Black Panther Star Chadwick Boseman Dies at 46 by Alexandra Evans Comments About It on Social Media
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CULTURE El Gato • Friday, September 18, 2020 • www.elgatonews.com 13 Black Panther star Chadwick Boseman dies at 46 by Alexandra Evans comments about it on social media. ABC premiered Chadwick Boseman - A Tribute for a King on Aug. News Editor Fans speculated the weight loss 30, which is now available for streaming on Disney+. Fans have deluged On Aug. 28, actor Chadwick Boseman was on purpose, potentially for the media with artwork commemorating Boseman in the roles in which died after a four-year battle against colon a role. Boseman filmed From he has starred over the years. cancer. Throughout his life, Boseman starred Marshall to the 5 Bloods, Black CEO of Disney Robert Iger commented on Boseman’s passing in a in many movies, won numerous awards, Panther, Avengers: Endgame, and tweet, “We are all heartbroken by the tragic loss of #chadwickbose- built a strong fanbase, and participated Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom while man — an extraordinary talent, and one of the most gentle and giving in activism. receiving treatment for the cancer. souls I have ever met.” Announcing Boseman’s death, his offi- He would film in the time he had As an activist, Boseman used his platform to advocate for the Black cial Instagram published an image with between chemotherapy sessions and Lives Matter movement, defunding the police, and equal education. the caption “It is with immeasurable grief surgeries. For his performance in Upon Boseman’s death, inspiration sparked for movements in his honor. that we confirm the passing of Chadwick Black Panther, Boseman received the Fans in Boseman’s hometown of Anderson, PA, have started petitions Boseman.” The post also revealed that award for Best Performance in a Movie to replace a Confederate monument with a statue of Boseman. The he received his initial diagnosis for stage and another for Best Hero at the MTV initial petition reached 68,000 signatures as of Sep. 4. At Boseman’s three colon cancer in 2016. As he began Movie and TV Awards. Boseman antici- high school — T. L. Hanna High School – they enacted a scholarship chemotherapy and his fight for recovery, the pated renewing his role as T’Challa in in his remembrance. The Chadwick Boseman Memorial Scholarship will cancer advanced to stage four. Boseman died Black Panther 2, set to release in May go to one outstanding senior each year. in his Los Angeles home while surrounded by 2022, but recasting for the role will have Boseman inspired many with his outstanding screen work and his wife and extended family. to happen. Marvel fans and countless news continuously showed his support for important movements. There is Boseman did not publicize his battle with colon stations discussed Boseman’s life in the week no doubt that Boseman’s indelible performances will be remembered cancer. The effects it took on his body did not go unno- following his death, publishing many tributes for generations to come. ticed, for fans acknowledged his loss of weight and made C. Wagner and works of art. (Sources: The Today Show, IMDb, CBS, New York Times, CNN, USA Today) Sun examines Citizen’s impact Torrey praises Detroit 2 by Esther Sun severe in light of the history of anti-black violence by Senji Torrey him to succeed, and these words open the door Editor-in-Chief that she brings to the forefront in Section VI. Media Editor for other dreamers to do the same. One song that “I can’t breathe.” These were the last words of What we learn from Citizen is about Black On Sep. 4, Big Sean released Detroit 2, an steps away from the topic of Detroit and generalizes George Floyd, handcuffed and lying facedown on erasure in the eyes of the world: the “weight of incredibly diverse album on the current racial climate the ground, as Minneapolis police officer Derek nonexistence” that Black people in America carry in every sense of the in our nation as a whole Chauvin knelt on his neck for eight minutes. with them. “Occasionally it is interesting to think word. With numerous is Guard Your Heart, This past May, Floyd’s murder ignited a about the outburst if you would just guest appearances in which features Ander- series of ongoing protests across the cry out —,” writes Rankine. “To his songs, a touching son .Paak, Wale, and U.S. and the world — millions know what you’ll sound like is tribute to a deceased Earlly Mac. Each of of people have taken to the worth noting—” artist, and quasi- these artists takes streets, sometimes for weeks We see this urge for stand-up poetry/ a unique approach on end, to protest police outburst in passion of the comedy audio from to the current brutality, demonstrate sup- protests — the anger, Dave Chapelle, Big riots, protests, and port for the Black Lives frustration, the cathar- Sean truly outdoes overall Black Lives Matter movement, and call