The Black Panther film has been called revolutionary for its primarily black cast and taking place almost entirely in Africa. However, beneath the Afro-futurism Wakanda also acts as a subtle allegory to the United States both in terms of our history our place in international politics.
x.Both Were Extremely Isolationist Before the War
It may be difficult to remember now that America is involved in just about everything but before WW2 the U.S. was primarily an isolationist nation and although like Wakanda there was a trade with other nations (That’s how Cap got the Vibranium for his shield) when it came to military policy, we mostly kept to ourselves.
This was until WW2.
x.Captain America: Civil War is WW2 for Wakanda
The MCU’s “Civil War” is the equivalent of Wakanda’s WW2. Much like the United States at the time Wakanda did not want to get involved in the war, they just wanted to help arbitrate from outside.
This was until they were forced to become involved after a surprise attack. For the United States it was Pearl Harbor, for Wakanda it was the attack on the UN which killed King T’Chaka. The parallels run even deeper, because in the Civil War the biggest battle of the movie is the airport fight which takes place in Germany, and while they changed Baron Zemo’s character for the film his comic book counterpart is, in fact, a card-carrying Nazi.
Black Panther puts an end to his plot when he catches Zemo and prevents him from shooting himself in the head (just like Hitler did)
x.M’Baku and Civil Unrest
After the war Black Panther returns from Germany to his homeland, much like American soldiers did, to find civil unrest waiting for him at home.
As he ascends to the throne he is challenged by M’Baku of the Jabari tribe for the right to rule. M’Baku is not a power hungry villain like his comic book counterpart. Instead, he makes it clear that he is challenging the leadership in the name of helping his people.
The Wakandans are all African but they consist of several different tribes and M’Baku is challenging T’challa because he feels that the Jabari are underrepresented and disenfranchised.
The separation between the Jabari and the rest of the Wakandan tribes is intentional and made even more pronounced by the fact that they speak Igbo rather then Xhosa which is spoken by the rest of the Wakandans. Later in the movie, M’Baku even states that he is the first king in centuries that has bothered to come to the Jabari’s home village.
Although certainly not a severe as in the United States it is made clear that Wakanda also has a long history of racial/tribal tensions.
x.Vibranium is Wakanda Version of Atomic Power
WW2 marked the U.S. as a major fighting and economic force but what really cemented our standing as a superpower was the arrival of atomic power.
The U.S. was the first to have it just like Wakanda was the first to have vibranium which seems to have just as many offensive and technological applications. Not to mention once it was found that these nations had these shiny, amazing new toys everyone else wanted them.
Intelligence agencies all around the world are just as enticed at getting vibranium as they are nuclear secrets. This leads us to South Korea where T'Challa goes undercover in a casino with two femme falls on his arm and a suit full of gadgets to intercept some vibranium undercover CIA agent Ross is attempting to buy Vibranium from Klaue in South Korea.
This premise has all the aspects of a 60's cold war spy movie.
x. KillMonger Represents America’s Violent Foreign Policy
KillMonger mentions that while in the military he served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. This is no accident. Kilmongers goal is to use the super technology of Wakanda to invade the outside world free the oppressed people from their oppressors. Sound familiar?
Liberating the oppressed people was the excuse the Bush administration used when they couldn't find WMD's. Kilmonger’s goals are reflective of the bloody American interventionist policy that has refused to learn the lesson of Vietnam. He wants to force revolution and liberation but that’s where his plans end.
He never mentions anything of governing after this supposed revolution is supposed to take place. In short, much like in the Iraq war, he has no exit strategy.
Kilmonger's military background draws a parallel between the modern American intervention in the world and centuries of European colonialism. The Afghanistan war has been going on for almost two decades, US troops finally left Iraq after a decade in 2011 but returned to intervene again after the countries destabilization from the war allowed ISIS to gain a foothold and is currently intervening in the Syrian civil war with no end in sight.
x.The UN Speech and Donald Trump
By the end of the movie, T’Challa refuses the isolationism of the past, and the military takeover of foreign nations that Kilmonger wanted and decides on a something in between.
He will no longer have Wakanda withhold itself from the world and has begun foreign aid programs but he will not engage in unprovoked military interventionism. At his UN announcement, he has this to say.
Post A Comment: