Academy Screens Black Panther: Wakanda Forever

By Ethan Ding and Joonyoung Heo

A screening of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever was held on Feb. 11 for the school community. Organized in honor of Black History Month, it was a great opportunity for the student body to gather and relax on a Saturday night.

The event was jointly hosted by the Office of Multicultural Affairs (OMA) and the Student Activities Office.The film had been released in Nov. 2022 as a sequel to the first Black Panther movie and featured a diverse cast, celebrating people and culture through a rich storyline.

Students attended the screening for a number of reasons. The choice of the film itself attracted many. “I decided to go because I loved Black Panther,” lower Aymeric Dauge-Roth said. “I saw the first one with my friends and I really enjoyed it. I wanted to see the sequel and I wasn’t disappointed.”

“I hadn’t yet gotten the chance to watch the Black Panther sequel,” upper Vera Aimunmondion said. “The first film was really important to me and my family. It was the only time my dad ever took us to the movie theater because we don’t really go to theaters. So I wanted to watch the second one and I saw the opportunity, and there was no reason not to go.”

Other students attended the screening by chance. “The dance show that day had just finished, and we wanted to kill some time before the second one,” lower Preeti Jain said. “My friends and I stopped by to check it out, and we found a bunch of snacks in EPAC and decided on staying. It was a great atmosphere.”

“I wasn’t watching the dance show that night,” lower Sofia Wang said. “We didn’t have much to do. So we figured we might as well go to the Forum and watch the movie. It seemed interesting.”

The atmosphere in the Forum, where the screening was held, was a particular draw for some students. “I really appreciated the opportunity to view this film as a community with my friends, as opposed to a theater full of strangers,” senior Chloe Zhu said. “I saw the first Black Panther movie with friends and it was very meaningful that they set this up.”

For many of the attendees, Wakanda Forever was every bit in keeping with the theme of Black History Month as it was an entertaining film. Specifically, the film’s cultural significance largely spoke to the audience. 

“I think it displays the beauty of African culture,” Aimunmondion said. “They’re not drawing from one specific culture—it’s a plethora of different African cultures mixed together. It also mixed in the theme of resistance found all throughout Black history. I really enjoyed what they did with the film.”

“Some people might think, maybe, it was too playful or not serious enough for a ‘heritage month’ movie,” Aimunmondion continued. “They might have preferred a documentary of some kind. But sometimes it’s nice to see fun stories inspired by the Black experience on the big screen. That’s what this event was.”

Other attendees found that the screening itself fostered the exploration of these cultures. “It was a great way for the community to engage with the media without feeling intimidated,” Jain said. “It was a natural choice. And there were practical implications relevant for us too—even the first part of the film handled themes of colonization and public perception of African countries.”

“I love that we hold these screenings on campus,” Dauge-Roth said. “It’s somewhere people can go with their friends and have a good time, and it’s nice the clubs were able to fit it into Black History Month. That was their goal, and they definitely succeeded.”

Courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures