Black Panther

Group 23, Emma Bang, Minhal Janjua, Mariella Maracke, Isa Rich, Karolina Snarska

Project Group 23

Black Panther - A fight for black emancipation

Emma Bang, Isa Rich, Karolina Snarska, Mariella Maracke

and Minhal Janjua

Supervisor: Eric Komlavi Hahonou

Number of characters: 92096

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Abstract

In this paper, we have examined racial inequality in the United States. We focused on

Afro-Americans’ fight for emancipation and what this fight can look like. To examine this, we

conducted a case study on the movie Black Panther. As we would like to understand the impact a

movie that celebrates African culture and black skin could have on society. We conducted a

qualitative content analysis in order to examine the movie’s claims for black emancipation. In

our analysis, we recognized that the movie establishes a counter-discourse celebrating black

pride, unity, and the powerfulness of the black community.

We were able to conclude that the movie is able to challenge the dominant societal discourse and

contribute to another narrative of the black community. Furthermore, we concluded that the

movie has the possibility to inspire the Afro-American community to continue and broaden the

fight for emancipation.

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Table of contents Introduction 4

Problem area 6

Methodology 6

Project design 10 State of art 10 Contextual framework 12

Slavery in the United States 12 Jim Crow era 13 Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X 14 Rosa Parks 15 Black Panther Party 16 Black Lives Matter 18 Inequality nowadays 19

Theoretical framework 21 Michel Foucault 21 Normalizing power & discourse 21 Subjectification 22 Capital 23 Afro-Futurism 24 Pan-Africanism 25 The Hohfeldian Analysis of Rights 25

Summary of Black Panther 26

Analysis of Black Panther 28

Discussion of the analysis 37

Conclusion 40

Bibliography 42

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1. Introduction

“Baba, tell me the story of home,” a young Afro-American boy asks his father. The father begins

to tell the story of Wakanda, the most powerful nation in the world. This description is the

opening scene in the blockbuster movie and cult phenomenon Black Panther from 2018 based on

Marvel's comic series from the 1960s. The story of Black Panther takes place in Wakanda. A

fictional country placed in the heart of a futuristic Africa.

Already before premiering in American cinemas, the movie was called revolutionary by

movie-critics because of its predominantly black cast and black production team (Persall, 2018).

Black Panther became the highest-grossing solo superhero movie worldwide (Lovett, 2018), and

the hashtag “#WhatDoesBlackPantherMeansToMe” rapidly spread on social media. On Twitter,

one used the hashtag to say: “That black folks get to be portrayed cinematically as our true

heroic selves instead of as afterthoughts, diluted by the limited minds behind the casting

process” (Diaz, 2018). Another user on Twitter wrote: “It means (…) people of color know that

the glass ceiling has been broken. Black Panther is more than an exciting Marvel movie, it's an

History-making moment.” (Riley, 2018). These tweets are examples of the reactions from the

audience which showcase the popularity and the progressiveness of the movie.

Professor in post-colonial studies Homi Bhabha postulates: “The repetition of stereotypes is not

a sign of the power of colonial discourse. Rather, it is a sign of its instability. Stereotypes are

invoked and repeated not because they are stable but because, unless repeated, they lose their

power and validity as signs” (Bhaba sited in Nayar, 2010:27). Black Panther is revolting against

stereotypes associated with black culture. The movie, therefore, challenges power relations and

creates a possibility for liberation from the societal structures that undermine Afro-Americans.

We have noticed a disparity between black and white Americans despite Afro-Americans are

entitled to equal treatment by law. The United States’ history of slavery and segregation has

ensured that Afro-Americans today are still facing difficulties in society. The discourse in the US

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is often undermining Afro-Americans which contributes to inequality. In this project, we

examine how Afro-Americans can emancipate themselves for this oppressing discourse.

1.1. Problem area

In our project, we will examine how a movie like Black Panther challenges the dominant

discourses and racial stereotypes within American society. The discourse in the US and

particularly in the political context is often racist and intolerant. Although, the United States is in

the middle of what is supposed to be a very conservative period this progressive movie has

emerged. Polarization is an issue in many western societies, but we are looking specifically at the

American society regarding the impact of Black Panther. Therefore, we want to understand what

impact the Marvel blockbuster can have in this polarized society. The United States is very

divided for example regarding race. For instance, this division is seen in Pew Research Center's

survey (Pew Research Center, 2012). In this survey the Pew Research Center asked for peoples’

opinions about the following statement: “We should make every possible effort to improve the

position of blacks and other minorities, even if it means giving them preferential treatment.”

52% of the respondents who agree with the statement are identified as democrats. Whereas only

12% of the respondents who are identified as republicans agreed. Ergo, we can see that there is

not a consensus among Americans regarding how to deal with racial inequality.

In our project, we are looking at what effect culture has on the fight for black emancipation.

Furthermore, we discuss whether the movie can be something that society can gather around.

Black Panther became both a national and international success despite the fact that racist

narratives are still present in the United States. We will examine how Black Panther can be an

alternative contribution to the continuous fight for black emancipation. This led us to our

research question:

How can the Black Panther movie be a claim for black emancipation?

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2. Methodology

Research strategy

The main objective of our research is to understand how a movie can have an impact on the

power structures in society. Specifically, we examined what influence the Black Panther movie

can have on Afro-Americans’ position in society. We have also looked into how the movie

supports their continuous fight for emancipation.

In order to understand this, we analyze the claims in the Black Panther movie which are

regarding black pride and the emancipation of the Afro-Americans. We decided to conduct a

qualitative content analysis to examine these claims. We discuss the movie’s claims in relation to

Michel Foucault and Pierre Bourdieu’s theories on power. In our project, we also include

interviews and responses from the audience, cast, and producers for further examination of the

movie’s impact and claims. Furthermore, we use the Hohfeldian Analysis of Rights to define the

term claim.

We have adopted a qualitative research strategy because we are examining symbolic material

which requires interpretation. Furthermore, qualitative research techniques are useful for

examining societal issues such as race struggles (Olsen and Pedersen, 2019: 157).

Qualitative research is situational and qualitative data’s meaning is dependent on its context

(Schreier, 2012: 22, Olsen and Pedersen, 2018: 140). Therefore, we have found it important to

adopt a holistic approach to our research. We have not only looked at the content in the movie,

but also its surroundings, such as the cast, the production team and the audience reactions. Our

interpretation might not have been the same if the movie had been created in another time and

place. Especially the fact that the movie was created in the United States has a big impact on our

interpretation, as the country has a long history of racial discrimination. Therefore, it was crucial

to create a contextual framework chapter, explaining the history of Afro-Americans struggles in

America from slavery to the present day.

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Additionally, we examined the movie from a subjectivist approach. We wanted to understand the

production team’s viewpoint and interpret their notion of the movie. Black Panther is in many

aspects made for the Afro-American viewer and we want to understand how they are viewing it.

