I didn’t see it like that. Largely because Wakanda wasn’t colonized, and couldn’t be. Given how they are scientifically ahead of everyone else and that they have access to all-purpose plot spackle i.e. Vibranium which does everything, they are under no threat whatsoever. Indeed, the villain is villainous because his plan to plunge the world into war and, perhaps, conquer it has a chance.
The movie Wakanda suffers from the same ailment as its Black Panther. Power overload. Once you make something as powerful as they are (Panther has the speed and reflexes to dodge bullets, but his uncanny stealth means hardly anyone need see him and fire, but neither of those matter one whit because he’s entirely bulletproof) furnishing interesting conflict becomes difficult.
Indeed, if Wakanda had checks and balances there’d hardly be a story because the villain wouldn’t have gotten the superpower juice in the first place and would have had hard luck pushing his agenda past a population which, as far as I can make out, didn’t really want to follow him. And a country with a population as educated and intelligent as Wakanda’s must be would have had those checks and balances. Not ours, no, but some. If you look at actual African societies before colonization they were not in any way primitive and were as intricate about their balance of power as any Greek city-state or what-have-you. And if you added thousands of years of development as a highly technological and highly educated society (which you need if your main city is a high-tech metropolis)… well, it boggles the mind. They should have technology of governance far in excess of anything we’ve ever implemented.
The writer had to synthetically cripple them just to make the story work. Not a good sign.
This would probably be a good time to remind folks that the MCU isn’t the real universe that we occupy.
In BP, the Oakland they show exists in the same world where NYC was attacked by aliens from another dimension, and a place named Sokovia was levitated off the face of the earth before being destroyed.
In real life, T’Challa’s plans probably would be gentrification, but it isnt; and guess what?
Gentrification is currently happening in the real life Oakland at lightning speed, and yet… the people doing it look nothing like the Wakandans, or their American counterparts.
Long story short; let us have our brief escapism without nitpicking it to death…
Perhaps they’ll provide self driving vibranium buses to transport the technocrats to work at the tech hub and the buses would have really cool wood inlay because set design. I’m kidding btw or sheesh as you say.
in a way, I really liked him as a villain because I hated him as a character. While he did play the “Ugly american” it was not played as caricature, we know he’s wrong, the whole world know’s he is wrong, but we also see why he cannot see it’s wrong, and we see that Wakandans are in part responsible for who he is just because they did not take responsibility when they should have. As Melz pointed out, his grievance against Wakanda was very much justified. his political view of the world is narrow, but that’s because of the world he grew up in. He’s a tragic figure really.
Everyone’s acting like it’s such a revelation that Erik Killmonger is a somewhat sympathetic character. Of course he is–they totally sanitized him from the comics, where he’s known as Adolf Horseraper.
Yes, it’s made abundantly clear he’s a villain because of his methods, not his goals or ideals which he actually shares with the hero.
That’s why there’s that insanely on the nose sequence where the CIA agent takes everyone aside, audience included, and just says “yes, we trained Killmonger to do these things, these things we literally historically did to African nations, and Killmonger is going to do them to Wakanda because abandoned by his community he knows nothing other than white colonialism and cannot conceive of any solution but to perpetuate it in a different colour, and that’s wrong and that’s why we have to stop him. I understand it’s weird that I, a CIA agent, am being seemingly absolved of these crimes in this movie but it’s because I’m an existing comic book character already established in a different movie and perhaps there’s a chance of recognising that structures of today are not those of yesterday, who knows. He’ll put on the blinged out cat suit and we’ll have a big fight.”
Black Panther is an Integral masterpiece disguised as a Marvel superhero film. The 3 major female characters represent the 3 major stages of consciousness – Mythic, Rational, and Pluralistic – in their healthy forms. The 3 major male characters represent the 3 stages in their pathological forms. All 3 male characters undergo a specific evolution into the next stage. The film is practically perfect in modeling evolutionary consciousness across all its domains, and in layering it in so deeply you can see the film and never know about those deeper layers. And it integrates multiple themes in very subtle ways: commentary on race, class, colonialism, structural injustice, and the Deep State are woven through the film…all from a point of view that is outside of and observing the American & European construct field.
OK, your prodding reminded me, and I watched it. Certainly a more low key indi film that was a great slice of life with some great acting and cinematography. It lacked a sort of traditional story arch with an open ended conclusion. But it was in interesting character study. I liked it.
I saw at the end that Brad Pitt executive produced it? Huh.
Moonlight was an arresting movie. It was just beautiful shot, especially. It was the little things - like when Chiron gets down to Florida and combs his hair after getting out of the car, or when he’s talking to his mom at the place… Or when he’s on the beach with Juan… or the scene where he’s asking Juan about what the other boys are calling him. Just all so beautiful played, framed, and emoted.
