Wakanda Forever!

      How many superheroes are Kings of entire nations? How many have the ability to strike fear into opponents' hearts just from their name alone? How many of them can do this without a weapons belt, the ability to fly, or shoot something out of their hands or eyes? How many of them have all these attributes and come from African ancestry? Let all of that marinate for a few moments....Moments taken.

       In February 2018, Marvel graciously displayed T'Challa better known as "Black Panther" on the big screen in a long awaited but well worth it cinematic debut. With brilliant CGI graphics, well executed African representation, splendid acting, and a storyline designed to entertain while also provoking critical thinking, the film leaves you wanting more. Let's start with the great nation of Wakanda.

         Not only is it the most technologically advanced nation in the world due to its mining of rare metal, Vibranium, Wakanda has never been colonized. Some might say what's the big deal behind their lack of colonization? The big deal lies in the rejection of underlying white supremacy ideologies. The rejection of the idea that a nation can only be successful if Europeans visit and "enlighten" the "ignorant" with their beliefs of how a nation should work. While several scenes from the film illustrate this notion, the strongest one is perhaps when CIA member, Everett Ross, is taken to Wakanda after being shot. T'Challa's younger sister, Shuri nurses him back to health in effortless fashion within a day's time much to the surprise of Ross. He is so shocked, he does not comprehend how he could have been shot in the spine the day before and fully healed now.

        While Wakanda's advancement is beyond admirable, there is a drawback to it. Their refusal to share their technological advancement with the rest of the world hits a sore spot with exiled Wakandan, Erik Killmonger. "There are a lot of people in the world whose lives are a lot harder...where was Wakanda?" Killmonger speaks after defeating T'Challa in ritual combat and taking over the throne. While Killmonger makes a good point about sharing this technology with the world (a view shared by W'kabi, T'Challa's confidant) for its overall betterment, his motives are terribly misguided. He is more driven by revenge for his father's death at the hands of his Uncle (T'Challa's late father) than he is by helping his people. His ego even causes him to burn all of the remaining heart shaped herbs in order to prevent a new king from eventually taking the throne.

        Within these scenarios, there are very interesting real life parallels. For the first one, we could potentially look at Wakanda as Ancient Egypt. No outsider can understand the development of Wakanda's technology just as no outsiders can figure what type of technology allowed the Egyptians to build the pyramids. Another parallel could be America's refusal to share all of its resources with all the citizens of the country. In one of the richest nations in the world, it's practically impossible to believe that not enough money/resources exist to clean up all of the ghettos and spread the wealth, but I digress.

        One last thing we are left to wonder after seeing the film is the what if question. What if there was or is a real Wakanda? What if there is a nation in the world so far advanced than all the others? What would it look like? How could they help the rest of us? Would they be willing to help the rest of us? Why should they? I guess only time will tell.

     Ultimately through its star studded cast (Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Chadwick Boseman, Michael B. Jordan, and numerous others), empowering Black Pride messages and symbolism, and desire for world betterment, Black Panther leaves us with lessons of humility, forgiveness, and the notion that white acceptance/approval is not, never has been, and never will be needed to validate Black Greatness.