‘Someone finally made the perfect movie’

Movies have the power to transform people’s perspectives on various social subjects. The right film can also help inspire a generation and give them something to look up to. It’s no wonder that people look to Hollywood for adequate and fair representation.

A big franchise like Marvel has the innate responsibility to portray characters from a wide range. When Sandra Bullock was asked for her opinion on the topic, she burst out with praises for one Marvel movie which gave her everything she asked for. The actress was moved to tears by Blank Panther and the way it represented African culture and empowered female characters.

The Marvel film which received Sandra Bullock’s vote of confidence

Sandra Bullock is one of the most iconic actresses in Hollywood, with a career spanning several decades. Movies like Speed, Gravity, The Blind Side, The Lost City, Bird Box, and many more skyrocketed her to fame. The Ocean’s 8 actress firmly believed in a diverse and positive representation in films.

The problem arose when her kids began to search for role models in movies, particularly in the superhero genre. The actress is a single mother to two adopted kids, Laila and Louis, who are African-American.

When Louis was really little, he asked, ‘Mom, are there any brown superheroes?’ And I said, ‘Yes, there are!’ I went off to research it and there wasn’t a single one.

According to her interview with The Times, on being questioned about brown superheroes, Bullock couldn’t come up with an accurate answer. She instead resorted to coloring Superman and Spider-Man‘s figurines with a brown marker. That held her children’s curiosity temporarily until 2018.

The way women were represented as heads of tribes, generals, geniuses … I thought, ‘Someone finally made the perfect movie.’

The late Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther was the answer to her children’s questions, and the actress loved the movie. The Miss Congeniality lead highlighted the positive role and representation of women in the film which moved her to tears.

When they met: Stars aligned on the red carpet

In another interview with Access Hollywood (via The Hollywood Reporter), Bullock mentioned meeting the cast of the 2018 movie. The Proposal star met and embraced the actors backstage at the 90th Academy Awards.

I started to cry backstage when I was telling [the Black Panther cast] how much the film meant to me as a woman, but how much it meant to me as a mother.

Bullock’s genuine emotions arose as she recalled dealing with her fair share of struggles as a woman in mainstream cinema. She was deeply moved by the film’s respectful portrayal of powerful female characters via Angela Bassett and Danai Gurira.

She runs around in the Black Panther mask. Which is scary when she comes out of the dark.

Not only did the movie end up providing her kids with a superhero who looked like them, but it also helped in understanding the nuances of African culture. In addition to the actress, critics also praised the film’s genuine representation.

Black Panther is currently available to watch on Disney+.