I finally saw it on Netflix!
I wouldn’t say offensive but I found it disappointing because it directly and inadvertently upholds racist social consciousness concepts about Africans and African Americans.
Financial Reality & Black Americans
I found it disappointing because of the overall plot foundations and structure. I can of course separate a fantasy film from a critical analysis but it’s impact means that it is open to critical analysis and why Black Americans, who have paid $500 million dollars to repeatedly view a product made ostensibly to them, with majority people who look like them would be so blindly supportive of an enterprise that doesn’t support them or their communities.
A 90% Black cast set in Africa—-okay, it was filmed a lot in Georgia—-some at Tyler Perry’s studios so it must be a boon to Black people., Black people went in droves, the estimates are that of the near $2 billion dollar take, $500 million of that was from Black Americans who went….multiple times. At an average of $10 a pop.
Marvel Studios isn’t Black owned, nor is it a major underwriter of Black owned businesses within the non-existent Black business community. (There are all kinds of Black businesses but they’re spread out.)
Disney is the parent organization/owner of Marvel Studios. Again not a big underwriter of Black interests towards wealth building.
BUT
Marvel Studios/Disney will have Black Panther books, videos, comics, toys and future films ad infinitum—-this is a good 10 year project where the insertion of Black Panther will bring in Black audiences—-at $10 a pop.
To theaters that are not Black owned. Increasing the stock value of Disney—-it’s dipped and dived but it’s maintained at over $100 a share since the movie came out.
Netflix is not Black owned. It’s at $256 a share.
Now, here’s where that Black dark, dark secret comes in. A micro percentage of Black people, probably most of the cast and director of BP, own Disney and Netflix stock—-because they’ve had practice in managing larger and larger sums of money so they get paid in cash, stock options, back end points, etc..
Most Black people went, and voluntarily gave $10, $20, $100 to BP but that money won’t recirculate back into their neighborhoods, schools, stores because Black people as a bloc don’t produce or control manufacturing nor as a mass regularly buy stock/invest. Now some Chinese families got fed because they made the dolls and toys and such in factories (not a lot but more than Black people did on the return profit.)
Also if you trace the dollars purchasing tickets supports a White owned theater, concessions are from White owned companies, film/digital materials and equipment White engineers, the majority of the technical people working on the movie, White and then they take the monies that makes it’s way to them through ticket purchases, cable and streaming rights and they pay for mortgages, children’s education, car payments and those mortgage companies are White owned and the supermarkets they buy food in and so on.
Now, yes, logically if you trace this a multitude of companies from a multitude of White, Asian, European descent ethnicities profit from such an enterprise. The counterpoint is that Black companies, people, communities don’t profit to as great a percentage as White and perhaps Asian and “others” do from a Black “product” or a Black aimed product. So Black people put in $500 million to something that perhaps if we were to pool salaries is maybe $10–20 million directly to Black and those Black people, the cast, will then take their money and put it into a White system, an Asian system, perhaps even an African system but not a Black one.
The simple point of the vicious cycle is that we, Black people, invest in things that garner no returns because they don’t invest back into us as Black people.
The current measurement is that Jewish, White, Asian dollars circulate 6 to 14 times, meaning that of every dollar spent $6 to $14 dollars stays within those ethnic communities to enhance that ethnic group. Black dollars don’t even circulate once, which is where the Money Drain is most apparent.
Because there's a mass hating of reading/education and math Black people don’t know how to own stock in things they might enjoy so that the money recirculates back to them individually and collectively.
Of the $2 billion that the movie has generated so far, there’s been a donation of $1 million dollars to the Boys & Girls Club.
$1 million.
Off of $2 billion.
A whole $1 million.
Oprah gave the Ron Clark Academy $5 million and no one had to put on a spandex suit in front of a green screen…..ijs.
Racialized Masturbation Fantasy
The movie itself is the Black American wet dream of Africa Heaven that has never existed, will never exist and could only exist when articulated through the manufactured lens of White power, patriarchy, privilege and misogyny.
