“We made history doing that [‘The Black Experience on Film’ for Turner Classic Movies]. Turner Classic Movies had never done anything like that before. Because my love of film was fostered by my mother, to be able to have her watch me hosting Turner Classic Movies was everything.”
Watching “Black Panther” has given me a similar experience, being from a country that most privileged nations deem “third world,” “regressed,” and “developing.” I belong to the same continent, if from a different sector with a different cultural backdrop and political history.
Ryan Coogler’s “Black Panther” (2018) was chosen for our New Year issue because of the hope this film brought for onscreen representation, and because it’s proof that diverse, strong female characters do well in the box office.