TheQuartering [10/29/2022]
According to BoundingIntoComics:
In arguably one of the most predictable discourse developments imaginable, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever has been declared so important for the black community that white audiences must refrain from attending opening weekend screenings of Black Panther: Wakanda Forever in order to prove that they are “down for the cause”.
This needlessly divisive rhetoric was first raised in an October 24th TikTok video posted by self-described “social reform activist” (heavy emphasis on ‘self-described’, as even her own website appears to list her credentials in the field as little more than the operation of a seemingly defunct personal blog) Lavynder Lee.
“This message is for all our would be accomplices and ‘white allies’,” Lee dismissively opened her now-deleted post, “This message is to all the white people who have BLM in their bio. If you really wanna prove to black people that you love us, and that you care about us, and that you’re down for the cause, do not go see [Black Panther: Wakanda Forever] opening weekend.”
“You buy your ticket, you give it to a black person or a black family who cannot afford to go and then you go and sit at that theater in front of the doors,” she explained. “You make sure that every black person in that theater can enjoy that movie in peace. You make sure you use your body to block us from anybody who would be coming into that theater to do us harm.
That’s right: unironically and without a hint of self-awareness, Lee has bafflingly encouraged white individuals to not only patronizingly seeking out ‘poor’ black people and not only do their ‘righteous duty’ of buying them a ticket to the latest Marvel CGI-smash-fest instead of offering any realistic help, but also act as their saviors against her fantasy group of racist mass attackers.
(As an aside, this particular piece of her declaration harkens back to the ‘incel mass shooting’ fears that surrounded the Joker, as like the journalists who so strongly pushed that narrative, Lee seems to be almost attempting to will such terrible acts into existence in order to engratiate themselves as an ‘expert’ in the discourse that would ensue.)