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Jonathan DeMik

Professor Granillo

English 103

12 May 2019

Breaking Cultural Stigma

Super Heroes have always been popular in American culture since people love the idea of

superpowers and a story where the hero beats the villain in remarkable fashion. Marvel,

especially in recent years has become one of the best companies to deliver the tales of awesome

might to viewers through the means of their huge, intertwined universe comprised of 22 movies.

While all of these movies had groundbreaking releases worldwide and one, in particular, stood

out most, and for a very different reason. The Marvel movie “Black Panther” has an antagonist in

the film, but the real villain that is being faced is the idea of prejudice against African

Americans. Some viewers were not amused by the amount of Black culture Marvel implemented

into the film and criticized the movie as “too preachy” or “over the top” however, these

naysayers were paid no mind and the film became a huge global success. When viewing “Black

Panther” through means of Critical Race Theory, and deconstruction theory, the viewer can see

that there is a subliminal message that creates the underlying call to action that the film wants

viewers to pursue, which is that racism still exists around the globe and needs to be stopped.

Marvel making this much of a statement is huge, due to the fact that Marvel movies are

extremely popular and they have a solidified fanbase that will hear the message.

“Black Panther” is a movie set in modern time, with the main premise being set around

the country of Wakanda, and it’s king, T’challa. T’challa is the superhero known as The Black
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Panther, who dons a suit made of Vibranium metal mesh which can allow the wearer to take little

to no damage from incoming threats. Wakanda is a country in Africa that in the film, is said to

have discovered the precious metal known as Vibranium. This metal is the strongest material on

the planet and is used to make technology that is far beyond the rest of the world.

Many individuals who saw this movie had different expectations. They figured that since

it was a Marvel film, it would just be an action-packed superhero film with no deeper meaning

besides what the story has to offer, however, once seeing the film, they criticized it by saying

that it was far too “preachy” towards race issues and should have left out that aspect. While it

may be true that the movie “Black Panther” addresses race issues, it significantly added to the

importance behind this film reaching such high regard from reviewers and fans. By applying the

Critical Race and Deconstruction theory to the film, the viewer can see things that may have

been overlooked on a casual viewing.

Critical Race Theory is a lense formulated on studies of racism primarily, and more

specifically, African American Criticism. It can allow the viewer to notice hints of either racism

or a piece of literary work that is going against racist concepts, which is fitting for the film

“Black Panther, due to its primary influencer being racism against African Americans.

Deconstruction goes hand in hand with the Critical Race Theory due to the fact that it involves

deconstructing a piece of literary work into pieces and seeing how a said piece of work is

created. By doing so the viewer is able to apply other lenses to certain aspects of the work and

view it in all new light.

Throughout the entire film, “Black Panther” goes against the concept of White Privilege,

which “...is a form of everyday racism because the whole notion of privilege rests on the concept
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of disadvantage.” (Tyson 362). In the film, the majority of the cast is African American, which

goes against the common trends of modern cinema, where most casts are predominantly

Caucasian. Being a “big time” actor may be widely considered a white privilege, and it may

seem strange to the audience to finally come across a film where so few important characters are

played by white actors. Despite this disgusting commonality, Marvel stepped up and gathered an

entire starring cast of African Americans to help back up their message of how racism is still a

common problem in America despite “There being no scientific basis for race and racism to be a

part of social reality.” (Satgar 1). Moving on from this, the film upholds the standard of battling

white privilege with the storytelling.

In the film, the fictional setting of Wakanda is an African Country that hides behind the

facade that they are actually a poor country, despite their technological prowess, and beyond first

world accomplishments. In modern-day cinema, most films the story continues to uphold the

idea that only predominantly white, first world countries can be advanced, but in “Black

Panther” Wakanda, a country in Africa was the first to discover the metal of Vibranium. This

metal allowed the inhabitants of Wakanda to thrive, and develop greatly advanced technologies,

especially in the medical field. The concept of good medical care is most often a trait of first

world countries, but the creators of the film wanted to put a twist on the idea of white privilege

and give such privilege to African Americans. The film writers also address the concept of

differential rationalization, specifically the misplaced belief that all African Americans are

thieves, and flips it on the white race.

