Romancing The Black Panther
Have you seen the box office record breaking Black Panther yet? Piper Huguley has and shares her thoughts on the romantic relationship between T'Challa and Nakia.
On February 16, I took my husband (or did he take me?) to my local cinema to witness the phenomenon known as the Black Panther. He enjoys all of the action, but as I romance author, I’m looking for love. In this movie, I loved how the movie showed T’Challa, (the title character and King of Wakanda so magnificently played by Chadwick Boseman), as being completely in love with a woman of Wakandian aristocracy, played by Lupita N’yango. He assures his military general that when he sees her, he will be in full control of himself and he will not “freeze.” Ha! Good luck with that T’Challa!
We meet this couple when they are on a break from one another and it is KILLING T’Challa. (Of course he freezes. Like a popsicle—the general says later). He wants Nakia back and you can see the wheels turning in his head. He is constantly trying to figure out what he can do to get a second chance with this woman. As in a romance novel, we see his vulnerability with her and I’m here for all of that.
Nakia is all kinds of awesome. When we first see her, she is engaged in some work that looks as if she is posing as one of the “Bring Back Our Girls.” She is on a mission to save young Black girls—the kind of work few are interested in doing. She is intent on being an activist in her homeland. She’s not going to be some kind of “eye candy” queen, which might be one of the reasons why they broke up earlier. She isn’t satisfied to stand around and do nothing. She even has a confrontation with General Okoye over her work, but she does what she knows is right. Nakia also intends to push T’Challa to do better, to be better. She is just the kind of woman he needs to challenge him. She respects his kingly authority and capacity of being the Black Panther, but will not back down from him. She’s real.
Have I said how rare it is to see a dark skinned Black couple on screen? And for him to be completely besotted with his lady love? Even if he declares he would never “freeze” in front of her? These images are rare, and it only whetted my appetite to see more. I won’t spoil anything to say that how their love story goes. And if you know the original story beyond the movie—yes, I know how that goes too. I’m just intent on enjoying looking at this beautiful Black couple on the screen loving one another and having each other’s back. Black couples in love are an increasingly rare sight to see in Romancelandia, let alone the movies. I think I’ll go and see it again.
Piper's newest release, Oney: My Escape from Slavery, is available now. For more information about her and her writing check out her website, and follow her on Facebook and Twitter.
Have you seen the movie yet? What did you think of the romance? Was there enough of it, did it leave you wanting more or were you more interested in the action? Let us know in the comments or join the discussion on this subject on our Social Media.