Qualitative content analysis:

As aforementioned, we are conducting a qualitative content analysis. We aim to interpret how

the movie deals with racial issues. Therefore, we were not interested in analyzing all possible

aspects of the movie, but rather this certain aspect. Qualitative content analysis helps us to focus

our data on our certain theme of the movie (Schreier, 2012: 3). We are using qualitative content

analysis as we are dealing with visual data that does not have an obvious meaning but rather

requires some interpretation (Schreier, 2012: 2). We need to interpret the movie in order to

understand the deeper meaning of the movie in context to race. In our qualitative content

analysis, we are interested in analyzing the production team’s meaning behind the movie.

One of the aspects that make qualitative content analysis special is that opposite other types of

qualitative research method it is not interested in opening up the data but encloses around

specifics (Schreier, 2012: 7). Therefore, we found qualitative content analysis appropriate for our

analysis as the movie is 135 minutes long and we need to reduce this into data that is relevant

and manageable.

Conducting qualitative content analysis was a two-step process for us (Schreier, 2012: 42). We

first watched the movie in order to identify which codes were present in the movie. Afterward,

we recognized some of our codes are data-driven and others are driven by concepts (Schreier,

2012: 41). For example, some of the categories we have recognized have occurred through our

observations of the movie such as the African culture. While Pan-Africanism and Afrofuturism

were codes created from concepts described in our theoretical framework.

The next step for us was to apply the coding frame. In order to do so, we watched the movie

again and coded it into our chosen categories and subcategories.

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Double coding is an important step in order to validate our coding frame (Schreier, 2012: 34).

What we have done is that while creating the coding frame we watched the movie separately.

This means that we have achieved not only one or two perspectives on our coding frame. We

have rather achieved five different views on which codes were present in the movie and were

relevant for our project. The object of this double-coding is to make sure our categories are valid

as we are ensuring that there is a clear understanding of our concepts.

Case study

We are conducting a case study on Black Panther, which we wish to examine thoroughly in order

to discover its unique perspective on race (Bryman, 2016: 61). We have chosen the movie Black

Panther because it is unique from other Hollywood movies, but we still argue that it can be a

representative case study as the movie can represent other movies that portray marginalized

groups (Bryman, 2016: 62).

An issue with case studies is their ability to be generalized. Even though generalization is a

weakness for case studies, the reader can still learn something unique from our project and as

Wolcott argues: “(...)not so unique that we cannot learn from it and apply its lessons more

generally” (Wolcott in Wellington and Szczerbinski, 2007: 68). As this quote indicates, we

argue that our research can teach the reader about Afro-Americans fight for emancipation.

Ethical considerations

As our analysis is of an interpretive nature and does not necessarily hold the definitive truth, we

have found it important to reflect on who we are and from which background we conduct our

research. We are young, European women, and we acknowledge that we can not erase this

background.

Furthermore, the main topic of our research paper is racial discrimination and Afro-American

emancipation. This is a sensitive issue which we wish to address in an appropriate manner.

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As aforementioned, we are a group situated in Europe and have therefore not been inflicted by

the racial issues in America. We acknowledge that we, therefore, will not be able to fully

understand what it means to be black in the American society. Therefore, we are very aware of

the fact that we are conducting this research from an outsider’s perspective.

The issue of inequality, in all its shapes and forms, is important to us and has been our starting

point to this research area. We position ourselves in favor of equal societies and, therefore, in

favor of a better and more equally emancipation of Afro-Americans. We wanted to improve our

knowledge on this topic and try to understand what inequality means in the context of race. Our

purpose has not been to speak on behalf of this minority but rather to be able to understand the

issues and progress that is happening on this matter.

3. Project design

3.1. State of art

In this chapter, we are presenting research concerning the concept of race, post-segregation, and

post-racialism. This gives us an understanding of what researchers already have discovered on

these topics.

Historian Barbara J. Fields suggests that race was invented to justify racial domination (Fields,

1982:152-153). Race is, therefore, not a social fact nor an idea but an ideology that holds that

people are more willingly oppressed when they are already seen as inferior. (Fields in Rubio,

2001:4). Additionally, people are more willingly perceived as inferior when they are oppressed

(ibid.). Race has thus been used for dehumanization and ranking people in society which has

shaped an “us” and “others”. In colonial times, the leading Western narrative portrayed the

natives as primitive, immoral, criminal and inferior (Nayar, 2010). Anti-colonialist scholar,

Frantz Fanon argues that this discourse has throughout time rooted itself in the minds of the

oppressed. Therefore, they see themselves through the narrative constructed by the European

colonizers leading to what Fanon identifies as an inferiority complex (Fanon in Nayar, 2010:8).

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In studies regarding the post-segregational era, scholars examine factors that continually

segregate societies, such as the American society. The implementation of civil rights laws in the

1960s officially marked the end of legal segregation (Thompson-Miller et al., 2014). However,

this has not created a racially equal society, but a post-segregational society. There is no

consensus among scholars on what a post-segregational society is. Some scholars see this racial

division as a flaw deeply rooted in the American way of thinking. On the contrary, others see the

issue of racism as minor and, furthermore, to be disappearing simultaneously with the rise of

American liberalism (Bobo, 2011: 29). In their paper, Thompson-Miller et al. are including the

perspectives of Afro-Americans who have lived through both the legal segregation and the post

era. These witnesses described an improvement since the Jim Crow era but that segregation is

still very present (Thompson-Miller et al., 2014: 196).

This continuant presence of inequality can be recognized in the American society when, for

example, looking at the high unemployment rates of Afro-Americans, inequality in wealth as

well as residential segregation (Bobo, 2011).

As a part of the post-segregation era, Lawrence Bobo is arguing for a “New Jim Crow” (Bobo,

2011: 22). This argument refers to the present mass incarceration of Afro-Americans, (Bobo,

2011:22 and Thompson-Miller 2014: 193) as a result of the racially unequal American justice

system.

A way of explaining the difference between the Jim Crow era and post-segregation is through the

terms of “primary victimization” and “indirect victimization” (Bobo, 2011: 13). Primary

victimization is the segregation that deliberately was implicated with the Jim Crow laws (ibid.).

Whereas, indirect victimization is caused by the consequences of primary victimization (ibid.).

These consequences are disadvantages that Afro-Americans are still facing in society. The

disadvantages that Afro-Americans are facing are according to Bobo, “poorer schooling, poor

health, and greater exposure to crime” (ibid.).

Another way of describing the current era is through post-racialism. Many Americans witnessed

the election of President Barack Obama as an introduction to the post-racial era (Bobo, 2011: 13,

Cummings, 2011: 601). This can be argued because when an Afro-American man becomes the

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head of the nation, the conversation concerning racism is redundant (Cummings, 2011: 606). As

these scholars argue that the United States has overcome its racial past at that point (ibid.).

