Dear readers, as you probably know, there’s a radical, political showcase of Black excellence holding the zeitgeist right now: Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther film. Diving into the universe of this film has topped any other new masculinities experiences related to music that I’ve had in February. I encourage you to put any song from Black Panther: The Album, curated by Kendrick Lamar, in your headphones as you run to the theater to see this film… or to see it again. My favorites are “All The Stars,” “Redemption,” and “Seasons.”
Following on the political themes of the film, I have thought about the ways we hide ourselves from the world, out of fear, insecurity, self-preservation, or because social constraints of how to “be a real man” or telling me to “man up” instruct us to close off the most precious, most vulnerable parts of our identities. Maybe there are ways in which you’ve hidden your gifts from the world, powerful gifts which could benefit innumerable others if you opened up a bit more. What if you took the occasion of this film to open up just a little bit more of yourself to your world, whatever that may look like? What if you let the world see more of who you really are? What if your brilliance, if shared unabashedly, could change the world?
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[Editor’s note: For further reading on Black Panther check out these articles:
In Defense of Erik Killmonger and the Forgotten Children of Wakanda – Shadow and Act
Black Panther and White Supremacy by Ijeoma Oluo
Black Women are Black Panther‘s Mightiest Heroes – io9]
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Brian Heilman is a listener, learner, evaluator, advocate, opponent of gender, proponent of pop music, Senior Research Officer at Promundo, B at B&B Justice Factory, and frequent list maker.
Edited by Brett Goldberg
