Wakanda is the most technologically advanced nation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In the heart of Africa, it is all Black everything and ruled by a superhero, the Black Panther, aka T’Challa.
Note: This post is based on “Black Panther: Nation Under Our Feet” (2016) by Ta-Nehisi Coates. The Black Panther film will not be out till this Friday in the US (Thursday in New York).
- Location: Marvel Cinematic Universe, in Africa just west of Lake Victoria (about where Uganda and Rwanda are in our universe).
- Ruler: T’Challa.
- Major cities: Birnin Zana (seat of government), Birnin Azzaria (seat of learning).
- Culture: Pan-African. Has Zulu and Maasai elements.
- Language: Wakandan. Has Swahili loan words.
- Religion: the goddess, the tree, orishas, shamans, spirits.
- Government: monarchy. The king is called the Black Panther. His power is supported by the Dora Milaje, an all-female fighting force, celebrated in fable and song.
- Technology: vibranium, nanotech, biomechatronics, kimoyo bands, midnight angel prototype.
- Economy: vibranium-based, non-colonial.
Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU): where Spiderman, Captain America, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk and others live. (Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman live in the DC Universe or DCU.)
Vibranium, the “vaunted metal”, comes from the huge Mena Ngai meteor strike in Wakanda. It absorbs kinetic energy and sound and can form a power network among its pieces. It powers Wakandan technology, from spears to personal bracelets (kimoyo bands). Because of its network quality, it is not something that can be easily carted away to make someone else rich, the fate of much of Africa’s wealth, from diamonds to chocolate to slaves.
The Djalia: the plane of Wakandan memory. A griot lives there, an old woman who is “a caretaker of all our histories, now lost to the acolytes of machine, and the prophets of this metal age.”
Torn: Wakanda is torn and has lost its way. There is an uprising in the south and revolution in the north. The king, T’Challa, can follow the souls of others but has lost his own. He allowed Queen Shuri, his own sister, to be killed and did nothing. His soldiers massacred vibranium miners. He was busy saving the world while Wakanda was falling apart. He brings shame to his people, not hope.
Wakanda, like most nations, is founded on lies and dishonesty. Unlike most, it is torn three ways by Wakandan science, animistic religion, and Lockean philosophy.
Changamire, the philosopher:
“Wakanda has all the intelligence any advanced society would want, and none of the wisdom that any free society needs.”
The griot of the Djalia:
“You have been told that the might of your country is in its wonderful inventions, in its circuits and weaponry. This is the mastery of things. But Wakanda was great before it had things, and its secrets are older than any vaunted metal. …
“Here we will arm you not with the spear, but with the drum, for it is the drum that carries the greatest power of all, the power of memory, daughter, the power of our song.”
– Abagond, 2018.
See also:
- Ta-Nehisi Coates
- John Locke
- shaman
- orisha
- Swahili
- Wakanda (as told by Coates) runs counter to these racist tropes:
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Black Panther the cartoon character was created by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby, the film produced by Kevin Feige & David J. Grant none of whom are African American. Like Amos ‘n Andy and Minstrel Shows before another example of “white” controlled media utilizing “black” tropes to entertain “white” audiences, while “black” folks get little to nothing out of the deal except a couple hours of entertainment. Where’s the Black Power represented by The Black Panther in that?
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I am glad the film is doing great at the box office. Doing it for the culture, Happy Black History. Aesthetically it looks beautiful and the cast looks majestic will all their melanin and radiance. Black people are beautiful. ππΎππΎππΎ
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Is there a prequel I need to read or watch before going to see this film? Or will I get the full gist of the storyline just from what’s presented?
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Forgot to say thank you for this post!
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Everybody else become powerful by using their wits and hands, but not Wakanda, “the most technologically advanced nation of the Marvel Cinematic Universe “, that happens to be black, instead, they get lucky when a meteor hits them. Sounds like some poor family winning the lottery. I’ll wait for the pirate version of this farce and insult to the intelligence of black people. Well, at least we now know where magic Negroes come from.
“I am glad the film is doing great at the box office. Doing it for the culture, Happy Black History. Aesthetically it looks beautiful and the cast looks majestic will all their melanin and radiance.”
Mary Burrell, please tell me you are joking, didn’t you get enough of this kind of feel good nonsense courtesy of corporate America with eight years of Obama?
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@gro jo: Go hug a pet monkey and kick rocks in open toe shoes. You and your opinion is a non factor, shut the entire hell up.
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@ LaLa Lives Online
I have not seen the film, but it will presumably be self-explanatory since they would want more than just Black Panther fans to come see it.
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@ Walter H. Gavin
I could turn out to be a Whitewash like you say, unfortunately. Even “12 Years a Slave” and “Hidden Figures” were made more White-friendly than the (Black-authored) books they came from.
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“@gro jo: Go hug a pet monkey and kick rocks in open toe shoes. You and your opinion is a non factor, shut the entire hell up.”
Ouch, you really know how to hurt a guy. You can’t handle the truth, can you?
Having thanked me on more than one occasion for enlightening you, I’ll disregard this display of uncharacteristic touchiness.
“Doing it for the culture”. Please expand on this cryptic comment.
“@ Walter H. Gavin
I could turn out to be a Whitewash like you say, unfortunately. Even β12 Years a Slaveβ and βHidden Figuresβ were made more White-friendly than the (Black-authored) books they came from.” And yet, you devoted a post to this fluff but couldn’t be bothered to commemorate the anniversary of the first emancipation from slavery of the modern world, that happens to fall on February 4, 1794, during your decade long hosting of this blog! Was that event too White-friendly for your taste, or are you allergic to writing about event that don’t simplify the struggle for human rights?