Bobo is arguing that there are several different thoughts concerning post-racialism. The most

common interpretation is that post-racism is not a reflection of the current society but rather a

sense of hopefulness about the future (Bobo, 2011: 13). It’s a desire for the fulfillment of a

post-racial era.

Besides this understanding, there are three other controversial understandings of this term.

The first understanding argues that inequality and discrimination are non-existent in today’s

society. When Afro-Americans are talking about their disadvantages it is “black victimology”

(Bobo, 2011, 13). This theory would say that Afro-Americans are complaining undeservingly

(ibid.). The second understanding argues that the natural development of American demography

and political decisions have made the traditional race division unnecessary (ibid.). The third and

last understanding has disregarded race even more and wants to move beyond the past. This

theory would argue that all citizens of all races are treated equally, and the era of colorblindness

has begun (Cummings 2011, Bobo, 2011: 14).

There is criticism of the post-racial theory. One of the critics is Scholar Sumi Cho who argues

that post-racism can be used to maintain white privilege (Cummings, 2011: 630). According to

Cho, racial issues as existed before the civil rights movement would be restored if the race was to

disregarded.

As seen in our State of Art there are different ways of examining racial issues in the US. Racial

inequality in the US has a long history and it is still deeply rooted in society. Moreover, the

theories give an interesting view on the question of and if there is an ending to racism.

3.2. Contextual framework

Our contextual framework provides a historical overview of the Afro-American fight for

emancipation. In our project, we have adopted a holistic assessment since it is crucial to

understand the history of Afro-Americans in order to understand and analyze the movie Black

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Panther. We will elaborate on the following topics; slavery in America, the Jim Crow era, the

Black Panther Party, Martin Luther King Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks, Black Lives Matter and

racial inequality in America today.

Slavery in the United States

The first Africans arrived in the British colony in Jamestown, Virginia around 1619. Africans

were brought to America against their will where they were traded for goods and categorized as

“slaves-for-life” (Boles, 1984:9). Black skin was perceived as evil by the Western colonizers

(Boles, 1884:10-11) and with the rising number of Africans in colonial America, fear and

insecurity grew among the white population. Therefore, Slave Codes were implemented (Lamm,

2016). These codes became the first legal racial distinction between enslaved Africans and white

colonists. Moreover, these legitimated white supremacy and categories slaves as property

without rights (ibid.). Slave Codes established a system where the status of the mother was

passed on to her child as either a free person or as a bonded slave. This system emphasized an

asymmetrical power balance, which further created a hierarchical system based on race.

Historian Barbara Fields suggests that slavery pre-dated racial inequality since she is arguing that

“race first had to be invented as a social division with its own rules” (Fields in Rubio, 2001:4).

According to the United States Declaration of Independence from 1776, all men are created

equally by God (Office of the Historian, 2018). However, the interpretation of the declaration at

that time did not include people of African heritage. The foundation of the United States was

hereby built on racial inequality.

Slavery was deeply rooted in the American political and economic system, especially in the

Southern states (U.S National Park Service, 2013:5). Therefore, when president Abraham

Lincoln opposed slavery the population reacted with great resistance. This controversy became a

crucial issue in the American Civil War (U.S National Park Service, 2013:1). At the end of the

American Civil War in 1865 slavery was abolished.

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Jim Crow era

The Jim Crow laws were enforced in 1877 in the US and were abolished at the beginning of the

civil rights movement in 1964 (Tischauser, 2012: 11). The Jim Crow era was more than just

segregation laws. It was a mindset that created an idea that black and white people’s lives should

differentiate (Tischauser, 2012: 25).

After the slaves were freed, white Americans were afraid of Afro-Americans. It was believed

that Afro-Americans would create mayhem and murder, rape, and commit other crimes

(Tischauser, 2012: 12). The Jim Crow laws were, therefore, implemented to protect the white

man. The purpose of these laws was to segregate black and white people (ibid.).

Segregation was applied so that there would be no interaction between the races (Tischauser,

2012: 13). This meant that there were separate schools, neighborhoods, restaurants, and seats in

public transportation for black and white people (Tischauser, 2012). Additionally, in many states,

interracial marriage was illegal (Tischauser, 2012: 11).

These segregation laws were upheld by the fear of legal or corporal punishment if

Afro-Americans disobeyed (Tischauser, 2012: 13). Besides the legal regulations, there were also

civil people who took matters into their own hands. They were known as lynch-mobs who

brutally killed Afro-Americans as punishment in order to uphold the segregation system

(Tischauser, 2012: 111). Even though this type of civil punishment was illegal the lynch-mobs

were not legally prosecuted (Tischauser, 2012: 112).

Racism and racial segregation were so deeply rooted in America that the fight to abolish Jim

Crow laws was a hard and complex struggle. Therefore, the fight for equality had to take place in

the courts, on the streets, and in Congress (Tischauser, 2012:14). In 1964, the Supreme Court

prohibited all laws segregating Americans due to race and therefore ended the Jim Crow era

(Tischauser, 2012:13). Even though the laws were abolished the fight for equality remained.

Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X

Martin Luther King Jr was a key leader in the fight for civil rights. King was born in 1929 in

Atlanta, Georgia, were Jim Crow Laws then were strictly enforced. At age 15, King spent his

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https://www.britannica.com/event/American-civil-rights-movement


summer in Connecticut, where he observed the black and white population living peacefully

together (Lewis and Clayborn, 2019). This experience was of great importance and he began to

engage in civil rights movements. In his fight against racial discrimination, Martin Luther King

was an advocate for peaceful protests and civil disobedience, such as marches and sit-inn

demonstrations (Jessiekratz, 2018). One strength of Martin Luther King was to connect spiritual

elements from the protestant church with political action (Thorsen, 2019).

Martin Luther King’s engagement in civil rights movements was of great importance for black

emancipation, for example, the Montgomery bus boycott and the March on Washington (Lewis

and Clayborn, 2019). After his well known “I Have A Dream” speech and meetings with

President Lyndon B. Johnson the “Civil Rights Act of 1964” was implemented (Jessiekratz,

2018). This act ended segregation in public spaces and prohibited racial employment

discrimination. In 1964 King received the Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent fight against

racial prejudices. However, King was often criticized by other civil rights activists for being too

“soft” on the white oppressors. In an interview Malcolm X compared Martin Luther King to a

modern-day Uncle Tom (Lomax, 1963), following, Malcolm X stated: “The goal of Martin

Luther King is to get the Negroes to forgive the people who have brutalized them for four

hundred years, (..) but the masses of black people today don't go for what Martin Luther King is

putting down” (ibid.).

