A white man calling ‘Black Panther’ Hollywood’s worst nightmare has our writer ready to take off her earrings
A white writer wrote a think-piece on Forbes that proved just why Hollywood will continue to have a problem with diversity.
Scott Mendelson played the blame-the-blacks game and criticized Black Panther for causing every other movie to tank at the box office because of its huge success. And he gave us a window into the minds of the white men who secretly hate us and don’t want us to win.
His headline on the piece read: “Box Office: ‘Black Panther’ Has Become Hollywood’s Worst Nightmare.” Nightmare? Like the nightmare of racial hatred? Like the nightmare of being constantly being called a nigger? Like the nightmare of being racially profiled and pulled over by a white cop and shot dead for just breathing?
Mendelson had the audacity to call the huge, HISTORIC SUCCESS of a movie with an all-black cast a nightmare—a word that is derived from the Old English “mare“, a mythological demon or goblin who torments others with frightening dreams.
See, white folks are frightened and it’s no dream—it’s a reality that Black folks are WOKE and are electric sliding across the globe in brotherhood and sisterhood, high-fiving because of Black Panther’s success.
But this is clearly a problem for the people who are used to seeming themselves reflected in the movies at the top of the box office and now have to play second fiddle to people who have come up like the Kings and Queens we are.
Mendelson needs to have a seat.
–It’s Official: ‘Black Panther’ is the most tweeted about movie of all time–
This is a hurt piece for Mendelson, not a think-piece.Thankfully Black Twitter had a field day with his whiney tone-deaf article and he has now changed the title to Box Office: ‘Black Panther’ Should Terrify Every Hollywood Studio.
Too little, too late.
In his piece, Mendelson is literally crossing his fingers and calling for another movie to take the crown from the Wakanda kingdom after reigning at number one at the box office for the last five weeks.
Did anyone wish for the movie Avatar to fail and write a think piece when it had run at number one for five weeks in 2009? Black Panther is the first movie since Avatar to make history at number one at the box office for five weeks. He throws his support behind the upcoming Pacific Rim: Uprising, saying it “has a decent shot at making a skewed kind of history by finally dethroning Black Panther from the top spot on the weekend box office charts.”
Why is Mendelson so hell-bent on seeing Black Panther fall from grace instead of continuing to break records and prove that movies with people and directors of color are worthy and NEED to be greenlit.
That would have made for a better post Mendelson.
The clueless writer then went on to claim that Black Panther is taking over the box office “at the expense of other would-be event movies,” and said the other movies are getting steamrolled by Black Panther.
Well I guess that means to get out the fire hoses and bring on the attack dogs to hold us back because how dare Black Panther impose his royal will on other movies!
—Patrisse Cullors and Tarana Burke on turning #blacklivesmatter and #metoo hashtags into movements–
This movie is historic in its approach and abandons tropes of American patriotism and capitalism. This movie is appreciated for shedding a beautiful light on the African culture and unapologetically infuses our language, clothing, and natural hair into every frame.
It ain’t our fault that white Hollywood has been uninformed and fearful to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to diversity. Now the can of whoop-ass has been opened and we will take off the earrings and grease up our mugs so we can keep beating down the box office when need be.
In the words of Chuck D, Welcome to the TerrorDome because we REFUSE to lose!
