Why Wakanda?

This is Part Three of my Black Panther series of blog posts for Musings Monday. In part one, we looked at characters Agent Ross and Ulysses Klaue and my white response to the film. In part two, we looked at King T’Chaka, Killmonger, and T’Challa and the question of how to use your vibranium. For part three, we turn away from the characters to look at Wakanda itself.

When Black Panther released last year, many were shocked at how popular the film became. It had more buzz leading up to its release than I can remember for a debut superhero movie. This is partially due to Marvel’s storytelling strategy, which introduced T’Chaka and T’Challa to viewers in Captain America: Civil War over a year and a half before Black Panther’s release. Even after T’Challa’s cinematic debut, nobody really knew how his first solo film would fare.

Would it be a stale origin story? Would it be more of the same? Would it do anything to set itself apart from the seemingly-endless barrage of superhero films hitting theaters?

Thankfully, it did break the mold. And, it resonated with audiences in a way that caught many off guard. Many loved the movie, even growing obsessed with it, but many also didn’t get it.

It seemed like an average superhero movie…what’s everyone freaking out about? What are people seeing this multiple times? And why is everyone obsessed with Wakanda?

I’d say Wakanda was at the core of much of the confusion I saw.

It’s a fictional country, they said. Nobody actually lives there. Why are you acting like it’s culturally significant? After all, it’s just a movie…

It turns out, Black Panther became more than just a movie. And Wakanda is more than a fictional comic book setting. Wakanda is an ideal. A target, a utopia of what could be. Of what could have been, if not for colonization and the transatlantic slave trade.

But it’s fiction. It’s not real; why identify with it? Why Wakanda?

I’ve observed two reasons.

One: Wakanda Is An Affirmation of Identity

Yes, everyone knows Wakanda isn’t real. Nobody can travel there, nobody can see the culture in all it glory in person. Speaking literally, Wakanda is fiction. But it’s also symbolic.

Wakanda tells us what a utopian society can be. It shows us what’s possible when everyone works together. Remember what we talked about in my previous post? Vibranium is a symbol of creativity, beauty, and ingenuity. Wakanda is a civilization with a fully realized potential. Because of the vibranium, its prosperity and capacity for ingenuity are limitless. If Vibranium is beauty and creativity, Wakanda is the resultant art. Even more, Wakanda is the sociopolitical framework for maximal productivity and cultural richness.

Wakanda shows us a peaceful kingdom where everyone thrives. In defense, in science and technology, in art, and in cultural traditions we see a place of near-perfection.

Wakanda reminds us that everything is possible. Wakanda reminds everyone of what were made to do, and what society is meant to be.

On a side note…

Even though Black Panther isn’t a “Christian” film, the eternal applications here are unmistakable. As image bearers of God, we are created to create, made to make. God, the Creator, created creativity.

Kind of like Wakanda’s role in the world stage, the Kingdom of God as Jesus presents it is a countercultural paradigm that says we can rise above the greed of the world’s system. The kingdoms of the world are wrought with struggle, warfare, greed, manipulation, and oppression.

Wakanda reminds Christians that we can be part of a kingdom that’s goal is selfless, not selfish. With our personal vibranium, we can bless the world and love our neighbor, even if they’re lost in the darkness of their own selfish ways. We can bring justice to the oppressed and help everyone in need.

Wakanda does have applications that extend to everyone, but the real reason of “Why Wakanda?” lies with a more specific deographic.

Two: Wakandan History Is Black History

In the words of Hip-Hop Artist Sho Baraka on his song “Kanye, 2009”:

…And why [does] black history always starts with slavery / So even when I'm learning, they still putting them chains on me?

His question is valid, and brings to focus an unintended consequence of Black History Month.

Black History Month is an important time to reflect an often-ignored segment of history. For me, speaking as a white guy: It’s easy to forget how bad slavery was. It’s easy to forget how recent the Civil Rights Movement was. I know many who share the sentiment that Black History Month is unneeded, that black history is part of all history, and after all, there’s no white history month…

I really don’t have time to unpack all of those thoughts in this post, especially as I’m focussing on Black Panther. I’ll just boil it down to this: Black History is important because most history tends to be taught from either a euro-centric or an America-centric perspective, and the contributions of African Americans to American history can often be unintentionally downplayed or ignored altogether. As said in a quote attributed to Winston Churchill, “History is written by the victors.”

But, circling back to Sho Baraka’s sentiment, often times Black History Month begins with either “Remember what happened with slavery?” or “Remember what happened with segregation?”

Tragically, in reinforcing the history of slavery, minorities in America can feel defined by that history.

Here’s the truth: You are not defined by your ancestors. Yes, ancestry and ethnicity inform your heritage, and therefore contribute to your identity, but they do not determine your identity or worth.

If a white kid finds out he’s a descendant of British royalty, he shouldn’t feel better than anyone else or try to use his heritage as a tool to lord it over his peers. In the same way, if a young African American finds out he’s descended from a slave, he shouldn’t feel any less of himself than anyone else. He has just as much right to be proud of his heritage as any spoiled British royal.

Why? Because everyone is born in the image of God. As I quoted from Kendrick Lamar in a previous installment, you have loyalty and royalty inside your DNA. There is a profound truth to that statement: You are valuable; you can contribute to this world; you can rise above any adversity the world throws at you.

Wakanda reinforces this truth.

As I’ve previously reiterated, everyone knows Wakanda is fictional. But it’s still important on a poetic, literary, symbolic level to see an African nation unstained by slavery and violence. It’s beautiful to see Wakanda, an African nation, with an untainted ancestry, a pure, un-syncretized, uncolonized culture.

Wakanda is Black History to the extent that it affirms the spiritual, physical, and ancestral worth of a people group historically marginalized.

So, when you watch Black Panther, revel in the beauty and power of Wakanda. And remember the truth: Wakanda’s worth and the vibranium therein ascribes value to all—especially those who look different than you.