Malcolm X was born in 1925. He was a prominent member of the religious black nationalist

movement Nation of Islam. Originally he was given the name, Malcolm Little. According to

him, “Little” was a slave name and, therefore, he replaced the last name with an X (Mamiya,

2005). Malcolm X opposed Martin Luther King's non-violence philosophy. Instead, he

advocated that Afro-Americans should protect themselves by any means necessary. His ideology

behind this was that emancipation demanded radical actions and absolute independency from

white Americans. Malcolm X, therefore, emphasized how crucial self-awareness was for

Afro-Americans (Hardy, 2016). According to the Afro-American theologian James Cone,

Malcolm X did more than anyone else to change the minds of Afro-Americans (Cone, 1992).

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Malcolm X encouraged black Americans to be proud of their skin color instead of perceiving it

as something shameful (ibid.).

Rosa Parks

Rosa Louise McCauley Parks was an Afro-American civil rights activist. She was declared as

“the first lady of civil rights” and “the mother of the freedom movement” (Michaels, 2016: 116).

However, Rosa Parks was one of many black women who were arrested in the fight against

racial inequality.

Rosa Parks was born in Alabama in 1913. By the age of 30, she became a member of the

National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) and she worked as a

secretary at the Alabama office. Furthermore, she was an active supporter of black voting rights

(Michaels, 2016:116).

In 1955, Rosa Parks declined to vacate her bus seat for a white passenger (ibid.). Rosa Parks was

arrested as she was disobeying the segregation laws. This sparked anger among many

Afro-Americans which led to a 381 days long bus boycott (ibid.). It also contributed to a ruling

of the Supreme Court in 1956 prohibiting public transport segregation (ibid.).

“People always say that I didn’t give up my seat because I was tired (...) But that isn’t true. I

was not physically tired, or no more tired than I usually was at the end of a working day. I was

not old, although some people have an image of me as being old then. I was forty-two. No, the

only tired I was, was tired of giving in.” (Boyd, 2006:42). This statement shows Parks’

frustration with the racism that Afro-Americans were encountering on a daily basis. The

segregation laws made their lives very complicated and Rosa Parks was fed up.

In her work as a secretary for the Afro-American politician John Conyers, she continued her

work for Afro-American equality (ibid.). Throughout her life, she received many awards to

acknowledge her work.

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Black Panther Party

The Black Panther Party was founded by Bobby Seale and Huey Newton in 1966 in Oakland

(Bloom and Martin, 2016:2). Due to the absence of equal civil rights, it was a time of grievance

among the Afro-American community (Bloom and Martin, 2016: 390). The Black Panthers

identified themselves as a part of a global revolution against American imperialism (Bloom and

Martin, 2016: 2). The Panthers desired to defeat the structures which oppressed black Americans

(Bloom and Martin, 2016: 390). In the following quote by Huey Newton his frustration about

racial inequality is stressed: “Because black people desire to determine their own destiny, they

are constantly inflicted with brutality from the occupying army, embodied in the police

department” (ibid.). The Black Panthers emerged as a self-defense group (Bloom and Martin,

2016:13). This meant they were patrolling the police to prevent police brutality against the

Afro-American population in the ghettos (Bloom and Martin, 2016:391, 392.). Therefore, the

Black Panthers armed themselves (Bloom and Martin, 2016:391).

In 1968, The Black Panther Party established a 10 Point Program (The Black Panther Party,

1968). This program presents the movement’s ideology and its goals. As indicated by the name

the program is structured in 10 themes, which are presented in a “What We Want” and a “What

We Believe” chapter. The 10 Point program includes, for example, freedom and self-

determination of the Afro-Americans, “decent housing”, education of the “true history”, and an

end of police brutality and murder (The Black Panther Party, 1968).

The Panthers developed community programs (Bloom and Martin, 2016:13). The most popular

community program was a free breakfast program for children. Organized community services

became a key activity of the Black Panthers nationwide (ibid.). “First you have free breakfasts,

then you have free medical care, then you have free bus rides, and soon you have FREEDOM!”

(Bloom and Martin, 2016:177). This quote by Fred Hampton, a Black Panther member,

showcases the great importance of these community programs.

What started as a local organization grew immensely fast and the party gained political

influence. (Bloom and Martin, 2016:393) Furthermore, the Panthers also found support from the

white community (Nelson, 2015). In 1968, the Black Panthers held offices in twenty cities

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(Bloom and Martin, 2016:2). For the American government, the combination of armed Panthers

and the rapid rise of the party was perceived as a major threat (Bloom and Martin, 2016:3). The

following quote by FBI director J. Edgar Hoover illustrates the aforementioned: “The Black

Panther Party, without question, represents the greatest threat to the internal security of the

country” (ibid.). This resulted in an immense repression of the Black Panthers. However,

repression did not stop the party, it instead mobilized support for the Black Panther Party, and

furthermore, the party’s political power developed even stronger (Bloom and Martin, 2016:13).

Fred Hampton, a Black Panther, explains this phenomenon; “You can kill a revolutionary, but

you can't kill a revolution!”(Bloom and Martin, 2016:5). Therefore, in 1970, the Party held

offices in sixty-eight cities all over the United States (Bloom and Martin, 2016:2).

As a consequence of disagreements about the future of the party and establishment of better

equality for Afro-American among its leaders, the party fell apart in the 1970s (Bloom and

Martin, 2016:90).

Black Lives Matter

On a Sunday evening, in 2012, a man named George Zimmerman called the Florida police and

described a suspicious man, who he had noticed around his neighborhood. The police officer's

told him not to follow this person. The police arrived a few minutes later and found the body of a

black teenager on the street. He was recognized as Martin Trayvon, a 17-year old boy. George

Zimmerman was accused of the second-degree murder of Martin Trayvon. However,

Zimmerman was exonerated due to the “stand-your-ground” law (Grant, 2016: 0:05). This law

grants the possibility to defend yourself in cases where you feel threatened even if it leads to

death or it could be prevented by backing down (Gifford Law Center, 2018). A lot of people

found the verdict of Zimmerman unfair and they were upset with the injustice and the allowance

to kill black people without any consequences (Grant, 2016). Activist Alicia Garza wrote a

Facebook post with the hashtag #BlackLivesMatter to support other people of color (Black Lives

Matter, 2019). It was a groundbreaking moment, people around the world started to use the

hashtag to show support which led to the emergence of the Black Lives Matter movement (ibid.)

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In 2013, activists Alicia Garza, Opal Tometi and Patrisse Khan-Cullors used the publicity of the

#BlackLivesMatter hashtag to create an organization to help Afro-Americans all over the US

(ibid.). The Black Lives Matter activists aim to achieve justice and equality in the black

community. They are, for example, dealing with the injustice of killing innocent black people,

the wrongful court judgments and black women’ rights (ibid.). Because of social media’s ability

to spread information rapidly, the Black Lives Matter activists are primarily using social media

and other forms of electronic communication as their tool of activism. Additionally, the

movement use protests and strikes as a method to gain attention.

Scholar Christopher J. Lebron argues, that even though the movement meets a lot of difficulties

and criticism, the movement has an advantageous way to fight against the current issues faced by

the black community (Lebron, 2017).

