‘Black Panther’ Movie Actors: Film Changed How People See Africa

The main actors of the new Black Panther movie, called Wakanda Forever, gathered recently in London.

They were celebrating the opening of the follow-up to the 2018 film.

The first movie was the top film of that year in the U.S. and Canada and the second-biggest in the world. It sold $1.3 billion in tickets.

The movie was the first superhero film to have a mostly Black cast.

One of the main actors is Lupita Nyong'o of Kenya. She plays Nakia.

She said the movie from four years ago permitted people to feel good about "indigenous¹ cultures" because of the way it showed African life.

"We are celebrating our culture, we are celebrating where we are from in a way that is extremely inclusive²," she said.

Florence Kasumba was born in Uganda but now lives in Germany. She is also one of the main actors in Wakanda Forever.

As a girl, she said, she would have liked to see movies like Black Panther, "because there are not so many role models."

Kasumba has acted in other superhero movies including Wonder Woman and Captain America.

Ayodeji Aiyesimoju is a professor who studies television and film at Joseph Ayo Babalola University in Nigeria. He said the first Black Panther movie changed the way some people thought about Africa.

"It opened conversations for questions. People were genuinely interested in knowing about the continent," he said.

He said the next step is for movie studios in Hollywood and Britain to do more work with Black actors and African moviemakers.

Some critics, however, said the movie was just a way for large movie companies to make money by showing a fictional³ African way of life. Disney produced the movie and it is based on characters created by Marvel⁴.

One actor said Africa had an important part in the movie. Danai Gurira played the character Okoye. Her family is from Zimbabwe but she was born in the U.S.

"You have to understand that it was Africa that impacted Black Panther," she said. "The role I play was all about looking at what Africa was and bringing (that) into the world."

Words in This Story

superhero –n. an imaginary person in a book, movie or television show who has amazing powers like the ability to fly

cast –n. the actors in a play, TV show or movie

indigenous –n. native to a place

inclusive –adj. including everyone or many different kinds of people

role model –n. someone who another person thinks highly of and tries to be like

genuine –adj. real, true, not false

fiction –n. written stories about people and events that are not real

character –n. a person in a story, book, play or movie

impact –n. an influence or something that affects something else

1 indigenous   

adj.土产的，土生土长的，本地的

参考例句：

• Each country has its own indigenous cultural tradition.每个国家都有自己本土的文化传统。
• Indians were the indigenous inhabitants of America.印第安人是美洲的土著居民。

2 inclusive   

adj.(of)包括的，包含的；范围广的

参考例句：

• The bill is inclusive of the food and lodging.账单包括吃、住费用。
• It's an all inclusive price;there is nothing extra to pay.这是一个包罗一切的价格，不需再额外付款了。

3 fictional   

adj.小说的，虚构的

参考例句：

• The names of the shops are entirely fictional.那些商店的名字完全是虚构的。
• The two authors represent the opposite poles of fictional genius.这两位作者代表了天才小说家两个极端。

4 marvel   

vi.(at)惊叹vt.感到惊异；n.令人惊异的事

参考例句：

• The robot is a marvel of modern engineering.机器人是现代工程技术的奇迹。
• The operation was a marvel of medical skill.这次手术是医术上的一个奇迹。