Chadwick Boseman: From a boy shunned because of skin color to the journey of 'blurring' ethnic boundaries

Chadwick Boseman: From a boy shunned because of skin color to the journey of 'blurring' ethnic boundaries
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Chadwick Boseman has spent both his youth and career in expressing the most beautiful and proud African cultural identi...

Chadwick Boseman has spent both his youth and career in expressing the most beautiful and proud African cultural identity through a series of memorable roles.

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August 29, actor Chadwick Boseman died at the age of 43 after many years of fighting with cancer. In recent years, he emerged as "Black Panther" T'Challa - King of Wakanda in Captain America: Civil War, Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame. Besides, he is the first black actor to play the main role in a cinematic work of the Marvel cinema universe.

However, the path that led him to this famous role is not well understood by everyone. The early years of the new century were also the time when Chadwick Boseman got used to the studio lighting with small roles, and the guest characters did not seem to have any influence on the plot of the dramas.

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Thanks to that, Chadwick caught the eye of top Hollywood directors and filmmakers and his movie dream came to him as a matter of course. However, with the individual actor, Black Panther is like the most mythical dream.

Previously, Chadwick never took the initiative to audition for the Black Panther, but was personally chosen by Kevin Feige. The president of Marvel Studios said: “I spent about 24 hours promoting Chadwick to the creative team, discussed with my agent, then phoned to invite him to play the Black Panther. And he agreed".

Agreeing to join Black Panther, the actor gave a seemingly unreasonable condition at that time. He asked to speak with an African accent in a Hollywood movie. However, Chadwick's determination and talent convinced the heads of Marvel Studios to be completely convinced. He proudly shared: "African accent also has intonation and inner melody, it is as classic as English or European accent".

Then when Black Panther was released, all doubts around Chadwick Boseman, a rather unknown actor at that time, were all gone. No one could ever complain about his rich African accent. They were all completely mesmerized by his captivating performance.

Writer Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle succinctly stated: “Chadwick Boseman owns every moment in the film, accurately demonstrating the character's qualities and purpose. And surely later, people will realize that, if it weren't for him, no one else could have done so well. ”

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The success of Black Panther made Chadwick Boseman proud. However, in the midst of that glorious moment, he remembers his unhappy childhood, and also a sad memory of many other colored children. He said: “Ever since I was a child, I understood the feeling of going to an ice cream shop and was called 'nigger' by a white kid. But then my parents just said ‘Just calm down, 'because they know things can get a lot worse. There was even a time when a truck tried to run over us, when the whole family was crossing the street ”.

The success of Black Panther not only affects the life of the actor or crew, but also inspires a positive life in communities of color around the world. The phrase "WAKANDA FOREVER" has also become the proud slogan of millions of fans. Meanwhile, the cross-arms movement in front of the chest has become an immortal symbol of solidarity, belief and strength.

In March 2019, in the second-leg quarter-final match against Rennes in the Europa League arena, after scoring to give Arsenal the lead, striker Aubameyang rushed outside the border, wearing a Black Panther mask and celebrating. style "WAKANDA FOREVER". After that, the actress Letitia Wright (playing Shuri in Black Panther) went to the home field of this team, met the striker and shared the moment of victory.

However, Aubameyang will never be able to meet Chadwick Boseman to share even one magical moment together. August 29, colon cancer took him out of this world. However, perhaps for himself, this is definitely not the end. In Captain America: Civil War, he told Black Widow: "In our culture, death is not the end." He said that, after going to the afterlife, people would be transported by gods to the endless meadows, where they could run endlessly.

Until now, after four years of fighting with malignant cancer, Chadwick Boseman finally met God Bast, being with his ancestors running on that green meadow. As for his mesmerizing films, his cinematic ideals and heritage live on with many generations of film lovers.

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