Black Panther inspires local storytelling
PARKWOOD – Community members felt like time was too limited when they started telling their stories at Hope Talks hosted by SGI.
Using the Black Panther movie as inspiration, an organisation invited community members to explore the power of telling their own story through Hope Talks. Soka Gakkai International South Africa, (SGI) a Buddhist organisation, hosted three speakers to engage with members of the community in attendance.
Loren Braithwaite Kabosha from SGI said this was one of their series of talks they had created for the inter-faith dialogue forum for people across the community to come together to talk about hope. “This particular talk was about the power of telling your story.”
One of the speakers, author Bongani Madondo, said the organisers intended to create a platform which was not just for Buddhists but for interfaith and secular people to believe that their stories matter. “The rhetoric was, how do we create a sense of tolerance for different stories with regards to gender, ethnicity, race and culture? How do we encourage each other? How do we push for excellence in the stories we are telling?”
He went on to say that Wakanda from the movie was used as a visual, cinematic side to portray how Africans matter. “So, we thought of using that, to internalise it and re-integrate it in the Southern African context and we successfully did so.”
Another speaker, author Nomsa Mdlalose said what stood out for her the most at the talk was that people could never know each other’s stories unless they told them to each other. “The movie used contradicts the popular narrative that men are powerful and they are warriors when even in Shaka’s time, there were women warriors. So Black Panther brought us back to ourselves and reminded us how powerful we are.”
Kabosha acknowledged her appreciation for the guest speakers and their contribution. “The people were really inspired to tell their own stories from their own perspectives. We look forward to welcoming the community in the future to our next Hope Talks.”
Details: SGI South Africa www.sgi-sa.org.za
Are you hosting any inspirational talks in your community? Then send your event details to naidines@caxton.co.za
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