-------
Part 3 Appreciating Black Panther Beyond
the 12 Myths of Black Liberation
By Earl Hazell | See Part 1 Click Here | Part 2 Click Here | Part 4 Click Here
the 12 Myths of Black Liberation
By Earl Hazell | See Part 1 Click Here | Part 2 Click Here | Part 4 Click Here
KILLMONGER, THE ALPHA
In fact, in his zeal to defend Black American men, Lebron did not express a full appreciation of the degree to which Black Panther rose above the majority (if not all) of the soul-wearying stereotypes in which even quality white movies today are often mired. There are no Toms, Coons, Mulattoes, Mammies, or Bucks to be found in Wakanda.
There are also no Magical Negroes—the other vestigial remnants of antebellum slavery culture—existing for the sole purpose of making white lives easier; not in Wakanda, South Korea, or Oakland. White people, in fact, are never central at any time in this film; whether they are good, evil or generally indifferent, they're all either dumb, oblivious, or stupid.
Had the CIA agent been a real James Bond type, it would have centralized him in the story. Had the villain Klaue been too smart to be fooled by Killmonger, he would have been. The rest of the white people in this film are arguably dumb bystanders, whether they're walking down the street, gambling in a club, helping a smuggler smuggle, or speaking at the United Nations.
And the Bechdel test is one that Black Panther couldn’t have passed with more flying colors if T’Challa married Wonder Woman. The women of Wakanda couldn’t have been more central, independent, interactive or vital above and beyond their relationships to the men.
That leaves the source material, which Ryan Coogler honored in ways that surpass much of both Marvel Comics and D.C. Comics-based fare of even the past several years. Add to that some pretty extraordinary CGI and an extraordinarily well-paced story, and the reasons for the critical as well as popular acclaim for the movie become painstakingly clear.
So clear, in fact, that a knee jerk response to Killmonger, cousin to T’Challa but born and raised (as a “black thug”) in Oakland, demands another look. Lebron says that “These imaginings (i.e. ‘an immensely rich and flourishing advanced African nation that is sealed off from white colonialism and supremacy; and a few black Wakandans with a vision of global black solidarity who are determined to use Wakanda’s privilege to emancipate all black people’) could be made to reconcile, but the movie’s director and writer (with Joe Cole), Ryan Coogler, makes viewers choose.” This is where a political ideologue’s misperception of artistic construct can inadvertently insult the intelligence of Black audiences.
