The wait is over! The Black Panther movie is officially out in theaters, and if you ask a lot of folks IT’S ABOUT DAMN TIME.
With record presales, sold-out theaters, and even its own hashtag #WhatBlackPantherMeansToMe, it’s clear that Marvel’s latest blockbuster is so much more than just another comic book movie.
We asked students at Michigan State University what the imminent release of Marvel’s Black Panther means to them. Producer Naina Rao brings us these voices from the campus as the anticipation boils over for the biggest movie of the season.
To truly understand the excitement, listen to the audio Vox below.
Here are some selected quotes (with GIFs, naturally)
“I’m not a Marvel type of guy. I’ll never be like, ‘Oh let’s go see the new Superman movie,’ but Black Panther, that’s going to be good. When is there ever going to be another black superhero movie? I’ve never seen that before.”
“Rarely do we see black people being represented in any kind of comic book, any kind of cartoon, or any big blockbuster movies. When I saw the trailer for [Black Panther], I definitely was gonna be hype for it. I’m gonna wear a dashiki, like a full-blown ‘Coming to America’ outfit.”
“Some people feel only black people should see the movie, or [that] it’s like a black thing. I don’t think that. I think it’s going to be different.”
“I think [Black Panther] is trying to say that superheroes can be black too. Superheroes…don’t have to necessarily follow the traditional idea of what a superhero looks like.”
“When I think of this movie, I think of Black Excellence. That’s just what they are trying to do: Black Excellence. Like we’re not trying to explain it. We’re not trying to tell you ought to be this way. It’s just, this is Black Excellence.”