Rylee McDonal ~ Copy Editor
This Black History Month, the Critograph celebrates our favorite films that celebrate Black excellence and the generational struggles. Some of our favorites include:
Hidden Figures:
Hidden Figures which is based on the true story of a group of black women working for NASA as mathematicians. The women are played by Viola Davis, Octavia Spencer and Janelle Monae.
The women were essential in the launch that sent John Glenn into orbit, while also battling racism and sexism within the workplace.
Hidden Figures shines the spotlight on Katherine Johnson, Dorothy Vaughn and Mary Jackson for their contributions to math and science, and should be essential for your watch list.
While it is also a novel, the movie was equally groundbreaking and is wildly relevant for the time we are living in.
The movie follows a black teen girl named Starr Carter, played by Amandla Stenberg, as she navigates two different aspects of her life.
Starr goes to a predominantly white school while living in a predominantly black neighborhood, viewing both as polar opposites.
However, things change when her childhood friend is shot by a police officer while at a traffic stop. Starr then proceeds to seek justice for his murder while continuing to search for balance in her life.
Get Out:
While Get Out is a horror movie, it speaks volumes about the stereotypes associated with Black people and the injustices they continue to fce.
The movie follows photographer Chris, played by Daniel Kaluuya, as he and his girlfriend, played by Allison Williams, go to visit her family for the weekend.
While Chris is originally socially awkward around the family, he quickly finds out that there is a terrible horror lurking within the family.
Throughout the movie, Chris and the other black men and women in the movie are viewed for their worth towards the white family.
This two hour movie is thought-provoking and is a commentary about the place of ZBlack people in the wider society.
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever:
Wakanda Forever is the newest movie to be released into the Marvel Comic Universe.
Starring a very diverse cast, the movie takes place after the unfortunate death of T’challa, the Black Panther, who was played by Chadwick Boseman, who died in August of 2020.
The movie pays homage to Boseman, by having a funeral for his character at the very beginning of the movie.
After the death of T’challa, Wakanda had started to share their technology with the world, while hanging on to their most precious resource, Vibranium.
In doing so, many nations of the world, including America, had begun to search for ways to acquire the resource.
However, what was great about this movie was that this was more of a subplot than anything.
The residents in Wakanda had become more concerned with a potential war than they were the white people trying to infiltrate their country.
As well, Shuri, played by Lettitia Wright, is more concerned with finding a balance of progress and tradition, while also handling the grief from the death of her brother and mother.
The movie highlights societal flaws and is empowering to watch, while also commemorating an amazing actor who died suddenly.