Chadwick Boseman: In Rememberance
A Reflection on the Impact and Passing of Chadwick Boseman
Hello, everyone, RJ Writing Ink here. By now, I’m sure most of you will have heard the news about Chadwick Boseman. Best known for playing King T’Challa in Marvel’s “Black Panther”, Chadwick passed away yesterday from colon cancer.
I was right in the middle of watching the new Bill and Ted movie for my review when the news broke. For a moment, it felt like my heart stopped. Like 2020 had just given the world the latest of a long line of gut punches. I was so heartbroken, I stopped the movie so I could cry about it. Even after sleeping on it, it still feels unreal. Chadwick Boseman, dead at 43? Yet, here we are now.
I loved Chadwick Boseman. I think that he was a big part of why Black Panther became the success that it did. Yeah, there was the storytelling, special effects, themes, and touching upon African Culture. However, when Chadwick Boseman came onscreen, he brought this charisma and charm to him. And from the way everyone talks about him, that was all a part of how he really was. He was just a nice guy.
What makes his death so unbelievable is the fact that almost no one seemed to know that he had cancer. I’m not even sure his co-stars knew about it, given their reactions on social media.
Chadwick Was A Real Life Hero
According to social media accounts, Chadwick was diagnosed with stage III colon cancer in 2016. In other words, he spent the entire time filming Black Panther, Avengers: Infinity War, Avengers: Endgame while enduring surgeries and chemo. In spite of all the pain he must have been going through, he never let it show. He always brought his A-Game onscreen, and that helped him become a cultural icon. For all we know, he may have known that he wasn’t going to live long enough to see Marvel make Black Panther II.
This year has seen us endure a lot of loss as it is. But the death of Chadwick Boseman seems to one of the hardest losses of all. Mark Ruffalo summed up everyone’s feelings fairly well.
I think the reason his passing has hit everyone so hard is because of how he chose to keep quiet about it. In my opinion, he knew how important his role as T’Challa was to Africans everywhere, how empowering he was. That what he was doing as the Black Panther was going to be bigger than one person. So he gave it his all, and helped make a cultural milestone.
With Chadwick’s passing, everyone’s agreeing that he was a hero both on and off-screen, and I agree. Even when he didn’t know if he would live or die, he kept moving forward and giving life everything he had. As a result, he became a hero for everyone. And I hope that once we finish mourning his death, he’ll become a legend. Rest in Power, My King. Wakanda Forever!
I am so heartbroken 💔 😭
I cried myself to sleep over it
The whole world has