Nowadays, the organization has become an international network consisting of 39 offices. They

are working to support black leaders and activists around the world and, furthermore, create a

platform for the black community to empower each other (Black Lives Matter, 2019).

Inequality nowadays

The last sequence of Ava Duvernay's Oscar-winning documentary, “13th amendment”, is a

montage of unarmed Afro-American men and boys who were harmed by the police. These

images are devastating pictures showing the consequences of police brutality against unarmed

black people.

Police brutality is a general issue in the United States not only faced by people of color but all

Americans. In 2016, 1164 people were killed by the police (Mapping Police Violence, 2019).

According to statistics made by the Guardian, police brutality is a grander issue in the US than in

any other developed democracy (Lartey, 2015). One of the statistics showed that 94 fatal

shootings happened between 1994 and 2011 in Australia. On the contrary, 97 fatal shootings

happened in the US just in March 2015 (ibid.).

Even though this issue is faced by all Americans, research shows that there are groups who are

more affected than others. Black people are three times more likely to be killed by the police

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than white people (Mapping Police Violence, 2019). Furthermore, black men and boys are the

group that is at the highest risk of police violence. This specific group of people faces a statistic

that predicts that 1 of 1000 of them will die as a consequence of police brutality (Edwards et al.,

2019: 16794). Edwards et al.’s studies showcase police brutality is one of the leading causes of

death among young men of color (Edwards et al., 2019). This presents a health issue that people

are advocating to be taken seriously.

Since 2010, multiple laws have been implemented these laws are restricting Americans’ ability

to vote in many states. These laws include for example photo ID requirement on election day,

same-day voter registration and restriction of early voting abilities.

One of the most common new laws is the requirements of voter ID which is implemented in 35

states and out of these 16 states require picture ID (Underhill, 2019). This means that people in

those states need to present a valid form of ID to be able to cast their ballot at elections. This law

might seem innocent and favorable for the legitimacy of an election, but it can have

consequences for minorities. There is a disproportion of who owns an ID. According to the

questionnaire that Barreto et al. did in four states with a voter ID law, black people were the least

likely to possess an ID and white people were most likely. On average 81% of black people

possessed a valid ID in comparison to 91% of white people (Barretto et al., 2019: 242). Research

made on the outcome of these voting restricting point to the fact that it disfavors minority groups

it has a negative effect on the turnout of these groups at elections (Barretto et al., 2019 and

Hajnal et al., 2018).

Furthermore, many Afro-Americans are struggling with the ability to obtain economic resources.

There is a large wealth gap between Afro-Americans and white Americans. The median wealth

gap between white Americans and Afro-Americans has always been significant and it is to this

day still increasing. In 2016, the median wealth of a white family was 171.000 USD and 17.409

USD for an Afro-American family (Urban Institute, 2016). Wealth is a vicious cycle that

establishes a lack of financial resources among Afro-Americans and further creates economic

insecurity (Hanks et al., 2018: 4). Therefore, health emergencies and financial crises represent a

high risk for the livelihood of blacks.

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Many Afro-Americans are struggling to build up wealth because of discrimination. It can for

example be the access to stable jobs, low wages, the ability to own property, retirement benefits

at work, and low-cost loans (Hanks et al., 2018: 1). Therefore, discrimination can be seen as a

key issue for the wealth gap.

Blacks are more likely to receive subprime loans (Klein, 2018), which start with a low payback

rate and become more expensive over time compared to prime loans which stay stable over time.

Even if Afro-Americans have good credit, they are still struggling to get access to prime loans. A

study done by the Center for Responsible Lending shows that one out of five Afro-Americans

with good credit still get a subprime loan (Klein, 2018).

Furthermore, Afro-Americans are less likely to be homeowners. On average, when they do own

property it’s less worth than a white people’s property (Hanks et al., 2018: 15).

This chapter showcases that there are issues within the economy, social structures, police

brutality, and voting issues. However, we do acknowledge that these are not the only problems

Afro-Americans struggle with. This chapter presents that racial issues are still existing in

American society.

3.3. Theoretical framework

In this chapter, we present theoretical work regarding power and domination which we will use

further in our project. We have chosen to elaborate on the ideas of French philosopher Michel

Foucault and French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu. These theorists are greatly established within

academia and we, therefore, consider their theories as highly valid. Furthermore, we will also

introduce the notion of Pan-Africanism and Afrofuturism. Both themes are showcased in the

movie Black Panther and have great importance when examining black liberation. We will also

introduce the Hohfeldian Analysis of Rights to examine the term claim.

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Michel Foucault

Normalizing power & discourse

Societies and cultures have established various institutions that function to maintain peace and

order between its citizens (Richter, 2011:419). Societies have therefore established legislation,

values, and norms to navigate people in their behavior (ibid.). The dominant norms and

discourses in society are thus used to decide what is “right” and “normal” and what is "wrong"

and "abnormal". Discourse is for Foucault, shared narratives which structures society (Pace,

2019). The dominant discourses are seen as "legitimate" whilst alternative discourses are

"illegitimate". The dominant discourses are thus recognized as the "truth" which shapes people’s

self-understanding and behavior (Pinkuns, 1996). It is this process that Foucault calls

objectification of the individual (Richter, 2011:422). Foucault further stresses that when an

individual becomes an object he or she becomes easier to control (ibid). This is since norms can

be used as control mechanisms that limit and labels people (ibid). Normalizing power can hence

be used as a tool for assessing social control over people. If one breaks or challenges the moral

codes of society, one would be punished for this for example by exclusion.

Every day, societies are controlling individuals by a pre-understanding of the individual. For

instance, by limiting people to a pre-understood identity such a “hippie”, a “criminal” or a “drug

user” (ibid.). Both the individual and others, therefore, recognize the individual through this

limited narrative. If an individual sees itself as “abnormal” he or she is more susceptible to be

controlled. Discourses are therefore used as a power tool that shapes social hierarchies and

provides social position which people inhabit (Pace, 2019).

Normalizing power refers to the relations between individuals, and therefore, operates rather

invisibly (Richter, 2014:419). Because of its lack of transparency, it can be difficult to recognize

when normalizing power is being executed.

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Subjectification

Foucault distinguishes the meaning of the term subject in two understandings. Either, the

individual is a subject through the control and dependence by someone else or the individual is a

subject through its own conscience (May T, 2014: 496).

Subjectification attempts to explain the process of how we became to be who we are (May T,

2014: 501). To gain knowledge of subjectification it is important to understand the term

power-knowledge.

According to Foucault, knowledge is produced from power which means our daily lives are

regulated through this knowledge (May T, 2014: 498). This shapes the individual’s characters as

the social order is formed by the established norms (ibid). Power and knowledge are directly

connected (ibid.). This concludes that the structures of society are strongly connected to the

knowledge and perceptions of ourselves and others (ibid.).