“I could turn out to be a Whitewash like you say, unfortunately”. Hmm, a Freudian slip of the pen or keyboard?
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This is a public service announcement: for those in Massachusetts (and nearby parts of New Hampshire and Rhode Island), Black Panther is out today (Thursday) in Boston, Somerville, Cambridge, Arlington, Newton, Waltham, Braintree, Hingham, Woburn, Deadham, and Reading. All of those towns are within Route 128, so no luck if you live too far outside of Metro Boston. I guess you will have to wait until (gasp!) tomorrow.
I like superhero movies and am glad to see more diversity in them. Plus, I think Michael B. Jordan is pretty hot.
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@Paige:
Are you one of these white women who fetishize black men?
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It looks very well done. The cool special effects and beautiful scenery look amazing. But when I first saw the trailer I had a few thoughts.
1. Does the Panther use their technology to fight slavery?
2. Does the Panther fight against European colonialism?
3. Why is he good friends with a CIA agent? We know thier history conspiring against black progressive groups.
I doubt Panther will fight against white oppression. Marvel wouldnβt give us a superhero that fights for truth and justice. They donβt want to give us any ideas. Black Panther was created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby(two Jewish men). The fact that Panther doesnβt fight against racism shows you itβs a white-created character.
People can enjoy the film with thier families. I know black children want to see themselves as superheroes. Iβm all for that. But just keep in mind that itβs still Hollywood propaganda. And always see the bigger picture. Too many times black people accept style over substance.
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@ Kushite Prince
“Too many times black people accept style over substance.”
So true. That is a major weakness for Black people.
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Conservatives are messing their pants over this film.
https://whyy.org/articles/make-movies-great-alt-right-cinematic-backlash/
https://culturedvultures.com/black-panthers-poor-imdb-score-indicative-alt-right-fear/
http://www.rightwingwatch.org/post/ben-shapiro-is-bothered-that-black-people-are-excited-about-black-panther/
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@ Brothawolf
Thanks for the links.
It is interesting that a group of people who bellow their supposed “superiority” are always in threatened mode when they are not the center of attention.
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@ gro jo
“…at least we now know where magic Negroes come from.”
Perceptive as ever.
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Came across this review on RogerEbert.com.
https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/black-panther-2018
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Thanks for link Afrofem. Loved the movie, the black cast, the black soundtrack with even south African house hits featuring in the lab scenes, Micheal B Jordan who definitely needs a villain award (plus fine man award lol) and the #blackgirlmagic blessing almost every scene. The accents were a bit confusing as each region in Africa tends to have somewhat distinct accents whereas the Wakanda people has a mix. I guess underlying it all “is black people, OK so you are/can be powerful but please don’t seek revenge” looooooool
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Thanks for the reply, @Abagond. The film is sold out in my area so I won’t see it until tomorrow (Monday). Someone else told me to watch Captain America: Civil War as a precursor to Black Panther and I did. Not only is he introduced in that movie, but there’s a post-credits scene that lays the groundwork for his feature film. Although I’m sure you are right that the story is told in a way newcomers can also enjoy, I do like having a little backstory on not just the main character, but peripheral ones and any references made. I’m sure I won’t get them all since there are a handful of movies before Civil War, but after watching it I already feel a bit more invested in BP’s story. Thanks and have a great week!
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#3 is the biggest problem the movie if you ask me
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@Heru Sankofa
That’s what you get when white people control the narrative. Hollywood tricked black people. They made us think it would be a film about black unity and a black nation. They are real wizards in Hollywood. A white CIA agent is a hero. But the Pan African that wants to save his people is the villain. Total bullcrap! That film is psychological warfare on the black mind. If you leave that theater thinking that Killmonger was the bad guy then you can’t truly be “woke” lol
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Perfect or imperfect, Black Panther is crushing it at the box office in its debut weekend. According to HuffPo:
https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/black-panther-smashes-box-office-numbers-with-huge-opening-weekend_us_5a8706bee4b00bc49f4391a3
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yeah i started like ok so capt america’s shield is an alloy of vibranium but abagond was talking about the network empowerment aspect, so i’m looking at pdf’s of corny 1960’s comic books lord you can have that all, we downloaded it but is poor quality, i’m still waiting for my guy to pay me, so we didn’t go yesterday, enchante
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we stopped watching some jungle warfare ambush thing or whatever
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@Kushite Prince
” If you leave that theater thinking that Killmonger was the bad guy…”
I just had this same conversation with someone at work. I hope that, as the dust settles from opening weekend and people really start to digest this film, that more people start to see just how much this movie has to offer.
Killmonger is just one example. To me, he wasn’t “the bad guy”. Sure, he was cast as the anti-hero to the extent that T’Challa was the hero. But, neither was clearly entirely right or entirely wrong. I believe they were intended to trigger this exact conflict. It’s not too often that a movie can make you empathize with, or relate to, both “hero” and “villain” and Black Panther blurs those lines everywhere. But that mirrors reality far more than many would care to admit.
So, I agree with your point 100%. If you leave thinking of him only as a bad guy, you’re hopelessly “un-woke”. But, maybe the whole point wasn’t to trick anyone into thinking of him as bad, but instead to trick people into seeing more nuance than they were willing to see before.
I don’t want to venture too deep into spoiler territory. So, I’ll just add that I think Killmonger’s character is a metaphor for several people who’s biographies should be required reading.
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If you liked the movie, you’ll love the Broadway musical. The new Lion King. Hakuna Matata, representing βthe cultureβ since 1994.
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Interesting, the alt-right loves Wakanda!
https://squawker.org/culture-wars/black-panther-the-ultimate-alt-right-hero/
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@gro jo:
Not surprised. The comments are comical.
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