Black Panther- A Battle of Ideals

All Marvel movies involve an imaginary universe interacting with the real one, and ordinary people who become superheroes or superheroes that are royalty in other worlds. There’s a good guy and a bad guy and there’s always a war over a territory and/or powerful weapon.  There’s a clear message about right and wrong that everyone can agree upon.  Furthermore, everyone knows what a hero looks like.  It’s an unwritten code.

What an ideal genre to present the black problem in.

You see many white people don’t seem to understand the issues blacks have faced for centuries.  They think it’s too complicated and no one likes to talk about it. This statement is definitely an oversimplification but I thought it was necessary when talking about simplifying things.

This is why Black Panther is so critical to the black problem. 

All of a sudden a misrepresented, misunderstood group of people are sharing their story on screen.  Suddenly they are elevated. Their true identity is called forth. The film asks, “what if we actually lived like the royalty that we are?”

For all humans it’s always been about a throne. We were meant to rule and reign. But I think for blacks in particular the throne is a really important metaphor. They have been defined by powerlessness.  From not being allowed to sit on a bus to not being able to sit at a diner, black Americans have been standing for centuries.

Another important ethical question to be asked is, “What does it mean to be loyal to your tribe? To your throne?”  For some it meant staying and fighting intellectually for the ideals of the throne when there was a take over.  For others it was the uniting of armies for an overthrow.

On the micro level though this question deals with issues of abandonment and healing.  Oftentimes being loyal to your tribe is a loyalty beyond your country but to your brothers and sisters who need you.  It’s about sharing your resources when you are blessed with the less fortunate.  (The Christian might insert the question “Who is my neighbor” for “who is my tribe?”)

I think the most powerful storyline was the lost cousin who comes to usurp the throne, avenging his father’s death and his own abandonment.  The moment I believe that defined the king as hero was him addressing his father and saying, “what you did was wrong!” And then saying to his cousin, “You may still be healed.”  That was when he began to re-define his tribe to mean his brothers and sisters outside of Wakanda.

To me Black Panther was a representation to white America from black America (and Africa) saying, “This is who we are.” It is the oppressed finally having a voice. Finally having a hero in the fighting ring. Yeah we finally got a black Disney princess a few years back. But we’ve been waiting for a king.