As a black man, this movie is ignorant and offensive.

So I'm black and love superhero films, whether or not they "cater" to black people. Wolverine is awesome, he's not black. Spider-man is awesome, yet he's not black (Miles Morales is awesome though). We don't need a hero to be black in order for the black population to like him. However, if you're gonna make a black superhero (which is honestly refreshing and a nice idea), cant we make him something more than a cliche stereotype?

First, his name. It's LITERALLY Black Panther. Seriously? Yeah let us name him after a Black Rights organization that battles oppression. That's super original. As a kid, me and my friends came up with a hero called The Klan Killer, a black hero who fought the KKK. Looking back, even Klan Killer is a more original and less stereotypical name for a hero than Black Panther.

Second, of COURSE he's got to be the defender of Africa. Because black people don't live ANYWHERE ELSE in the world, right? Just Africa? Cant have the black hero come from the USA, right? Hell, even if the black hero came from a place like Compton or Harlem, which are already cliche origin choices for black movie characters, it would be a much better choice than freaking Africa. My family heritage actually dates back to 1700's Barbados Carribean, (which is why I personally dislike the term 'African American' because it implies I'm from Africa), so no, having the black hero come from Africa does not speak to me.

Third, his image. The trailers are going SO FAR to make this as "black" as possible, with rap music blaring constantly and even a shot of him wearing Dre's. Seriously? Production stills from several months back showed Chadwick Boseman playing basketball in his BP suit, implying he might play basketball in the movie. Because BLACK PEOPLE LOVE BASKETBALL! We even see him stealing rims off an enemy vehicle in the trailer! My jaw dropped...like I love me some rims but why does a black hero have to steal rims? And BP's musical main theme isn't an epic orchestration like all the other heros, it's some rap mix. I guess they thought black people wouldn't be swooned by a powerful overture? Nope, just give it to Kendrick Lamar (a rapper I honestly like but still).

Imagine if they made a superhero that "catered" to Texans, but made him a cowboy hat-wearing oil slicker who lived in the desert and had a drawl so thick you couldn't understand him. Imagine if they made a superhero that "catered" to the French, but he wore a giant beret, used baguets as his weapons, ran away from everything like a coward, and ate snails as a powerup. Imagine if they made a superhero that "catered" to black people, but made named him after a Black Right's movement, made him live in Africa, made him like rap music and basketball...oh wait. Conversely, imagine if they made a hero named "White Man" but he had a doofy hair cut, had the ability to force his enemies to sit through drab business meetings, could only be defeated by dance floors, and received/restores his power by eating mayonnaise. White people probably wouldn't like that.

It's no surprise that Black Panther was conceived by a white guy in the 60's, a time where this sorta thing could fly alot easier. Growing up as a kid who was into comics and superhero fans, nobody cared for Black Panther. We were alot more interested in Spider-Man, Batman, The Hulk, Captain America, Wonder Woman, Superman, etc. Like, we thought Black Panther was cool and there were a few kids who adored him, but the majority didn't care. I remember kids liking Cyborg and Luke Cage WAY more than Black Panther, and they didn't have to be African or rap-lovers to be adored by a black audience. Even the other aforementioned major white superheroes didn't have to be black to be loved by black audiences, they just had to be awesome. As a black man, myself and probably every other black person in the world would LOVE to have a major studio superhero film about a black character...too bad what we got is one driven by offensive stereotypes. I know that BP is one of the worlds greatest scientists and intellectuals because I read the comics, but don't expect the trailer to tell you that, let's just throw more rap and African imagery for the blacks, because that's what the blacks like, right???

I'm excited for the new animated Spider-Man movie next year. It has a black character that isn't driven by stereotypes. That's how you do it.