“Black Panthers” protagonists are all portrayed by African Americans, usually, a role

given to white males, but in the film, the antagonist, Ulysses Klaue is played by one of the few
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white cast members. Klaue is also somewhat deranged and in constant need for more power,

which he tries to gain by stealing from the Wakandans. By making one of the primary

antagonists white, and having him attempt to steal from the Wakandans, is a complete switch of

stereotypical roles created by society, where African Americans are depicted stealing from White

people. The writers further address the sad truth, which is frequently forgotten, which is that

white people sailed to Africa to take innocent people as slaves.

In the intro to the movie, a scene is depicted out of sand figurines, where a boat is

docked on shore and men are seen in chains and shackles, being forced to board the vessel.

(Black Panther 00:01:20). This is clearly a depiction of the early Americans stealing people as

slaves, and while it only lasts for a few seconds, it can impact the viewer deeply if it is noticed.

Small references like this help reinforce the message the filmmakers are hinting at throughout the

film, which is that racism still is, and always has been a problem.

“Black Panther” follows the idea that “...so much African American literature deals with

racism” (Tyson 344). The primary villain of the film, Eric Killmonger, is an African American

born in the United States, learns his bloodline is from Wakanda and learns of their prowess from

the leader of his gang, Klaue. Once he arrives in Wakanda, he quickly vies for the throne and

once he has obtained a seat of power as king, he speaks of the tragedies that plague the outside

world. “Where I’m from when black folks started revolutions, they never had the firepower or

the resources to fight their oppressors.” and of “the colonizers and how they think” (01:30:02).

Both these statements are direct implications of racism. The revolutions that African Americans

started were consistently due to the prejudices against them, and like Killmonger states, they

were never able to fully succeed due to lack of support and resources. Unfortunately, they were
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never able to receive these assets because the majority of the world wanted to keep African

Americans in the lower classes of society, and their fellow African Americans could not help

because they were under prejudice as well, therefore forcing them out of any ability to gain

traction in their revolutions. By addressing this factual point into a fictional movie, the writers

are clearly trying to shine a light on how it has been for African Americans throughout history.

Black Panthers message is strengthened heavily due to the usage of Voice of Color,

which is the idea that “...minority writers and thinkers are generally in a better position than

white writers and thinkers to write and speak on race and racism because they experience racism

directly.” (Tyson 360). The Critical Race Theorist, Du Bois, even describes being black as “We

who are dark can see America in a way that white Americans cannot.”. (Du Bois 1). The two

writers of “Black Panther”, Ryan Coogler and Joe Robert Cole, are both African American, and

therefore, they are able to convey stronger messages of racism throughout the film. They have

both most likely personally experienced racism and took this chance to fight for racism to end, or

if not end, they wanted to add to the fight against racism on a large scale. “Black Panther” can

also be viewed through a deconstruction lense.

When viewing modern day cinema, the vast majority of movies have predominantly

white casts, and minorities get less important, or villain roles. Tyson states that the only human

identities are “...the ones we invent and choose to believe.” (Tyson 244). Society has created a

negative identity for African Americans and continues to believe it to this day, and unfortunately,

some African Americans believe they are inferior due to this widely spread misconception. The

movie “Black Panther” seems to aim to dispell this atrocious illusion and bring back pride to

African Americans through a massive film launch. The film was released on February 16, 2018,
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and February is Black History Month. The writers most likely intended to do this overlap to

reinstill pride and remind people of the struggles African Americans face on a daily basis. “Black

Panther” deconstructs traditional gender roles when applying a feminist lens as well.

One of “Black Panthers” primary characters is King T’challa’s sister, Shuri. Shuri is not

only a technological wizard but a skilled medical asset to all of Wakanda. She is one of the

leading scientists in all of Wakanda and comes up with many of their technological

advancements. This goes directly against the concept that “...[Women] are not fit for careers in

such areas as mathematics and engineering.” (Tyson 81). The writers of “Black Panther” clearly

wanted to make an empowered woman as one of the main characters of the film to fight for the

injustice and false views of women. In the film, Shuri is responsible for bringing people back

from the brink of death, and designing a new suit for the Black Panther to wear in combat that

absorbs all incoming damage and can be activated to send a shockwave out based on the amount

of fire he took. This suit saves T’challa’s life on multiple occasions and plays a big part in his

victory in his missions. Not only is Shuri an extremely skilled engineer, but she is also a strong

combatant.

