'Black Panther'

I have had this conversation many times, with many different people, but I normally get so angry I can’t formulate a solid argument—even though I’m right—so here we go. Certain people have told me that absolutely nothing in Black Panther's plot is political. Nothing... not the villain's entire motivation or 90 percent of his dialogue.

Point number one: From the very beginning when N’Jobu was confronted by T’Chaka for telling Wakanda’s “enemies” about the country's identity and its weapons. Prince N’Jobu said, “Communities flooded with drugs and weapons. They are overly policed and incarcerated... with Vibranium weapons, they can overthrow all countries and Wakanda can rule them all the right way.” N’Jobu started the fight to use Wakanda’s resources to release those of color from their oppressors. This thought process was then carried on by his son, but the core of this line of dialogue is that living in Oakland made N’Jobu see something that he wanted to change so badly that he was willing to betray his family and country for it.

Point number two: When Killmonger finally reaches Wakanda, he tells the council, “Where I’m from... when black folks started revolutions, they never had the firepower... or the resources to fight their oppressors... I know how colonizers think. So we’re gonna use their own strategy against them.”

First of all, you don’t use the words colonizer and oppressor over and over again unless you're drawing attention to a political issue. There is no other reason to use those words. They are descriptive and they are volatile. Second of all, this is the start of Killmonger beginning a revolution, and what are revolutions... say it with me class. POLITICAL. There is no such thing as a non-political revolution. Revolutions by their very definition are born out of political unrest.

In case any of you are questioning whether or not what Killmonger is attempting is actually a revolution to prove me wrong (first of all, really?), here is the dictionary definition of revolution: “A forcible overthrow of a government or social order in favor of a new system.”

Point number three: Killmonger’s last poignant words, “Just bury me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from ships, 'cause they knew death was better than bondage.”

In Killmonger’s last statement to T’Challa, he equates being locked up as a prisoner to his ancestors that were slaves. He would rather die than be in chains, bringing slavery and the ancestry of the African American people, or in this case the African people, into this movie is of course politically motivated. How could it not be?

Of course you could argue that Killmonger’s motivation was avenging the death of his father, an obvious cyclical writing technique referring to the last time that we saw T’Challa. To that I say, that was his motivation in wanting T’Challa dead, but it has no bearing on him infiltrating Wakanda, and the desire to use their technological advances and weapons to arm the black people of the world to overthrow their existing governments.

The obvious and irrefutable political nature of the movie caused people to either love or hate it. I think it’s simply one of the things that makes the movie wonderful and relevant. The effort that was put in to celebrate African cultures as a whole, including as many different countries as possible is another. The role of women in the society of Wakanda and the fact that they are not motivated by the men around them is another. In fact, the women of Wakanda are not afraid to stand against the men that they love in favor of their country or their own desires. There is absolutely no way to watch this movie, understand it, and not come to the conclusion that Black Panther ABSOLUTELY has political motivations. It's not subtle. It's not in the subtext. It is in your face and impossible to miss.