@xaliber No, the primary theme of this film is protectionism. The main question of the conflict is about whether we should share our resources with other countries if we have the means to do so. It does make a specific statement about that, one that you might think is safe, but I can guarantee that a lot of people don’t agree with (even if a lot of them probably don’t realize that). The racism and colonial angle is just there to flesh out the character of Killmonger, it’s not what the film is trying to make a statement about.
Review by Pradipa PRBlockedParent2022-01-10T17:24:15Z
Black Panther is MCU attempt at saying something important but it ended up as a very superficial product tapping into the zeitgeist of black empowerment only at skin deep. MCU movies seem to touch the feelings of a many kind of people regardless of age and culture, and that's why their products trying to tackle difficult subject like colonialism and racism, such as Black Panther, fail as a movie. They're close to saying something yet they have to appeal to audience as broad as possible that they ended up not saying anything at all.
In this film they wanted to take a jab at colonialism, racism and all but they also have to play it safe so it ends up with the black guy winning because of good heart but didn't say anything at all about how Western development aid has turned Africa for the worse. "Colonialism" only ends up as a catchy buzzword for the characters to shout at the white dudes. The antagonist seemed to want to do "the right thing" but ended up as a power hungry lord because of "bad heart". The problem of colonialism/structural racism is simplified into "we have to make peace with the rest of the world" like in the ending scene when T'Challa "open borders". Really, structural violence can be ended with a good heart? Very safe liberal take about colonialism. They only wear this black empowerment stuff in surface level only, perhaps due to their limited liberal understanding of violence or perhaps in fear of hurting the ego of some fragile white manchildren which they have to cater to. Compared to The Mission or especially The Expanse, Black Panther fails to say anything about colonialism.
Similarly, their portrayal of "good Africa" ends up with Wakanda having high tech, sleek white aesthetic just like in typical Western vision of tech, some cool kids tinkering with stuff so it appeals to startup geeks, and some pseudo-African tribal-esque motif that's familiar enough to be recognized by Africans but foreign enough to the rest of the world so that it doesn't convey the more indigenous parts of Africans, such as their kinship system (e.g. different familial structure, motifs). In the world of Wakanda, people just happen to be there, strolling, tribal but modern people doing their tribal but modern thing (like ritualistic battle to decide a leader). They're playing the classic orientalist trope people usually put on Japan: being "traditional" and "modern" at the same time, at the receiving ends of Western culture but still molding them into their own. There's nothing indigenous Africa in Wakanda - it's just how Western people imagine if they created Africa in their own image. The world-building is horrible. Compared to Altered Carbon, the world of Wakanda is the world of purely distilled sterile version of United States that just happen to be set somewhere not-in-the-USA with black folks doing some cool American but also tribal-ish stuff.
In short, MCU won't be able to be complex because of the exact reason many people like it. It has to appeal to audience as many as possible. It has to be "universal", not culturally specific, not having a certain strong message. They have to figure out the safest way of telling a story and keeping the childlike feeling alive.
Their only saving grace is some cool cinematic shots of Michael B. Jordan and Chadwick Boseman. Good performance also. But that's it.