Tag: okoye

captainmarvels:

“Nakia and Okoye are allowed to be the full expressions of themselves, as women pursuing their passions while determining how their lives will unfold.


“Black Panther” offers a refreshing reprieve from the misogynistic media with which we are regularly bombarded by showcasing empowered women that are inspiring because of their contributions to their country and the way they show up in their own lives. Women who know that love does not keep you from your life purpose, romance does not come before your personal values and you are a better partner when you are in purposeful pursuit of your calling.”

The women of ‘Black Panther’ are empowered not just in politics and war, but also in love.

knitmeapony:

briskeboys:

vikingpoteto:

not to be dramatic, but Okoye telling her bitch ass husband she would end him without hesitation when he tried to manipulate her changed me as a person and cured my depression. 

“would you kill me my love?”

“for wakanda? No question.”

a woman in my theater: “oH I HEARD THAT!!!!”

Listen.  LISTEN.  *cups your face in my hands*  Listen to me.  I have never so perfectly and purely seen a Paladin depicted in a movie as I saw in Okoye.  Lawful good to her core.  Pure, unvarnished loyalty to Wakanda and her people evident in every goddamned motion.  Dignified, graceful, reverent respect for the rules of her country and its greater good.

There is something so beautiful about faith, something that just burns through with a beautiful glow that lights up someone’s eyes and every expression.  There is a confidence and a peace that is both palpable and enviable when faith has been tested and come through intact. You could so hear it in her voice.

Personal shit is great, and I’m glad she was seen in a loving relationship.  The Lone Woman Warrior trope is worn thin, and I’m sure even thinner for black women who are often not allowed to be lovable people on screen.  But the core of the Paladin is ‘there is something greater than I, and I will sacrifice everything for it’, and it was beautiful to not only see that happen on screen but see her proved right, see her win, in one case by not even raising her weapon.  She stood firm in her faith and the narrative said yes, it said this is just, it said your very faith will protect you from harm.  And she’s not seen as hard or cold edged weapon for that.  The imagery around her in that moment is more like a saint or an angel, glowing and reaching out a peaceful hand to a symbol of one of the tribes of her country.  Her country loves her back.

Okoye doesn’t just love her country.  She doesn’t just serve her country.  She doesn’t just believe in her country.  She has unshakable faith in an absolute truth: Wakanda Forever.  

She is elevated for her faith as much as her skill.  

It’s fucking breathtaking.  

dealanexmachina:

perculiar:

batmanisagatewaydrug:

batmanisagatewaydrug:

batmanisagatewaydrug:

y’all notice how black panther quietly but fervently rejects western assumptions about women in non-western countries by not only displaying Wakandan women in a variety of influential positions but by making clear that only outsiders question them

women are shown in all levels of Wakandan society – Ramonda as a trusted advisor for her son, Shuri as the country’s leading innovator, Okoye and the Dora as respected warriors, Nakia as a spy and philosophical compass, unnamed women who serve as tribal representatives and spiritual leaders. it is not at any point suggested that their gender is a barrier to achieving anything in Wakanda.

there’s a moment during T’Challa’s crowning that’s small but very good, when M’baku questions letting a child handle the country’s technological advancement. he specifically calls her a child, not a girl, questioning her youth and perceived lack of respect for tradition but not her gender, which flies in direct defiance of many western assumptions about how masculine non-western men like M’baku treat women and girls.

that moment, as far as I recall, the most any Wakandan man ever directly disrespects a woman. a lot has been made of how much faith T’challa places in his female relatives and warriors, so I won’t rehash that, but it’s Good.

Ross briefly insults Okoye with his assumption that she doesn’t speak English, but 1.) the narrative and the audience both understand this to be an ignorant statement on Ross’ part for which he is promptly put in his place by Okoye herself and 2.) Ross immediately learns and does better. when he wakes up in Wakanda his disbelief is only for the level of the technology, not that a teenage girl is the mastermind behind it, and during the final fight he defers to Shuri’s guidance despite his piloting expertise.

a lot of words have already been written about Killmonger’s treatment of black women: the casual murder of his partner, his disregard and abuse of a spiritual leader, the slaughter of a Dora. it’s just one of many parts of his ideology that mark him as fundamentally misunderstanding Wakanda and being an Other in the kingdom.

Wakanda is a futuristic fantasyland that makes absolutely no narrative room for men who don’t respect the authority of women.

In addition to the Killmonger point –
I love how it circles back to the cultural disparity between Wakanda and the Western world. It demonstrates how similar ideologies – the drive for resource sharing and international responsibly – can appear so vastly different (ie Killmonger and Nakia). It speaks to the cultural environment in which they existed. I believe Killmonger to be a reflection of the internalised toxic values Western society presents poor Black boys – essentially following the well trodden path from vulnerability to violence.

On that last comment, the narrative also specifically positions Erik as a tragic character. He is clearly the villain because his values are warped but the tragedy is that he didn’t have to turn out that way. The difference between the three heirs to the throne and how they approach each other (T’Challa, Shuri and Erik) comes down to culture.