sis of finally crying out. himself, cementing his Matter movement. for justice. Justification of the vio- place as a creative mind of Wale brings up the Claudia Rankine’s lence of the riots and our generation. tragic deaths of Eric 2014 book Citizen: An looting is a separate con- Perhaps the most anticipated Garner and Breonna American Lyric has long versation, but what we song on this album is Friday Night B. Gibson Taylor to portray been on my to-read list, cannot invalidate are Cypher. With 11 different rappers, countless unique the ignorance of and as BLM pushed me to the emotions behind tracks, and the addressing of innumerable topics, people complaining actively seek a better under- these actions: pain and Friday Night Cypher is the perfect representation about their “product[s being] gone” from their stores standing of the injustices Black grief brought about of how special this album is. This piece gives the during riots. people in America have faced, by a country that has featured rappers a chance to express their unique For Big Sean, explaining his own suffering allows finally picking up a copy of Citi- insisted on erasing the styles, which, when combined, form sounds of the the listener to reflect on their life and their own zen was no hard step to take. A humanity of Black people struggles of life in the current social climate from suffering. Anderson .Paak, the only non-rapper out long-form poem interwoven with pho- for so long. proud Detroit natives. of the four, alludes to the BLM movement with a tographs and art, Citizen meditates hauntingly Ultimately, through the One thing that Friday Night Cypher cannot cap- soulful tone. He sings, “I’m broken in pieces down on the emotional assault that racism commits construction of Citizen itself, ture is the medium of stand-up comedy and poetry. to the soul/I know the whole world can feel it/I C. Wagner against identity and self, juxtaposing the power Rankine fights back against the Dave Chapelle achieves this by telling a beautiful know that they can see it (Oh), uh.” of the first-person “I” with the violence of the sec- world’s erasure. By recasting the “American lyric” story about the distinctiveness of Detroit’s comedy Finally, Earlly Mac brings the listener back to ond-person “you” when weaponized by the world: as a Black narrative rather than a white one, scene, and how this led him to have a surprisingly 1995 with a reference to the “Million Man March,” “And still a world begins its furious erasure— Rankine reclaims power and establishes a visibility enlightening experience with Big Sean’s father. an event that saw Louis Farrakan lead a march of Who do you think you are, saying I to me? of her own accord, as opposed to the humiliating Chapelle expresses his appreciation for this Detroit over a million citizens in an attempt to bring the You nothing. You nobody. You.” “hypervisibility” that racist language forces onto idiosyncrasy, describing it as an “adventure” and social and economic inequality of African-Americans Rankine’s writing is both intense and heart- Black people. his “favorite [comedic] market.” Chapelle ends this to the attention of the Washington government. breaking, zooming in on moments in a way that After reading Citizen, I believe more so than piece by thanking Detroit, saying, “I’ll never stop Mac encourages young African-Americans to “get makes them immediate to us as readers. Beyond ever that, while we absolutely need institutional loving your city.../much love to the Motor City.” yo’ bread, uh, light yo’ spark/Strike yo’ mark.../So personal experiences of microaggressions, Rankine change, we must also remember the importance This album has more than just one spoken word hold yo’ head, guard yo’ heart.” grapples with race relations in America through of continuously elevating Black stories along the artist; Stevie Wonder also jumps on this album with Throughout Detroit 2, countless artists bring several lenses in Citizen. Indeed, she establishes way: voices sharing about “that time and that time his story of Detroit. Wonder describes his life as up many important topics that we are still dealing the “American lyric” as a poem lamenting the and that time the outside blistered the inside of a young blind man in Breckenridge. He steers his with today. Whether it is the fragile conversation US’s high-profile discrimination against successful you, words outmaneuvered years, had you in a story away from pity by explaining, “God had made of racism in America, poverty, or any personal hard- Black people, police violence against Black people, chokehold, every part roughed up, the eyes drip- me rich.../Rich with the spirit of knowing that/ ship, Big Sean’s fifth album is sure to make any non-police violence against Black people, and ping.” Efforts toward anti-racism thus become acts Anything you imagine that’s for the good is pos- listener reflect on their life, and what they can do a painful American history of racism.