First of all I would like to establish that Wakanda is a Afro-Centric, Ethno-State; which is a political unit that is populated by and run in the interest of an ethnic group. In this case the group is the entire country of Wakanda and the ethnic group is the Africans whom reside their. Wakanda is also the only place in the world with access to vibranium, the most valuable mineral in the world. This alone puts them in a very interesting situation especially in the increasingly globalist world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Because they are the only ones who have access to a material that has a variable cornucopia of uses they facilitate the creation of an even greater market demand for a product that would have been in high demand even if it weren't walled off exclusively by one country. And If there's anything that history teaches us time and time again (both in the real world and in the MCU) it's: Limiting access to a highly sought after resource almost ensures that less that reputable points of contact for access to that resource will increase because there would be a huge market for it. Limiting access to a sought after resource doesn't diminish the demand for that resource generally as much as it just makes the acquisition of that resource require more work. Which in turn allows people who are in the business of acquiring that resource to up the cost the consumers have to pay for the resource to see any sort of substantial return because the cot of accusation goes up. This is how and why black markets spring up and see a huge clientele base in both the real world and the world of Black Panther. The affects of this can be particularly greater in capitalistic or globalized nations. In the film these are the conditions that lead to creation of someone like Ulysses Klaue who sees a small fortune to be made in the business of acquiring and selling the most valuable material in the world (vibranium) even though it poses a huge personal risk because it involves stealing from the most technological advanced countries in the world. Real world equivalents of this are the gangs and speakeasy's that popped up during the Prohibition era in the 1920s and the nuclear arms black market the rose to prominence after the first Vietnam war. This is one example of how having an isolationist mentality when it comes to sought after resources can be potentially damaging to your country. Or in this case was actually damaging to Wakanda because it directly resulted millions in property damage and collateral as a result of T'Challa and his subordinates trying to get their vibranium off of the black market. A cost I can only assume Wakanda is stuck in a perpetual loop of having to constantly pay because of this practice, that I can't imagine being good for their economy.
The second example I want to look at is a little bit more subjective and that's Wakanda's social hierarchy and the rules that govern it. Namely their reliance on the primitive "might is right" philosophies when it comes to choosing a king/ someone to uphold the moniker of "Black Panther". And how its is so heavily contradicted by the fact that their is oligarchy in place. I think this creates a weird social dissonance because what it implies is that one can become king if they best the old king in combat but they are initiated as king to a royal council of T'Challa's relatives. It helps to foster a perception of a leadership group that is only self contained and interested, particularly when they aren't seeing the specific needs of their people. Having a sort of royal family in charge almost insures that in the wake of any socio economic crisis the blame will fall on the entire house of leadership and allegations of inner family conspirators will be brought to the table. Which is why I think T'Challa's friend W'Kabi is so quick to side with Killmonger after he "kills" T'Challa and takes over as king after Killmonger brings him the body of the man who killed his parents, Klaue. This is purely speculator but I think communication with the outside world would lead to them getting more ideas on how to run their governmental hierarchy in a way that doesn't create social dissonance or facility an almost arbitrary form of dissent so easily.
Looking at the broader social impact the film has had in our society and amoungst black Americans specifically; I'm reminded of a quote I read in Elizabeth Reich's essay entitled A Broader Nationalism: Reconstructing Memory, National Narratives and Spectatorship in World War II Black Audience propaganda. Which was: "Along with these mainstream movies, the government also called for propaganda films celebrating black soldiers. The result was three films (two of which were produced outside of Hollywood) developed through intensive collaboration between black and white artists and marketed solely to black audiences. These unusual films – Marching On! (Spencer Williams, 1943), We’ve Come a Long, Long Way (Jack Goldberg, 1943) and The Negro Soldier (Stuart Heisler, 1944) – directly addressed black anxieties about the war by employing the figure of the black soldier to deliver a pro-war message and redress the absence of black representation in nationalist narratives. As propaganda films, aiming to persuade a particular historical demographic, the films demonstrate powerfully how black artists imagined black viewing audiences during World War II, and how they used the figure of the black soldier to reach the minds of black America." (Reich 2) I believe were starting to see some remnants of that in today society except instead of soldiers it's happening with the Black/African Diaspora and Black identity politics. And Black Panther's meta narrative about isolationism is one of the factors that is playing into it.
Source:
A broader nationalism: reconstructing memory, national narratives and spectatorship in World War II black audience propaganda
Screen, Volume 54, Issue 2, 1 June 2013, Pages 174–193,https://doi.org/10.1093/screen/hjt001
Published:
01 June 2013
I watched Black Panther like a week ago. I would say it is one of the best movies that I have watched so far. I agree on the idea that you brought up on your post on limiting access to a sought-after resource on being the main reason on why the black market on the real world or on the movie is increasing. Not only it results on black marketing but also damage a country. The movie is also not just filled with action but also brings the audience on an emotional journey about family and community.
ReplyDelete-Weini W.
Keep in mind I have not seen this movie, my familiarity only extends so much as your post has explained.