Negative Portrayal of African Americans and a Stereotypical Perception of Them by Africans
It’s a good fantasy movie but it paints American Blacks as psychotic, impoverished thugs (Killmonger)—-which may or may not be true from an African (White infused) perspective. And also is how Africans see African Americans coupled with the shame of having been a kidnapped people and unlike other people have their home country come for them physically or legally in retribution. Killmonger represents the Black feeling of betrayal at being left in, sold into, forgotten about into slavery.
Is Wakanda Really Advanced?
Wakanda is shown to be a conglomeration of 5 tribes who’ve existed both peacefully and to the advancement of their secret level of wealth for generations. Okay, that’s fine and perhaps even understandable. It’s also shown to have spies throughout the world, which is fine and understandable as a plot point.
However to some of Killmonger’s argument—-why haven’t they helped other Africans and the world? That question is never answered. Now a way to answer the question could be that over all these tens of generations Wakanda has—-taken over the world. Would that be so impossible if you had unlimited resources, people and centuries? But such an idea would not float in a movie.
Wakanda is so advanced that it has women as warriors and generals with the Dora Milaje. Okay. But when presented with the idea that a woman rise up as the Black Panther (or challenge for the throne)—-none can or will.
Which is problematic.
Most African tribes are matrilineal. So women are the sovereign leaders with male chieftains. But okay, that’s a sticky plot point that circles around misogyny. Though it could answer why Killmonger was left behind as a child.
Why does no one else step up to challenge Killmonger after he defeats T’Challa? He is clearly insane to their way of life.
Imagine this: he defeats T’Challa….and everyone steps up—-millions to challenge Killmonger. Men, women, children, the old woman. They force him to face his own barbarity and refuse to allow their own system to be perverted against them.
You will have to kill us all to rule us.
Or…
The presence of White Patriarchy—-which is what Evan Ross represents. He is the only one in the film, the White man, to suggest to the advanced Wakandans, “diplomacy” in dealing with matters. (We’re not even going to touch on the fact that when injured we immediately break the code for centuries to save the life of a White man.)
Is Wakanda truly advanced or are they just tribal, ready to go savage at the drop of a hat Africans——with advanced science and powers that are based in vibranium….from another planet….and not their own innate abilities?
Can the African only be enhanced from the external?
African Slave Mentality…after one Tribal Fight
I was also disappointed in how fast they switched up not only on who would be/the mantel of Kings but also how they went to civil war with each other, the four tribes that got along—-so fast after living thousands of years living in harmony. It suggested a narrow slave mentality to capitulate to both benevolent and malignant dictators without self based critical thinking and autonomy; just because someone is a King doesn't mean subjects just abdicate their free will against what is wrong or abusive. Free will and sovereignty, I thought the heart of Wakanda?
To be so advanced and yet so socially limited said something dissonant.
In many ways both fictionally and in reality, I think, it sold Black people (in America and worldwide) on some things that are within the social consciousness already which is why it’s so wildly successful—-it’s not suggesting something new, it’s ringing the bell of lots of old stuff (racism, misogyny, patriarchy, African/African American separation, inferiority of African descended people, immediate savagery, etc.)—-just in new packaging.
It used Black people to get us as a ticket paying bloc now (for Marvel/Disney—-who I’m sure have no plans at all to make anymore superhero movies or TV shows. Ever. Never ever. Never ever. Uh huh.), much as we are a voting Democratic bloc, without doing anything substantive for or to us. Which makes me wonder about the psychology behind the film, what is being taught (or reinforced) by it to the Black people who deeply embrace it?
But can anyone say anything against it or analyze it? No. Why?
Often the biggest problem with Black people as a mass is when we adopt something, it could be vile and ignorant and demoralizing (shout out to Cardi B!), but we will fight to the death for it—-much like the Wakandans immediately do for Killmonger.
Perhaps the film is truly saying something about Blacks as Americans and Africans?
#KylePhoenix