Women are often viewed as minimal threats in combat due to their size, or misconstrued

gender ideas. These misconceptions are often made because as Tyson states, “Traditional gender

roles cast men as rational, strong, protective and decisive; they cast women as emotional

(irrational, weak, nurturing, and submissive.” (81). The way the character Shuri is written goes

against this theory as well. Shuri is depicted as a fierce warrior, who in battle wears two metallic

fists she designed that shoot magnetic waves that can eliminate threats with ease. (“Black

Panther” 01:46:33). She then partakes in a fierce battle between the tribes and contributes
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significantly saving the lives of many who are about to be killed off. The film is one of few that

does not support the concept that “women have been reduced to objects for men.” (Beauvoir).

Throughout the entirety of the film, all of the women are treated as equals and valued

highly by the men. King T’challa especially, is consistently grateful for the help and

contributions of the women in his service. The most elite fighters in Wakanda, who serve the

king directly, is a unit made up entirely of women, and his chief scientist is also a woman. By

giving such important roles to females, the viewer can see through a feminist lens that “Black

Panther” breaks the traditional roles of the patriarchy, and stands up for women and sees them as

equal. Further demonstrating the film “Black Panther” through a Marxist lens, can expose how

this film could be viewed as going against capitalist ideals.

The most prominent example of this is the concept of rugged individualism, which is a

large part of capitalism. Rugged individualism is the idea that if you go out and do something on

your own, you alone, reap the rewards. However, in the film, there are exceptionally few

examples of this portrayed. The entirety of Wakanda is founded on the idea that they make

advancements together, and everyone prospers. The viewer can see that the country doesn’t

support the ideals of rugged individualism at all. Another anti-capitalistic concept is the

construction of classes/classism.

“Black Panther” does not follow a traditional capitalistic understanding of classism. In

capitalism, classes are often broken up based on financial well being and the items you own. In

the film, the only evident class is the ruling class which consists of a bloodline-based king, and

then everyone else. The viewer never gets to witness any unfair living conditions for those who

are “below” the king, and T’challa is seen walking the streets and interacting with his fellow
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Wakandans late in the film. (“Black Panther” 02:00:42). In a system of capitalism, like the

United States, it would be rare for a person of a higher class to willingly walk the streets of those

below them. Based on what can be seen in the film, classism is not an issue in Wakanda,

therefore leading the viewer to assume that Wakanda is not a capitalistic society. Yet another

capitalistic ideal that seems to be withdrawn from the film is commodification.

Commodification is defined as turning something into a commodity. Levi-Faur defines a

capitalistic society as “...a system of commodity accumulation via markets, in which things with

use values are converted into things that have exchange value.” (2). In a capitalistic society, just

about everything is turned into a commodity, including people, however, in “Black Panther” this

ideal is never seen, further leading the viewer to believe that Wakanda may be a more Marxist

society.

Overall, “Black Panther” did a marvelous job and succeeded in the goal of shining light

on a problem, that while encountered daily for many, is often overlooked. After applying the

Critical Race and Deconstruction theories the viewer can find the somewhat hidden message in

the film, which is evidence that racism still exists in society today, and while the movie itself

may not have offered a direct solution, it definitely brings attention to the problem at hand. Not

only does it draw attention, and combat the problem of racism, but it also battles the ideas behind

the patriarchy. The film empowers women heavily and conveys the message that everyone

should be treated equal, which according to the movie, is through a partial Marxist society,

where classism and commodification do not exist. “Black Panthers” messages were widespread

as the movie brought in 1.35 billion dollars, showing that many were able to view this

masterpiece.
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Works Cited

Beauvoir, Simone. ​The Second Sex​. Feminist Criticism: An Introduction, Canvas

Coogler, Ryan. ​Black Panther.​ Netflix, Marvel Entertainment, 2018

Dubois, W.E.B. ​Criteria of Negro Art.​ Canvas

Levi-Faur, David. ​Regulatory Theory: Foundations and applications. ​Jstor database,

ANU press, 2017

Satgar, Vishwas.​ Racism After Apartheid: Challenges for Marxism and Anti-Racism.

Jstor Database, Wits University Press, 2019

Tyson, Lois. ​Critical Theory Today,​ Third Edition, Routledge, 2015

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