Essay: Black Panther (Clothing and Culture)

Andrea Borg Professor Gregg English 1201 4/8/2020 Clothing and culture In the movie of Black Panther there are a lot of topics that stand out and make it such a unique movie in many ways. However, one thing that stood out to me whilst watching the movie Is the different clothing used and different patterns used for the different tribes. This stood out to me because when I was younger, I went on a holiday to Kenya and visited loads of different tribes with different pattern clothing and when I watched the movie they had similar patterns to the ones used in the movie. The movie is bringing back the old times in Africa when there were different tribes that have their own rituals and beliefs. Showing respect to the different clothing and patterns in the movie is very important because it brings out a mix of African culture which differentiates tribes from each other and that is demonstrated in the movie. Another aspect to the movie that shows Africanism is the type of music that is being played once the scene goes into Wakanda compared when it is in America. For example, when the scene goes into America the music is more like Hip-Hop whereas when the scene moves into Wakanda the music is very much like classic African. However, the aspect of the movie that hit me the most was the clothing as I have witnessed their types of clothing in real life. Personally what I find really strong in this movie is that the clothing used in the movie is idolized by real African tribes and the patterns used by these real tribes are put into the costume of Black Panther and the different type of tribes in Wakanda. “Black Panther costume designer Ruth Carter and Hannah Beachler, the film’s production designer, both drew on very real tribes and cultures to represent the various peoples that form part of the nation of Wakanda.” (QuartzAfrica). Similarly, to African tribes all the different tribes are notices and respected by their clothing and patterns, which is the same in the movie. The different tribes have their own rituals and culture. The support this statement, I experienced this myself when I went to Kenya on a holiday I went to visit many different tribes and they all had their own initiation when joining the tribes that made them have their own cultures and the clothing compared to each other was very different in the sense of patterns. Another thing that I found very interesting when researching about the clothing used in Wakanda is that the warriors that protect Wakanda’s borders are inspired by a farming tribe located in Basotho, Lesotho which is a mountainous country surrounded by South Africa and on the blanket that they wear they have a corn cob symbol that represents “to swear by the chiefs” to show loyalty. Likewise, in the movie the costume designer put a Wakanda symbol and technology on their blanket to turn them from farmers to warriors when necessary. “The symbols on the blanket have meaning. The most prestigious being the corn cob found on the seanamarena, meaning “to swear by the chiefs.” In the film, the blanket cloaks worn by the border tribe have a Wakandan symbolism and technology that turns them from farmer to warrior”. (QuartzAfrica). This emphasizes how the costume designers used every detail in the clothing to use it in Black Panther and really tried to duplicate how the tribes in Africa used to function or still function to illustrate African power. In the movie using such details from real African tribes into the costumes really showed the world how unique these kinds of people are. On this note, it has been noticed by African people and gave praise to how special it is to see patterns at home illustrated into such a big movie. “Seeing familiar clothing items and patterns from her home country shown on screen felt “amazing,” said Amanda Nyang'oro” (TheEagle), “It felt like you were home,” Nyang'oro said. “I could see this was a real interpretation; you could really tell they did their research.” (TheEagle). The African community felt appreciated by how detailed and well the costume designer showed off the African culture, personally I feel like the designer did a great job because if I was in an African’s shoe I would really be proud of how we are being shown because it shows how unique and different each tribe is having our own rituals. Not only did the move inspire the African community but also affected people around the world putting the African clothing in fashion. For example, one of the biggest brands in the world such as Louis Vuitton made a blanket that was inspired by the warriors protecting the borders of Wakanda and selling it for a high price. “Louis Vuitton being very closely inspired by the blankets for their spring summer 2017 collection for more than ten times the price” (QuartzAfrica). I think its incredible how much o a message this movie sent around the world that even big brands like Vuitton started making costumes inspired by the movie and Africa. The movie inspired a lot of people that were half African due to just the clothing, because whenever someone is wearing a different type of clothing with different patterns they have a completely different culture and the way they act and behave is different, for example, some being more rough, some being more delicate, some being more smart, which is what makes tribes so unique from each other. “Leanna Faulk, head of public relations in AU’s Black Student Union, is of Afro-Caribbean descent. Although she isn’t as familiar with her African heritage, seeing the fashion and styles represented in “Black Panther” made her want to learn more about her family’s specific cultures within the continent, she said.” (TheEagle). This emphasizes how special the movie was to certain people and wanted them to go back to their roots to see what tribe they originally came from and what background their family came from. The creator of all these fantastic costume designs and really representing Africa is a woman called Ruth E. Carter who is African American. This was not her first time turning African history into the costumes and putting it onscreen; her whole career has been in that industry. Once she heard about Black Panther she indicated that she “really wanted this movie” (the New York times) because “she got to envision a futuristic African alternative reality- made up of diverse tribes and untouched by colonizers” (the New York times). It is as If the African culture of the tribes are evolving and becoming different and live a different way of life but staying similar at the same time. One of the main reasons that persuaded her into taking this job is because she wanted to experience Afrofuturism which is the movement of futuristic elements of black history and culture and how all these things have improved from the past and how it is still evolving until this day today. But the chance to explore Afrofuturism with “Black Panther” was meaningful to her. “It is the reason why we have a sense of pride as African-Americans,” she said.” (the New York times). I feel that since she is African-American she wanted to pass on her feelings and pride to the African American society that perhaps do not know a lot about their African history but want to get a sense of how their ancestors lived. One of the main warriors in the movie is inspired by the Kenyan tribe “Maasai”. The warriors are called Dora Milaje and their job is the protect the Wakanda king. I knew straight away that they were inspired by the Maasai tribe because when I went to Kenya on holiday I spend a lot of time with that tribe and their clothes in the movie are very similar to the tribe in real life, the main thing having a red cloak. Not only is the costume the same but the way they act; they are fearless people fighting wild animals in real life. In the olden days to be accepted in the tribe you had to kill a lion and take its heart to the leader of the tribe. Also, the leader of the tribe wears a gold necklace to differentiate her from the other warriors that wear a silver necklace. “As their general, Ms. Gurira’s neckpiece is gold, not silver like her battalion’s. Ms. Carter thought through every detail of their armor for battle.” (the New York times). However, this is slightly different form when I went to visit the tribe as the leader was wearing the same clothing but to differentiate himself, he wore a big hat. In my opinion I think Carter did a great job with the costume designs and really wanted to bring Africa to life and educate society about Africa as not people might not know anything about it. Also, I think it is a way of showing respect to the African culture to show how different they live than general life and how unique they are by each tribe having their own rituals. I am sure that most of the African culture was very proud in the way they were represented in the movie as being most of all brave and fearless. She also explained how as an African-American she never got to learn about the history of African and how her ancestors lived, so she assumed that other African-Americans felt the same way.