Imaginary Nation of Wakanda in Black Panther: The Neo-colonized African Continent

Abstract

Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther as a high-profile black superhero film has been lauded especially by African descendants for its features such as diversity of actors and expression of Afrofuturism. As a Hollywood film that is produced under the grand project of Marvel Cinematic Universe, Black Panther is celebrated for representing African (American) characters without distorting them. Thus, in this stance, the film is located within the historical context of African American film production that has long attempted to represent just and empowering images of the Black race. On the other hand, few scholars criticize Black Panther for its way of using African continent which does not differ from popular and everlasting culture prop. Starting from this point, this paper explores in particular the power dynamics surrounding Africa as the Third World via Wakanda as an imaginary space which generates the multi-layered perspectives for approaching the representation of Africa. Although this imaginary nation is supposed to be a leading image of liberating Africa through a cinematic imagination, it only comes to reiterate the existing position which dismisses and devalues African continent since it fails to embrace the continent. In further focusing the relationship among the African, the African American, and Wakanda, this paper also delves into what lies behind the idealistic surface of Black Panther. The detailed examination of the tension between T’Challa, the African, and Killmonger, the African American, will allow this paper to critically engage with Pan-Africanism the film stands for, and concludes that the film, although unintentionally, reinforces U.S. nationalism.