Foucault's aim is to examine the complex forces such as social structures, which influence the

way we are (May T, 2014: 499). These forces can work with either the same or a contrary aim

(ibid.). Subjectification can be understood as the self-knowledge and the awareness of ourselves

as subjects produced by the operating powers (May T, 2014: 501). Furthermore, when reaching

this knowledge the individual is able to subjectify itself e.i. liberate itself from the operating

power.

Pierre Bourdieu

Capital

Bourdieu has a broad understanding of the concept of power, as he does not just limit it to the

traditional understanding (Swartz, 1997: 73). Bourdieu’s idea of power is extended to four types

of capital; cultural capital, economic capital, social capital, and symbolic capital (ibid.).

However, we have chosen only to focus on cultural capital and symbolic capital since these are

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the ones we have found most important for our project. Therefore, we will only describe these

types of capital.

Cultural capital describes different types of cultural knowledge and qualities, that individuals can

possess. To be well articulated, having general knowledge about culture, being well educated or

having an understanding of the local education system are all qualities that contribute to

individuals’ cultural capital (Swartz, 1997: 75). According to Bourdieu, one’s cultural capital is

predominantly related to one’s family’s cultural capital (Swartz, 1997).

To give an example Bourdieu does not credit the individual’s success in school to the natural

intellect, but to a greater extent to his or her family’s cultural capital (Swartz, 1997: 75).

Bourdieu argues that cultural capital can have a more important role than economic capital when

it comes to social mobility (Swarts, 1997 and Fowler, 1997: 23). Nevertheless, Bourdieu does

acknowledge that in capitalist societies economic capital has historically been superior (Swarts,

1997: 79).

Symbolic capital debates the issue of whether or not individuals and groups are considered as

legitimate or not. Bourdieu describes symbolic capital as: “Belief in the legitimacy of the words

and of him who utters them” (Bourdieu in Swartz, 1997, p. 88, l. 21). This legitimacy is a

collective belief and a capital of trust (Swartz, 1997: 92), so in society, some people are taken

more seriously because of their symbolic capital. Hereby it can be understood that there are

structures in a society where some people are perceived as legitimate and others as illegitimate.

Bourdieu aspires to explain the structures in society that distinct certain groups as dominant and

others as subdominant (Swartz, 1997: 85). To ensure their legitimacy the dominant group

accumulates and secures a significant level of symbolic capital (Swartz, 1997: 92). This ability to

accumulate capital creates the part of symbolic capital that Bourdieu describes as an advantage in

society (Swartz, 1997:92). Furthermore, symbolic capital is also a tool to hierarchically

differentiate groups in society. This classification creates societal inclusion and exclusion

(Swartz, 1997: 84).

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According to Bourdieu, symbolic capital is the other name of legitimate power. He highlights

that the foundation of this power is forms of acknowledgment, for instance, authority, fame or

honor.

Afro-Futurism

Afrofuturism is an art genre that has close connections to science fiction (Yaszek, 2006). Both

Afrofuturism and science fiction are presenting technology, digitalization, and science from a

futuristic perspective. However, Afrofuturistic stories differentiate itself from science fiction as

they are told by Africans and the African diaspora. Afrofuturism is a possibility to create “the

history of the future” of the black people (ibid.).

Afrofuturism is also a tool to create an alternative narrative of black people, as the black

community struggles with inequality. Therefore, Afrofuturism can be an escape from a tough

reality as the Afrofuturistic author Tomi Adeyemi in the following quote describes a longing for:

“I wanna see black stories that aren't about black pain. Because the pain is constant” (Adeyemi,

2019, 1:00).

Afrofuturism is a belief in a utopian future (Asim, 2016). This need for Afro-Americans to

believe in a utopian future can be dated back to slavery times were imagining a future of freedom

was a way of escaping a life of imprisonment (ibid.). To summarize, Afrofuturism is a tool for

the African diaspora to create their future as they hope it to be.

Pan-Africanism

Pan-Africanism emerged in the middle of the 19th century (Kiuchi, 2013). Throughout World

War I, Pan-Africanism was developed further as black intellectuals and leaders strived for black

solidarity (Kiuchi, 2013). Pan-Africanism is an ideology based on a belief that Africans and

people of African diaspora share culture and heritage. They should, therefore, unite in order to

liberate all of the world’s black people from oppression (ibid.). Pan-Africanism is both an

ideology as well as it is a movement. There are different interpretations of the term which make

it difficult to assess a single definition for Pan-Africanism. Nevertheless, the core of

Pan-Africanism is black internationalism which strives for unity of blacks around the world

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(Cheeseman et al., 2019). The following poem by the Afro-American poet Langston Hughes

demonstrates the desire for one common black identity: “We are related-you and I. You from the

West Indies, I from Kentucky. We are related to you and I. You from Africa, I from these States.

We are brothers-you and I” (Hughes sited in Legum, 1965:16).

This quote illustrates the desire to reconnect with your roots. Despite being separated from

Africa, people of the African diaspora are still connected. Furthermore, Pan-Africanism

encourages the black community to appreciate their skin color rather than seeing it as an

embarrassment or burden (Legum, 1965:18).

The Hohfeldian Analysis of Rights

The Hohfeldian understanding of claim rights provides us with an opportunity to investigate how

the claims Black Panther make, can be attained. The Hohfeldian analysis of Rights marks four

distinctions within citizenship rights (Isin, 2002:16). However, we will focus on “claim-rights”

which are relevant for our project. For a better understanding of the term claim, we also

introduce the concept of liberty. Liberty and claims are both based on a “three-term

relationships” between one person(s), action and other person(s) (May W., 2002). When person

A is claiming for a right, person B as the corresponding duty holder has to act upon this claim in

order for the claim to be attained (Lazarev, 2005). Therefore, the responsibility to act lays with

the corresponding duty holder and not the person(s) having the right (May W., 2002). To give an

example: an employee can claim the right to get paid by the employer. Then the employer has

the duty to pay his employee. The right is only fulfilled when the employer acts and pays the

salary (May W., 2002). On the contrary, in liberty rights, the action lays with the person claiming

liberty (May W., 2002). In liberty rights person A has no duty to act or not to act (May W.,

2002). Therefore, it is something that you have a free choice to do.

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4. Summary of Black Panther

In this section, we have created a summary of the Black Panther movie, focusing on the events

that are relevant to understand our project.

