3 Things I Learned from Watching Black Panther
My wife asked me, “What was that one white guy’s name again?” and it caught me off guard in the best way possible. When had we ever said these words following a huge box office movie? When had we ever asked for the name of one of the minority white characters in a superhero film? When had we ever talked through so many prominent themes dealing with theology, politics, and societal systems after watching a Marvel flick?
To say the least, I was deeply moved by watching the recently released Black Panther motion picture. As my wife and I have debriefed on many themes, we have also had many conversations with a variety of friends on their thoughts from the film. What follows is a collection of thoughts that will hopefully inspire us to think, see, speak, live, and love differently.
1. We need to see color in order to understand one another and live together.
Many people would argue that we need to be colorblind. “I don’t see color, I just see one who is loved,” says the person who wants to have a catchphrase more than a relationship.
Let me put it this way: as I watched this film, I was grateful for not only the lack of white actors/actresses, but also for how colorful the film was in costume, setting, and culture. In one of the final scenes, there was a sunset over the gorgeous homeland of the main character and it only added to the beauty of how the film portrayed the importance of seeing color to fully understand, celebrate, and live together. I love that the colors of the society seen in the movie are something that have either been hidden or not seen, and then by the end of the movie, they are shared with the world to bring health, hope, and new movement forward.
If we were colorblind, we would never see the full beauty displayed in each person, culture, and nation. If we were colorblind, we would never see what each other has to share and reveal to the world. If we were colorblind, we would never be able to fully celebrate how our differences bring forth a dazzling masterpiece together.
To sum it up: God created color. God created differences in color. Not superiority in color, but differences that are called to be celebrated, honored, valued, and ultimately, united by the fact that every color is an expression of love in the flesh. I’d rather see what the Artist intended in His painting then miss the uniqueness of each color altogether.
2. Men and women both need love and respect.
One of the powerful scenes in Black Panther is during a battle between certain disagreeing tribes in the land. Mighty, well-trained animals are released into this fight and cause much damage and chaos. In the midst of this, the general of one of the armies, who happens to be a female, stands in front of a charging rhino causing it to stop and then lick her face in comic relief. The rider of the rhino dismounts and engages with this woman, with whom he is also romantically involved. In this conversation, the man asks her if she would choose Wakanda or him, and without missing a beat she responds with her loyalty to her homeland. Following this, she offers him the opportunity to surrender in which he drops his weapon and bows before her with his army duplicating his actions.
I love that this man did not demand respect from his lover as if that is the only thing he needed, but rather he bowed in love and respect for her. Often I hear many refer to men needing respect while women need love. Friends, respect is love and love is respect. All people, men, women, black, white, ALL PEOPLE need love and respect. I think that in this man’s bowing in surrendering he was not only giving love and respect to his partner, but he was also asking for love and respect in return.
I believe that many men fear empowering women in leadership because they have a false perception of love and respect. But what if I were to tell you that both are rooted in deep postures of honor, humility, and seeking the best for the other?
Let me say it this way: God created male and female in His image and likeness. He blessed both of them, He empowered both of them, and He gave mandates to both of them. Without both males and females together in leadership, we don’t see the full picture of God. I’d rather bow in respect and love to women who should be in leadership than demand only respect as a way to protect my job or false perception.
3. We (especially white folks) need to get into uncomfortable places more often.
Hi, I’m a white male. I am well aware that I live in white privilege. I have been to grocery stores and not been asked for my ID after the person of different color skin in front of me was asked for theirs. I have experienced different and more favorable treatment in airports, in hotels, on the streets of Los Angeles, and beyond. I have also been in settings in which I was the only white guy in the room. I have been in locations where English was not the predominant language. I have experienced the feelings of anxiety that ring out as “one of these things is not like the other…”
And guess what? I’m grateful for both of these things. Hear me out. I’m thankful that in certain situations I am aware of the ways in which people treat me more favorably because I can vocalize to them about how this wrong. I’m appreciative of times in which I’m the oddball out because it helps me—part of the dominant ethnicity—empathize with and empower those around me who have not experienced privileges in their lifetime.
I say all of this because as I sat in the movie theatre, I was not uncomfortable, but I could sense some white folks that were. I could hear some conversations after the movie talking about plot holes or bad acting. This would make sense if what they were conversing about was accurate but it seemed more like they were speaking from a place of being stretched and feeling uncomfortable rather than from a place of actually bringing forth constructive criticism.
And guess what? It wasn’t the greatest movie of all time and I have a few black friends who didn’t enjoy the film. AND THAT’S OKAY. The point I’m trying to make is simply that we must get out of our comfort zones in order to better understand and engage with one another.
Recently, our lead pastor, Fraser Venter, gave a sermon on the incarnation of Christ and the calling for all nations, ethnicities, and languages to find unity in Him. At the end of his sermon he gave an application point: Look at your calendar and if the only people you meet with look like you, maybe it’s time to change it up a bit. I couldn’t agree more. Let's get out of our comfort zone.
Let me end by writing this: Paul writes in Philippians 3 about certain people who were attacking his the Gospel message. These “Judaizers” were boasting in their Hebrew heritage to which Paul responds by stating that if anybody could boast of their Jewish lineage it was him. He lists off all of his accolades: born of the tribe of Benjamin, circumcised on the 8th day, perfect according to the Law, etc. In other words, Paul was writing, “Hebrew lives matter!”
After this he speaks something so beautiful: BUT ALL THESE THINGS ARE LOSS COMPARED TO THE WORTH OF KNOWING CHRIST JESUS! Wow. Did you catch it? Paul didn’t throw away his ethnic background, he celebrated it. And then, he subverted it to the beauty of being in the family of God. He found a foundational unity in laying aside these things that used to be privileges and subjecting them to being found in Jesus alone.
And, this isn’t a white-washed Christianity, this is the following of and knowing Christ Jesus of Nazareth—a middle-eastern man. This is the laying down of my whiteness to know Christ and to be unified with anybody regardless of race, gender, or background. This is the unifying location of the family of God that sees and celebrates all colors, that empowers all genders, and that calls us to embrace one another outside our places of comfort and privilege.
I’m not saying I know everything. I’m not saying this is 100% accurate. BUT, I am hoping that this can be launching ramp for many conversations to come. I am praying that this would spark something in our hearts to recognize the beauty of God’s masterpiece, the calling of each person, and how we can celebrate our unity in Christ as we also celebrate our individual and corporate stories.
Here’s to the well-celebrated, beautifully diverse, and fully known family of God. Amen.
“Unity, not uniformity, must be our aim. We attain unity only through variety. Differences must be integrated, not annihilated or absorbed.” — Mary Parker Follett
