Lupita Forever

LUPITA FOREVER

Lupita Nyong’o talks about the success of her film Black Panther, and the empowering message the blockbuster sends.

I WOULD SAY WHAT I LOVE ABOUT THE WAY THIS FILM REPRESENTS WOMEN IS THAT EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US IS AN INDIVIDUAL, UNIQUE, WE ALL HAVE OUR OWN SENSE OF POWER AND OUR OWN AGENCY, AND WE HOLD OUR OWN SPACE WITHOUT BEING PITTED AGAINST EACH OTHER.

In just five years, Lupita Nyong’o is one of the most in demand actors in the film industry. Her breakthrough role came in 2013 with 12 Years A Slave, a performance that earned her numerous awards and propelled her to instant stardom. Since then, she has appeared in two Star Wars films, been a voice in The Jungle Book and become part of the smash hit blockbuster Black Panther, out on DVD this month.

Chadwick Boseman plays the king of an isolated African nation named Wakanda, which is technologically superior to the rest of the world and hides away in fear of the corruption of outer society. When an evil presence emerges, however, Boseman and his team of skilled warriors must make their presence felt. It’s the rightfilm at the right time for Nyong’o, as the film has been credited with blowing open Hollywood’s narrow idea of who a hero can be, as well as creating an interesting discussion around race and gender.

Just as Black Panther is no mere blockbuster, Nyong’o isn’t a two dimensional love interest waiting to be saved. Her character, Nakia, is a spy with romantic connections to Chadwick Boseman’s lead, but is very much her own woman. “Nakia is a spy and she goes undercover to investigate the rest of the world and reports back to Wakanda to explain the goings on” she reveals at a press conference for the film. “Wakanda is this isolated nation and it keeps to itself, and in order to keep safe it has to send people like Nakia out there, known as ‘War Dogs’, to keep Wakanda on top of things. Wakanda needs to know what’s going on in the world, the world does not need to know what’s going on in Wakanda!”

The film is the first in the Marvel Universe to have a non-white lead, and the response to both the quality of the film and the diverse cast has been monumental, becoming one of the highest grossing films of all time in America. For many, it has become a sign of what mainstream films can be: a place where everyone has an icon to look up to when they visit the cinema. For the 35-year-old Oscar winner, it was well worth the wait. “I mean… I’d been waiting a long time!” she says about her thoughts having finally seen the film. “I was so, so excited because this was a movie that we all felt a lot of ownership of, and that we thoroughly enjoyed making. You know, when you make a movie like this, of this scale, so much happens between the time you perform in it and the time you see it. You know, all the computer graphics, Wakanda itself was built in a room with Ryan (Coogler, director) and the incredible design team. So to see it alive on the big screen was sensational, and of course to see it with an audience was amazing.”

WE SEE WOMEN ALONGSIDE MEN, WE SEE HOW MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE A SOCIETY CAN BE IF WE ALLOW WOMEN TO EXPLORE THEIR FULL POTENTIAL.

As well as taking the action to a different region, Black Panther is also notable for its positive portrayal of female characters. “I would say what I love about the way this film represents women is that each and every one of us is an individual, unique, we all have our own sense of power and our own agency, and we hold our own space without being pitted against each other” she says. “I think that’s a very powerful message to send to children, both male and female. This idea that often times in movies they fall into that trap where women, there’s very few of us and we’re against each other, there’s a competitive spirit, stuff like that. This film frees us of that, you see women going about their business, supporting each other, even arguing with each other, having different points of view, but still not be ‘against’ each other.”

As for the future, the star was most recently seen in Cannes promoting the upcoming big budget movie 355, featuring an allfemale cast that includes Jessica Chastain and Penelope Cruz as international espionage agents. The move into action appears to be a conscious one, as Nyong’o believes there is a gender equality in Black Panther that she is also proud of and believes the real world can learn from. “I think that’s extremely important, and in so doing the fact that there’s so many of us gives us a sense of the fabric of Wakanda as a nation. We see women alongside men, we see how much more effective a society can be if we allow women to explore their full potential.”

Black Panther is released on DVD 11th June.