Rationale/Argument
Black Panther, a superhero film based on a Marvel Comics character with the same name, was released in February of 2018 and met with huge success. It is only fitting that the first Marvel movie with a predominantly Black cast was released during Black History Month. It is the highest grossing film by a Black director, and the ninth highest grossing film of all time. Perhaps the most spectacular aspect of this film is the home of the Black Panther.
The Black Panther, or T’Challa as we’ve come to know, resides in Wakanda. Wakanda is a fictional, land-locked country in Africa surrounded by mountains and forests. Despite appearing as an impoverished nation to the outside world, it is revealed that Wakanda is in fact the richest country in the world. This is due to a stash of alien metal called vibranium, which crashed landed in Wakanda long ago by way of a meteor. This vibranium allows Wakanda access to the most advanced technology on the planet, and allows them to conceal themselves from the rest of the world. Normally bricolage, a creation from a diverse range of existing items or ideas, is used to undermine history. Things done in a post-modern fashion often put style over substance, like bricolage. Through the combination of representations of African countries, women, and world history, Black Panther builds a post-modern utopia in Wakanda using bricolage to infuse style with substance.
One part of bricolage used in the film is in regards to Wakanda’s striking similarities with the real African nation of Botswana. French postmodern theorist Jean Baudrillard believes simulation is an aspect of postmodern popular culture. He is paraphrased by John Storey saying; “Simulations can often be experienced as more real than the real itself – even better than the real thing” (Storey, 2015, p.198). Baudrillard claims, “Disneyland is presented as imaginary in order to make us believe that the rest is real, when in fact all of Los Angeles and the America surrounding it are no longer real, but of the order of the hyperreal and of simulation.” (Storey, 2015, p. 201). There seems to be a fear that the unreal thing will become more popular than the real thing, and thus be interpreted as the real thing. Wakanda may represent Botswana in the same fashion that Disneyland represents America. While Wakanda sits on a large source of vibranium, Botswana sits on a large source of diamonds (Mudede, 2018). Botswana’s source was hidden and the British left before it was found. Wakanda’s source was always deliberately hidden. Wakanda appears as a poor nation, but in fact is rich. Botswana appears as a poor nation due to common ignorance, when in fact it is documented as a middle-income country. China and Brazil are considered middle-income just to name a few. However, merely highlighting similarities between Wakanda and a real African country is not enough to cement its status as a postmodern utopia.
A utopia is defined as a place of ideal perfection especially in laws, government, and social conditions. The social conditions regarding the representation of women in Wakanda promote gender equality, and is the next piece of our bricolage. French theorist Jean-Francois Lyotard helped introduce the term postmodernism into academic circulation (Storey). According to Lyotard, “Postmodernism is said to signal the collapse of all metanarratives with their privileged truth to tell, and to witness instead the increasing sound of a plurality of voices from the margins, with their insistence on difference, on cultural diversity, and the claims of heterogeneity over homogeneity” (Storey, 2015, p. 196). Black Panther’s Dora Milaje are a good example of voices from the margins. The Black Panther is guarded by a group of warrior women named the Dora Milaje. They are recruited among the various tribes composing the Wakandan population. In the real world, women are not nearly as represented in the armed forces as men are. The Dora Milaje, however, are the protectors of the king himself as well as some of the most skilled fighters in all of Wakanda. They are led by General Okoye, a rare representation of a female general. In addition, T’Challa’s sister, Shuri, is one of the smartest people in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. She is the brain behind the majority of Wakanda’s technology. It is clear in the film that there is no discrimination between a woman’s job and a man’s job. Wakanda emulates real world countries and social conditions, but it also has similarities to colonialism and lack thereof.
Through representation of world history, it is shown that Wakanda prospered without the intervention from any foreign invaders. It grew to become the most advanced country in the world. The antagonist of the story, Erik Killmonger, wanted to take the throne so he could end Wakanda’s isolationist ways. His father, T’Challa’s uncle, was murdered by T’Challa’s father after betraying Wakanda in an attempt to help those in need. That makes T’Challa and Killmonger cousins and also gives Killmonger all the more reason to usurp the throne. In the film Killmonger represents colonialism. In Gloria Anzaldua’s How to Tame a Wild Tongue, she expressed the trouble she had with speaking her own language. “I remember being caught speaking Spanish at recess – that was good for three licks on the knuckles with a sharp ruler.” In Black Panther, they freely speak English and their home tongue, Xhosa, without any consequences since they hadn’t been colonized. Killmonger was born and raised in America. He is the outsider who arrives in a foreign land and takes control. After beating T’Challa in ritual combat, Killmonger took the throne and began implementing his ideals on the conservative Wakandans. In the end he was defeated, but his influence permanently changed Wakanda. In James Paul Gee’s Discourse, Small d, Big D, he says, “Discourses are about being “kinds of people” (Hacking, 1986). There are different ways to be an African-American or Latino. Thus, there are different kinds of African-Americans or any other cultural group.” Thus, there are different ways to be Wakandan. This is shown in Black Panther through Killmonger, an outsider who happens to be Wakandan. After his defeat, Wakanda decided to end its isolationist ways and share its resources with the world. Lyotard expressed a view about science that one could say was similar to Killmonger’s. “Science is important to Lyotard because of the role assigned to it by the Enlightenment. Its task, through the accumulation of scientific knowledge, is to play a central role in the gradual emancipation of humankind” (Storey, 2015, p.196). Killmonger wanted to use Wakanda’s knowledge of science to emancipate people, specifically Black people, who were being oppressed.
Black Panther’s use of bricolage to infuse style with substance paints Wakanda as a post-modern utopia. I’m not the only one with this mindset. “Just as Wakanda is a utopian symbol for Black people and it’s depiction of a nation relatively untouched by colonialism, so does it now represent an ideal world in which men a women coexist respectfully on an equal playing field” (The Women of Wakanda). Aspects of this utopia are shown through representations of African countries, gender equality, and world history. Its similarity to Botswana, lack of gender discrimination, lack of colonialism (until Killmonger) are proof of this. This collection of representations is important as it may dismantle stereotypes of Africa as a whole. So often countries in Africa are portrayed as savage and impoverished in popular culture. As we discussed earlier, simulations can become more real than the actual authentic thing simply by being more recognizable. With the widespread success of the movie (ninth highest grossing film of all time) and its inevitable sequel, it may only be a matter of time before everyone in the world thinks of Wakanda when they think of Africa. Whether or not that is a good thing is a topic of discussion for another day.
Composing Process
Creating this project was simpler than the past videos that I’ve edited. I went onto Piktochart, chose a template, and began inserting text and pictures. Every piece of info that made my argument in the project was pulled from the rationale. I made the color scheme black and purple to resemble T’Challa’s suit. Taking into account some feedback from class, I inserted hyperlinks to various media throughout the project: videos of Wakanda, fan art, and the Black Panther album. The pictures I used all came from Google Images. This Piktochart was basically just my argument in a more visually appealing and less text-heavy format. My tactile element is a proposed element: an exhibit at a museum of Wakanda called “The Jewel of Africa”. This postmodern exhibit would include the advanced buildings in the background, with the women of Wakanda (mostly the Dora Milaje) standing next to T’Challa on a flat plain in front of the city. Beneath them would be an underground view of their large stash of vibranium. All of them would be doing the “Wakanda Forever” salute. Although simple, this exhibit would represent everything I’ve argued in my rationale.
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