Alannah Link

Alannah is a writer whose vivid self-awareness often veers into self-consciousness. She can be found either watching the latest A24 flick, spending too much money at the local bookstore, or curating a thematic Spotify playlist.

Check out Alannah’s ‘When Harry Met Sally’ Spotify playlist here: jewish deli dates & witty banter

Blog: TheCrookedFriend