NAKIA love interest of King T'CHALLA: The Portrayal of Dark Skinned Women in Black Panther

chadwick Boseman is Black Panther and King T'Challa and Nakia as in Lupita Nyong'O is the love interest of the King.

In most films, the love interest is always a light skinned or racially ambiguous woman for the black man. It's very rare to see a sister as dark skinned as Lupita Nyong'O playing a love interest for the most powerful King in a Kingdom such as Wakanda and for a Hollywood blockbuster, such as Black Panther. In reality, Wakanda is a fictional reality and no one should base their whole identity on a movie. But representation matters. Young, dark-skinned girls and women will watch and will be validated. To see someone the same complexion as you in a place of power even if it's fictional can shift mindsets and shift paradigms. For a second you are given an alternative to the toxic narratives, stereotyping, downgrading and devaluing of your complexion and top of that mixed with gender is an intersectional problem. In Black Panther, dark-skinned people got the divinity they always deserved. As the first people on the planet, it is rared to be shown in a positive light in western, middle eastern and Asian films. The darkest black woman or man is always feared no matter where they go. What Black Panther did is normalised the dark-skinned and made it beautiful for a moment. It is amazing for the whole cast to be mostly dark-skinned that is unheard of in filming especially for such big project like this one. 

The conversation has been started to represent people with darker hue in the proper light and get the dignity they deserve. From makeup, hair, clothes and lighting Black Panther honoured our deepest hue in a beautiful way. This film showed the majesty and the purity of our existence. No one is born wanting to change their skin. Everyone is born happy and then society conditions you that what is natural and divine is wrong. Because the bigger agenda is to keep you insecure and fearful. Such people are easier to control and to manage. 98% of the planet is of a darker hue. The more insecure they are about their existence the easier it is to control them. The 98% will be too busy trying to change and manipulate their hue and mere existence and forget the most important things in life. 

The campaigns about anti-dark skin were never about skin tone but making you become a sheeple. A shepherd can only lead sheep and not a pack of wolves. Wolves cannot be controlled or manipulated they will devour you before you try. They will try everything in their power to make sure you remain a sheep and never transform into a wolf. It's the tactic of the game. You became the game and forgot about the one controlling the game. You are caught up in the game and forgot that you are being trained to be a piece of meat in the game and forgot about being one of the players. It is all mind control. If I can convince you to hate what you cannot control, I can convince you to hate everything about you. The job of oppressing you is super easy because you aid in your own oppression under my control. 

Nakia is more than a love interest to King T'Challa. She is powerful in her own right. She has a mind of her own and this is shown in the film in many important scenes. She is not waiting around to be a wife to the King. But she has a life of her own and is living life on her terms and not the King's. It would be typical to do anything the King wants since he's the KING. But Nakia was not willing to negotiate or give away her life for some man. Even if he's the leader of a wealthy untapped African nation hidden from plain sight. This is the right portrayal of the strong African woman. Culturally, women lead their own lives in ancient times but the current times are just traumatic situations being reenacted in families, relationships and communities. The oppression of the current African woman is not cultural or normal but a result of a broken people and society. The way Nakia handled herself in this film is a way a strong woman should regardless who's her love interest. 

In general Black Panther, did a great job portraying the strength, beauty, divinity and wisdom of African women in the diaspora and at home.  The women were shown in their power, unity, collective/intersectional existence and their importance were extremely highlighted. I hope that this film becomes an example of what to do in the future to produce positive images of black/brown women period. This film with all its commotion showed that we love positive representation and that we love seeing our stories on films like this in this space. I hope to see more positive representations of all of us everywhere. I am so excited to see it all unfold globally. 

References: 

http://www.digitalspy.com/movies/black-panther/news/a849567/black-panther-marvel-cast-lupita-nyongo-love-interest/

https://www.thegate.ca/film/032323/black-panther-danai-gurira-okoye-wakanda/

http://www.thisisinsider.com/black-panther-women-fighting-without-shoes-2018-2