Centuries ago, a Wakandan warrior gained superhero powers through the consumption of a

heart-shaped herb. This warrior became the first Black Panther who united the five tribes to one

nation named Wakanda. The plot of the movie is primarily situated in a fictitious African country

called Wakanda. The country is a technological utopia as they possess the strongest metal on

Earth: Vibranium. Wakandans isolated themselves in order not to lose their Vibranium. To the

outside world, they seem like a third world country. Most of the main characters of the movie are

the citizens of Wakanda. T’Challa and Shuri are the children of T’Chaka, the previous king of

Wakanda. T’Challa is the main character, who is the king of Wakanda and holds the powers of

the Black Panther. He is a responsible king who takes care of his people and is respected by

them. Furthermore, the plot includes a lot of strong female characters. One of them is Shuri, a

scientific genius, who is in charge of the technological inventions in the country. Another one is

Okoye, the general of the kingdom guard, Dora Milaje. Okoye is loyal to the king and has

upstanding values. The third important female character is the warrior Nakia, T’Challa’s love

and a staunch fighter for justice and equality. The leading antagonist is Erik Stevens. He is the

son of T’Chaka’s brother, N’Jobu. N’Jobu strived to end oppression of Africans around the

world. N’Jobu stole vibranium from Wakanda which he hides in Oakland, California. The

Vibranium is stolen with the aim to share Wakandan’s technology and liberate black

communities around the world. N’Jobu is killed by T’Chaka in a conflict. As a consequence,

Erik was left behind alone in Oakland. However, before N’Jobu died, he described to Erik

Wakanda as the most beautiful place on Earth.

The main plot of the movie is situated in present time. In Wakanda, T’Challa is going to succeed

the throne after the death of his father. The formal ceremony includes a ritual combat in which

the tribes can challenge the upcoming king by fighting against him. The ritual combat always

takes place by stripping the supernatural strength of the Black Panther away.

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In America, Erik Stevens has grown up to be an extremely skilled and brutal fighter, which led to

his title as the Killmonger. Just like his father, he intends to fight back against white oppression.

He is frustrated with the racial inequality in the American society and plans to fight back by any

means necessary. He cooperates with a greedy white South African named Ulysses Klaue. Erik

and Klaue steal an artifact made of Vibranium from a British museum and, therefore, reach the

attention of Wakanda. T'Challa, Okoye, and Nakia travel to Korea to bring justice, where Klaue

planned to sell the Vibranium to CIA agent Ross. Agent Ross is a white American with a

stereotypical perception of African countries. The situation turns into a shootout where Agent

Ross is injured. T’Challa decides to bring Agent Ross to Wakanda, where Ross is saved by

Wakanda’s highly advanced medical equipment.

Erik kills Ulysses Klaue and brings the body to Wakanda. In Wakanda, he reveals his real

identity as a Wakandan and son of N’Jobu. Erik challenges T’Challa to fight for the throne of the

Kingdom. At the end of the ritual combat, T’Challa is considered dead. After becoming King,

Erik plans to use Wakanda’s military strengths to liberate the African diaspora. However, it turns

out that T’Challa survived and he returns with the help of his mother, Shuri, and Nakia. Towards

the end of the movie, T’Challa is able to defeat Erik. Additionally, he fulfills Erik’s childhood

dream to see the Wakandan sunset. Erik rejects the possibility to be healed as that would lead to

incarceration since he desires to die as a free man.

At last, T’Challa reveals the truth about the prosperous Wakanda to the rest of the world at a UN

conference. Furthermore, he establishes an outreach program in N’Jobu’s old apartment complex

in Oakland. Nakia and Shuri are appointed by T'Challa to run the program.

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5. Analysis of Black Panther

In this chapter, we analyze the Black Panther movie. Our analysis is built upon a content analysis

in which we have recognized various categories and subcategories which we have identified as

central elements of the film. We categorized our data from our analysis into the following codes:

Pan-Africanism, Afrofuturism, References to the past, African Culture,

Discourse/counter-discourse as well as Identity. Within these codes, we have further created

subcategories. Within the category Pan-Africanism, we have recognized the subcategories

Symbolism and African diaspora and further divided Afrofuturism into Idealized Africa and

technology. We have been looking at two contradicting discourses in Black Panther and therefore

recognized the two subcategories the stereotypical western discourse regarding Africa, and a

counter-discourse breaking with the stereotypical narrative. We have identified three types of

references to the past: Colonization, Slavery and Civil Rights Movements. Following, we have

coded African culture into the subcategories; Language/Accents, Art, Clothing, Music, Tribes,

Names, and Religion. At last, we have divided Identity into Ancestors and Uncertainty of identity

and origin.

Pan-Africanism is a dominant feature in the movie. Moreover, it is a significant characteristic

both on the screen and behind. The director of Black Panther, Ryan Coogler decided to work

with actors, actresses and a production team of Africans from all over the world. For example,

Lupita Nyong'o is from Kenya, Winston Duke is from Trinidad, Daniel Kaluuya is from Great

Britain and John Kani is from South Africa. People from both Africa and the African diaspora

are, therefore, greatly represented in the cast.

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In Black Panther, a special Wakandan salute occurs. This salute is done by crossing your arms

like an X. The salute has been adopted by many people of the African diaspora in the real world.

Below we have gathered four pictures of people saluting in “Wakanda style”.

A) Trevor Noah - born and raised in South African, who is the host of an American late-night

show.

B) American-Guyanese tennis player Sachia Vickery.

C) French-Guinean footballer Paul Pogba and British footballer Jesse Lingard.

30


D) French-Caribbean tennis player Gaël Monfils. 1

We have coded the Wakandan salute as a symbol of Pan-Africanism since this sign has an ability

to unify people of African heritage. French-Caribbean tennis player Gaël Monfils, who is

illustrated in picture D, has adopted the salute as his signature gesture. Monfils commented on

Black Panther and the X gesture: “I think that the movie is great, it’s great for the community,

(...) It's not just a sign. It's everything. It's everything going on and it's definitely a shout-out

saying that I'm supporting the Black Panther's community” (Addicott, 2018). As the quote and

the pictures above indicate Black Panther has contributed to a platform to unify black people on

a global scale. The movie is important to many black people because Wakanda is a visualization

of the African diaspora and encourages black communities around the world to connect and

support each other.

A big issue for many Afro-Americans is that they do not have the opportunity to know their

heritage. Their ancestors were stripped away from their cultural identity which led to a possible

identity crisis. The feeling of rootlessness has passed down for generations and is still present for

Afro-Americans. In addition, Afro-American actor Tiffany Haddish is explaining this lack of

identity in an interview about white privilege: “(...) is that you guys [white people red.] know

where you came from, you know your history. You know where you're going 'cause you know

where you came from. We don't know that. (...) That's the privileges you guys have. So you have

an idea of where you gonna go and how you gonna continue to grow” (Stapelton, 2019).

1 The pictures’ sources can be found through the bibliography at: (The Daily Show with Trevor Noah, 2018), (Caracciolo, 2018), (Weaver, 2018), and (Abulleil, 2018)

31


Afro-Americans miss a part of their identity connected to their heritage and roots. According to

Haddish, it is difficult to progress forward because of this lack of knowledge. Therefore, the

movie is trying to showcase this part of their identity. Black Panther allows the African diaspora

to reconnect with their home continent. Wakanda becomes, even though fictitious, a

representation of what could have been their “home country”. The Black Panther movie is

reclaiming the heritage of African people. The fact that the movie embraces Pan-Africanism

demonstrates that the movie is not only for Africans living in Africa but for all of the African

diaspora.