ReplyDeleteYou mention propaganda and I only bring this up because you did; do you think that above the obvious African-American empowerment message, do you think there is a second, perhaps more sinister, idea implanted within the narrative. From what I understand, the King of Wakanda and the hero Black Panther are one in the same, if this is false then disregard any of my further scratching. If it is true however, then could this association between King and Hero be a tell of the American people's beloved reliance on government? In that whenever something goes wrong on the economic - or even personal level, the first action of most people seems to be to turn to the government for the solution. Could this film be surreptitiously encouraging this kind of irresponsible behavior?
-Brandon Ince
I suppose one could look at it from that perspective but everything from the primitive nature of the method they use to select the king, to how the kings council is set up and operated would make a one to one comparasion of that kind a bit muddy. But yeah the people of Wakanda are completely reliant on their king for protection so on the surface it could be seen as an advocation for an almost obsessive reliance on the government.
Delete-Kenneth
Kenneth,
ReplyDeleteNear the end of your post you discuss that the primary target of propaganda films during the war was the black community, this is really interesting. The fact that they targeted them in order to instill the image of fairness is ludicrous. Parallel to our present time, we see a lot of public speakers addressing the idea of fairness and equality to the black community, but white communities are overlooked. So that being said, I think the big question is why do black communities need constant reassurance and does this really work? Also, thank you for not revealing any spoilers for those of us who still haven't seen it!
-Aly Hernandez
I also saw this movie recently and thought it was awesome! You briefly touched on Wakanda's political leadership system which I found a bit confusing in the movie. For people who may not have seen the movie, my post has spoilers... but Wakanda is made up of five tribes that have the right to challenge for the throne whenever they wish. If no one challenges, the apparent heir (in the film, T'Challa) will become king. However, four of the Wakandan tribes have lived in harmony under T'Challa's father's rule for the past several decades and for long before him as well. This meant that the only really challenger to the thrown would only ever be the fifth tribe. AND like you said the royal council is comprised of members of the four harmonious tribes so even if a member of the estranged tribe would ever get into power there would be (just like there was in the film when Kilmonger became king) plenty of pushback. My point here is that, although despite having a way to challenge for the thrown, it is only open to members of the royal families of any of the five tribes. In what scenario would it ever be beneficial for one of the three tribes to challenge T'Challa or someone in that family line for the thrown because they live so harmoniously now?
ReplyDeleteAre the Wakandans just maintaining this for traditional senses?
Jared Islas
I enjoyed the film as well! And that's a fair point, a lot of the claims in the second point were more speculatory and theoretical but I do think because of the way their system is set up there would be many an incentive to try to acquire the position of king and many a way to go about doing it. For example if the T'Challa can be challenged for his position and on some moral or social level has to accept, whats to stop any number of the tribes from arranging a coordinated effort to just keep challenging T'Challa until he wears himself out and they kill him or incapacitate him and take his position? It just seems like a loophole they should address, if they want to push the narrative their society is extremely advanced. And as far as T'Challa's father 'harmonious' rule, it came at the cost of lying to the general public about the world around them, squashing decent and detractors in the shadows and failing to address the issue of smugglers smuggling large amounts of their most valuable resources; all pointed characteristics of infamous dictators. As well as information only those on HIS council would've been privy to,I honestly think given enough time someone like W'Kabi could've become a Killmonger-esk character, given the right circumstances. To address the push back argument, sure any regime seeking to supplant the current one will always be met with some objection but in the case of Wakanda this will most likely just be moral and manifest as verbal dissent (which is something the the film established previous Black Panthers have no qualms about stamping out if necessary) I think part of the reason Killmonger particularly saw a lot of push back was because his plans went against the fundamental ideology of Isolationism that the Wakandan leaders proliferated. But a lot of it had to do with the military and council holding out to see if T'Challa was still alive; almost like they knew that people who get thrown off waterfalls in movies never really die from that. I do think the Wakandan's are maintaing their traditional senses but doing this in their world doesn't really make any sense and is what I think lead to them essentially being forced to change.
Delete-Kenneth
I have not watched that movie, but I like the way you were describing the increasingly globalist world of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the one in paragraph 2. It’s like going back to World War I or World War II where you see dictators overpowering every nation they invaded. A dictator who controls taxes, rates, or productions. But the thing is if there is a country that needs to improve first thing it needs is discipline, not a control freak such as a dictator. I’d chosen to live in a country where everyone lives peacefully instead of living in a country where everything has strict laws, and everyone is feeling frustrated and stressed out.
ReplyDelete-Kendra ZeMenye
Great movie selection! I really enjoyed watching this movie. The main reason is because of the massage that was delivered to the African American community. When you say isolationism, that may be due to the fact that it was implicating that involvement with other nations would be detrimental to community. On the other hand, It sort of gives an illusion that African Americans were neglected rather than unreached. In some ways, it is feels true. Almost every nation has his or her origin community that is willing to fight for their own kind. What about African Americans? There was a line on the movie that referred to that. In contrast, there was some parts that was extremely encouraging to ,not just the African Americans, all Americans.
ReplyDelete-Rob D