An Afrocentric Discussion of Black Panther
An Afrocentric Discussion of Black Panther
Junious
Ricardo Stanton
On Saturday
afternoon on March 10 the Molefi Kete Asante Institute and Afrocentricity
International held a discussion on the Black
Panther movie at their headquarters 5535 Germantown Avenue . The multi-generation
audience consisted of students, intellectuals, retirees and working folks.
The program included watching
trailers of the film, listening to written critiques of the film, how
propaganda is used and an open discussion regarding the positive and negative
aspects of the superhero movie which has grossed over one billion dollars world
wide in just four weeks.
Dr. Molefi Kete Asante the founder
of the Afrocentricty movement, whose institute owns and operates the building
where the program was held, began the program by reading critiques of the film
by Maulana Karenga and himself. Nabeelah Bey also distributed her critique of
the film. Dr Ama Mazamu began the open discussion about the film.
Dr. Mazamu began the dialogue by
asking the audience to share what they liked about the film and what they
thought were its most positive aspects. Comments ranged from how the film
provided awesome visuals and optics about a fictional African nation in a
manner never seen before in Hollywood productions.
Several attendees mentioned the impact the film was having on pop culture, how
it is generating interest in things African such as culture, history, fashions,
natural hair styles and providing a catalyst for envisioning Africans beyond
the stultifying Hollywood depictions of us by our
oppressors. The portrayal of the women in the film, the talented actresses,
richly hued strong females who did not acquiesce to Hollywood
stereotypical behavior was also mentioned by several members of the audience. A
few mentioned the film was spurring forums and discussions like this one that are
fostering media literacy and analysis. Several expressed their pleasure the
film is so successful.
When Dr. Mazamu asked about the
negative aspects of the film, there were numerous opinions and observations
shared and expressed by the attendees. One
criticism was the film was not a true depiction of African governance; some
disagreed with the film’s portrayal of leadership succession. They said the
film was not consistent with Africa ’s history.
Several people felt the T’Challa
character was weak. Several mentioned how despite her brilliance the Shuri
character was disrespectful to her brother in one scene.
The most passionate conversation
centered around the films messages, how it depicted: nationalism,
self-determination, the role of Africans in the global liberation struggle
particularly which point of view was more correct: Prince N’Jobu’s of King
T’Chake. Prince N’Jobu was one of many spies Wakanda sent out
to monitor what is going on around the world who was living in Oakland
California (the home of the real life Black Panther Party) who witnessed the
suffering of Black people around the world and wants to intervene using
Wakandan technology, or King T’Chaka who wants to keep Wakanda inaccessible and
uninvolved. During a fight King T’Chaka kills his brother N’Jobu who has a son
Erik living in Oakland .
T’Chaka returns to Wakanda but doesn’t bring N’Jobu’s body to Wakanda denying
him a funeral and leaving his son abandoned. The unresolved options are
presented to a second generation. Erik
the son of N’Jobu has the same view as his father while T’Challa favors the
policy of T’Chaka.
All the men are complex but the
attendees expressed concerns regarding how N’Jobu and Erik’s
interventionist/liberation views were presented in the film. It was noted both
men were killed by family members: N’Jobu by his brother T’Chaka and Erik by
his cousin T’Challa. Some saw this as not just anti-liberation,
anti-nationalist propaganda but also a metaphor for the high levels of
fratricide we are experiencing in our communities in this country.
Another hot button issue was the
CIA agent Everett Ross character, one of only two whites in the film. It was
pointed out to be successful Marvel needed the two white characters to attract
white movie goers and they especially needed one of them to be a “good guy”.
Almost everyone took exception to the fact the “good guy” was a CIA agent given
the havoc the US CIA has wrecked on the continent of Africa .
Someone asked how was it possible the CIA agent could fly advanced Wakandan
airships?
It was a lively, respectful and
extremely informative discussion. We realized Marvel Studio and Disney are not
in the business of glorifying Africans, or telling our story. Their goal is to
make money and continue building their cinematic universe with the help of a
block buster film like Black Panther.
The final take away was African
people must make and market our own films and tell our stories by tapping into
the deep and rich reservoir of African history and culture for real models and
lessons we can use to empower and elevate our people.
-30-
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