I should probably preface this with the fact that this was about my fifth time watching the movie “Black Panther.” I think that alone speaks volumes about how much I enjoy the movie. It was very well done and there are layers of depth to the numerous themes it touches upon, as well as to how it relates to the current political climate. That being said, each time I watch it I notice something different, and I want to delve a bit into what I found myself thinking this time around.

I know that during the after film discussion the topic of foreign aid was brought up, but we didn’t really touch upon immigration policy, which was, in my opinion, one of the more controversial themes brought up. While there was more clear resolution about what the film makers (and I believe the general public, as well) think about helping out other people and other countries, very few conclusions were drawn about immigration policy. There was one line in the movie about how immigrants “bring their culture and problems with them.” This was something I found curious. There was no resolution to that specific ‘problem’ expressed towards the beginning of the film. However, I think the script writers and directors did a fabulous job of depicting the problem, and showing the complications of these types of policies, through the topic of identity.

One of the more relatable things in the film for me, as an immigrant to the United States, is the theme of identity, which I have constantly struggled with. In the movie we see a boy that was abandoned in the only country he had ever known, with nobody left to look after him, and the only people who knew of his existence decided not to take him back to their country. He then grows up feeling out of place, the cause of which I was inclined to conclude was the oppressive environment he grew up in. He sought out the country from whence his father emigrated for a sense of identity and belonging, and found only that he was not wanted there, just as he was not cared for in America. What happens to children with these types of backgrounds in our current immigration policies? This isn’t a farfetched scenario. This is a very similar story to that of other, real children.

…On a lighter note, I recently watched a comedy skit by Trevor Noah in which he was jesting about the accents in this movie. As an African himself, he found them to be a bit unrealistic. I hadn’t really noticed how embellished certain words or accents were until I rewatched it tonight, having heard that perspective. What I didn’t know, that came up in the discussion after the movie, was that the dialect spoken in the movie is a real African dialect. I guess you could say I might consider researching the movies I watch just a little more.