Just because someone has actors for parents does not mean that they get to pal around on a movie set all the time — just as most kids wouldn't be welcomed in, say, their parents' office on a regular basis, certain celebs would rather keep their home life and work life separate. Angela Bassett is one such parent, but she did make an exception recently: The 9-1-1 star revealed in an interview with Vanity Fair that her film Black Panther was so important, she actually wanted her kids to hang out on the set.
Bassett told Vanity Fair that she and her husband, American Crime Story actor Courtney B. Vance, like to keep their children away from film sets and major Hollywood events. Black Panther was the big exception because she felt that the film would have a very positive impact on how their son and daughter see themselves.
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"We try to keep them doing their own thing, out and away from it all. But [Black Panther] was one that we felt it was imperative that they experienced and witnessed. It’s an iconic film. It’s such positive images," Bassett told Vanity Fair. "They can see themselves in a light as warriors, as heroes, as kings, as queens, and potential panthers. All things positive. I really wanted them to experience something that in the way they carry themselves, how they walk through the day, with their heads held high and their chests poked out, feeling good about who they are."
Black Panther is the first Marvel film to feature a predominantly Black cast, and it's receiving praise for the way it celebrates African culture. The movie is particularly important for Black women, who get to see themselves as heroines in a way so few other Hollywood movies have allowed them to be.
Bassett isn't the only person who thinks that Black Panther can have an important impact on the lives of Black children. Octavia Spencer announced that she would pay for underserved communities to see Black Panther during her visit to Mississippi. New Yorker Frederick Joseph raised $40,000 on GoFundMe for kids in Harlem to go see Black Panther, and then created the #BlackPantherChallenge to encourage people to raise money for kids all over the world to have access to the film.
For children who don't often see people who look like them onscreen, Black Panther can remind them that they deserve to be seen and celebrated. In Bassett's case, she no doubt won "cool mom" points for allowing her kids to hang out at her place of work this time around.