#Black panther theme music movie

The film is certainly aware of the Western gaze on Africa and is willing to critique it: for example, the depiction of Ross’s casual disrespect to the Wakandans, Klaue’s use of the word “savages,” and the U.N. On the other hand, it has been described by some critics as embodying the perspective of colonialism. On the one hand, it depicts a proud and self-reliant African people who stand out from normal depictions of black life in American film.

#Black panther theme music movie

The West's Views of AfricaĪnalysed from a post-colonial perspective, the movie offers some conflicting images. What T’Challa ultimately learns from Killmonger is that Wakanda has a responsibility to the broader African diaspora, leading to his policy changes at the end of the film. And yet, even though it is T'Chaka, king of Wakanda, who kills his father, and even though he had never laid eyes upon Wakanda, he is driven to return and leave his life in America behind. Although he appears to have a ‘rags to riches’ story, as he graduated from MIT, he is still unable to shake the deep-seated feeling of anger he felt towards Wakanda. It is this need to go 'home' that drives Killmonger to commit heinous crimes, including murder. He also has no strong sense of identity, other than the knowledge that he had been 'lost' or 'abandoned' by Wakanda (as his father said).

T'Challa grew up with wealth and had a strong sense of who or what he was (the future Wakandan King) whereas Killmonger grew up facing all the struggles that befall disadvantaged black youth in America. Although the two had the same origins-both Wakandan by birthright-they had very different upbringings. The issue of the African diaspora is highlighted throughout the film, in large part through Killmonger's and T'Challa's characters. This loss weighs heavily on Killmonger, and he holds a fanatical, all-consuming obsession with completing N’Jobu’s mission of black liberation. A missing father is a common trope in cultural depictions of African American life, and occurs more often than people of other races in real life due to premature death or incarceration. Less prominently, we also learn that W’Kabi lost both of his parents to Klaue’s attack when he was a child, and we are not meant to see it as a coincidence that he is the Wakandan most willing to join Killmonger. Killmonger, conversely, loses his father as a young child and is forced to grow up without his guidance or influence. He even gets a chance to speak with his father in the Ancestral Plane, presumably within days after T’Chaka had died.

Though T’Chaka is killed prematurely, T’Challa is already an adult who is ready to take his father’s place. T’Challa grows up entirely with his father’s guidance and affection. Absence of Fathersīoth Killmonger and T’Challa have lost their fathers by the time the events of the film begin, but the circumstances in which they lose them are very different. Though always a controversial topic throughout history, overthrowing powers that are unfair or unjust is an important part of a successful society. T’Challa learns from Killmonger that Wakanda has become stagnant and needs to do more in the world, and so he ultimately challenges and reforms the traditions of his ancestors to help the world. Despite the fact that most of these challenges come from adversaries, upsetting power structures is ultimately cast in a positive light by the film. As king, Killmonger attempts to topple the Western-dominated world order and the structures that oppress black people worldwide. But there are also broader examples of this phenomenon in the film. T’Challa faces indirect challenges to his authority (though not his throne) from his own friends and allies W’Kabi and Nakia. T’Challa is the leader of Wakanda, and throughout the film we find that many people want him out of power, beginning with M’Baku and of course ending with Killmonger. One of the dominant themes in Black Panther is that of challenging power structures. Buy Study Guide Challenging Power Structures