Black Panther's Inspiration

We all love to watch movies. Do you remember a time you were watching a movie and you said to your sister or brother: look, this character is just like me, I can see myself in this movie? I am sure you did. I am sure, too, that this makes you in one way or another happy that this movie is representing you. Can you think of all the minorities who could not see themselves represented in the big world of movies!? Well, the facts say that our world is full of diversity, but to what extent this diversity is presented? Looking closely at "Black Panther" you will notice that most of the cast is a group of black actors and actresses and that the name of the movie represents "black" people relating to "African American people" and their cultures. This is something that isn't often seen in movies. Let's go back to all the superhero movies we watched. The hero in all of them is white. A Marvel movie with a cast of black actors and actresses is, for me, a loud cry to the film industry: We are here, we exist, we are creative, and we are superheroes. Consequently, the importance of a movie such as "Black Panther" lies in the fact that it is opening a wide door for representing diversity to the world.

People who belong to minorities, like any other human being, like to see characters representing them in movies. They do exist in reality? Why not in movies? That's why a lot of movies lose audiences because people think these movies are not realistic enough to be praised and immortalized in the memory of the world of movies. In our world, there are black and white people, sick and healthy, rich and poor..etc. All of these humans should be represented in movies instead of focusing on one kind or race. We can see that the world is moving toward granting more respect to diversity, we need to see this in films as well. Seeing a black actor or a black director will inspire millions of kids around the world to have hope and to dream because now they know they can become whatever they want. No one will point at them and say: no, he is black, no she is not smart, no they are poor.

Sitting with my classmates, I asked them: do you feel happy when you watch movies representing Palestinians? All of them agreed that it feels great to see your cause remembered. We all agreed that being there in movies is a kind of support to Palestine. My friends and I hope and send a message through topical talk to the film industry to shed more light on Palestine, on our suffering, our needs, and most importantly on our voices as youngsters who yearn to live their dreams freely.