The Distinguished

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SO I know that Black History
Month just ended (February,
on a whole, always seems to
move by sooo quickly), but I want
to revisit something that came up
during the month.
The movie Black Panther came
out, and look yah nuh, all who
never used to wear African-
inspired clothing all of a sudden
find dem. For the (still) uninitiated,
the movie is based on the
eponymous Marvel Comics
character. Whoever holds the title
of ‘Black Panther’ is the leader of
the fictional African nation of
Wakanda. By the way, I wouldn’t be
surprised if people start name dem
pickney so.
That’s not the point of my
diatribe, however. Though the
Black Panther in the movie is a
man, his bodyguards are the Dora
Milaje – a kick-ass group of warrior
women. This is one of the reasons
the movie was so hype, and greatly
anticipated. The black women in
the movie were portrayed as
leaders, scientists, and warriors.
This is a far cry from the ‘usual’
depictions of black women in
movies. You know what kind of
roles I’m talking about – the
prostitutes, the gang members, and
the unemployed single mothers.
One of the female stars of the show
said she didn’t have these types of
characters to look up to growing
up, so it’s great to give that to
younger generations.
But therein kinda lies my
problem – believe it or not. The
strong women and girls I know
today didn’t need a movie to
remind or tell them that they were
awesome. To the best of my
knowledge, they didn’t have these
characters, whether in cartoons or
movies, for them to look up to
either. But they are the most
independent women I know. So
you might ask, where did they get
this sense of self-worth from? Ahm,
their mothers and grandmothers.
How about their female teachers
and principals? The women in their
church, perhaps? Some woman
they might have seen in an
interview or read about in a story?
I’m just saying it can’t be that an
entire generation of females can’t
find or probably just don’t see
actual positive characters to copy.
ROLE MODELS
Their role models shouldn’t have
to be a fictional character
(although I’m told the Dora Milaje
are based on an actual tribe). Still,
their role models first and foremost
should be the women who they
interact with on a daily basis.
You’re telling me a woman who
works two jobs to support her
children and send them through
college isn’t inspiring? How many
times have we heard of women
losing children to violence, but
they grit their teeth and continue
to fight on? That takes serious
courage and strength right there. If
I crack my phone screen, I fall into
a state of depression.
There will always be a place for
fictional characters in this world
(some may argue that boys and
young men need even more role
models), but I just hope they
haven’t completely replaced the
real women who walk our streets
every day. Bless.
Link me at
3 THE GLEANER’S FLAIR MAGAZINE • MONDAY, MARCH 5, 2018
Superwomen are all around us
AP
This image released by Disney-Marvel Studios shows Letitia Wright in a scene from ‘Black
Panther’. Actress Danai Gurira says the representation of women in the film is important for
young girls to see. The film features a number of powerful female leads, including Gurira as the
head of a special forces unit, Lupita Nyong’o as a spy, Angela Bassett as the Queen Mother, and
newcomer Wright as a scientist and inventor.