Throughout the movie, African identity and culture have a dominant presence. Furthermore,

these themes are presented majestic and powerful. The characters are wearing clothes with

African pattern and the soundtrack includes African instruments like talking drums. African

culture is also portrayed in Shuri’s laboratory as it is decorated with African art.

The combat scene between T'Challa and M'Baku, which is illustrated in the pictures below,

shows all Wakandan tribes gathered together.

2

2 The pictures’ sources can be found through the bibliography at: (Lucky M, 2019) and (Key Scene, 2018)

32


In this particular scene, we can see how the African culture is prominent as the people of

Wakanda are dressed in traditional tribes’ clothes and embellishments while they dance and sing

in Xhosa.

The movie abolishes the common discourse of African culture as something primitive and

savage. Instead, a counter-discourse is established. African culture is presented majestically and

celebrated as powerful and beautiful. As Ryan Coogler states in an interview; “for me it [the

movie red.] was about my own realisation. It is okay to be African. You should be proud to be

African. Everybody should be proud of their own heritage but especially us.” (2018, CBS This

Morning). According to Coogler, having African heritage can be a part of the norm and he tried

to pass this on to the black community. Adding on, the movie claims that being black is

something appealing and glorious. It claims that having African heritage is something to be

proud of and to celebrate. It emphasizes that there is nothing wrong with being African.

We argue that the American society has established a certain discourse, which includes a

stereotypical western perception of Africans, where they are recognized as primitive and savages

(Bobo, 2011: 27).

The discourse of Africans can also be examined through Foucault's theory of normalization. This

theory says that society is divided into certain boxes as normal and abnormal. Related to our

project we identify being white is perceived as normal whereas being black is perceived as

abnormal in the American society. Therefore, being black is associated with certain attributes as

something illegitimate such as criminal and dangerous.

In Black Panther, black people are portrayed as kings and queens which is an opposite discourse.

By challenging the societal discourse the movie can be used as a powerful tool for example to

shift the society in a direction where Afro-Americans are equally established and legitimate.

The black characters in the movie are portrayed as complex and fulfilled humans. The black

actors are not downgraded to supporting roles. They provide meaning and progression to the

plot. The fact that the characters are portrayed dignified and are taken seriously gives the

characters symbolic capital. An example of this empowerment is T’Challa. People treat him with

authority and respect. Within the discussion on foreign policy between T’Challa and one of the

33


tribe leaders W’Kabi, W’Kabi suggests a military solution to avoid a refugee crisis. However,

T’Challa disagrees on this matter, which is fully accepted by W’Kabi. T’Challa has full

legitimacy. He is a powerful black superhero with a capital of trust, just like white superheroes.

Seeing a dark-skinned superhero, who is strong and powerful gives Afro-Americans a role

model. In an interview with an Afro-American teenager about the Black Panther movie, he

answered “Imma feel royal. Imma feel dominant” (CBS This Morning, 2018). The movie has a

big impact on people as it challenges the understanding of who can possess a dominant role in

society. After watching the movie, the Afro-American teenager feels strong and that he has the

right to be taken seriously as well. This sense of superiority and dominance opposes the notion of

the inferiority complex defined by Frantz Fanon.

Black Panther can be used as an inspiration for Afro-Americans to claim equal symbolic capital.

Within the American society, the black population is struggling with being taken seriously and

their legitimacy is often missing. The movie can thus be used to break stereotypes which could

help to establish a better position in society for Afro-Americans.

The characters in the movie possess a high level of cultural capital. They are well articulated,

educated and have well-established careers. Nakia speaks Korean, Okoye is a general and the

citizens of Wakanda are well aware of their culture. The characters are sophisticated instead of

savages and primitive. Through this alternative perception of blacks, the movie portrays a

different reality, where black people possess cultural capital. In reality, Afro-Americans often

lack cultural capital which limits their social mobility. The Black Panther movie can be an

inspiration and can provide hope for a better future where social mobility is possible and a better

standard of living can be accomplished.

The Black Panther movie can be categorized as Afrofuturism. Wakanda is a black utopia with

advanced technology and scientific geniuses. Wakanda, for example, owns airships, futuristic

medical equipment, holograms, high-tech weapons. Additionally, the country has never been

colonized and exploited by the Europeans. Therefore, they have been able to develop as a nation

to a much greater degree than anywhere else.

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Afro-American author Thaddeus Howze states; “What this movie offers us, [...] a place where

they [Afro American youth red.] can be everything they imagine themselves to be. Together.

Wakanda says we exist in a future which is wonderfully, beautifully, intelligently, optimistically

Black” (Howze, 2018). This quote demonstrates the importance that Afrofuturism has in the

movie. It gives hope and sends out a message that everything is possible for black people in

contrary to reality.

The Black Panther movie is an example of Afro-Americans creating their history of the future.

Historically, there has been a tendency for white people to tell the story about Afro-Americans.

However, Black Panther has a black director, a predominantly black cast and black production

crew which gives them the possibility to tell their own story.

We identify a connection between Foucault’s theory of subjectification and the movie. The plot

includes several features of colonization and the power relation between the colonizer and the

colonized. The marks, colonization has set on African countries, are not present in Wakanda. By

omitting those marks we recognize a strong awareness concerning those power relations.

According to Foucault, subjectification is about the understanding of power operation on

yourself as a subject. We identify that the Black Panther production team has a strong

self-awareness concerning the power relations present during colonization. The production team

has reached a certain level of subjectification through self-acknowledgment of operating power

relations in society. This understanding is visible in the movie by the fact that the impact of

colonialism in Africa is disregarded. Rather than western names, Wakandans have African

names as Okoye, T'Challa and M'Baku. Also, instead of “for God sake” the characters say “for

Bast sake”, since the Wakandan population has not been exposed to Christianity. Despite

English being the main language of the movie, one of the official languages in South Africa,

Xhosa is also spoken frequently by the Wakandans.

According to Foucault, the individual is more able to free itself from oppression, if the individual

has subjectify itself. The production team behind Black Panther has great awareness concerning

the power structures established during colonialism. Black Panther can, therefore, be an

alternative contribution in the continuous fight for Afro-American liberation. It can thus be used

35


as a platform where people can question the societal structures which discriminate against

specific groups such as Afro-Americans.

As we have argued, the movie breaks with many stereotypes including gender stereotypes. The

female characters are as equally important as the male figures for the plot. The women are

portrayed as strong and independent who often come to their fellow male Wakandans’ rescue.

For example, when T’Challa loses the kingdom to Erik, three strong black women; Nakia, Shuri,

and Ramonda commence on a trip up to save Wakanda. The movie, therefore, strives to pave the

way for black women to excel on screen. In Black Panther women are celebrated as fulfilled

individuals. For example, the movie portrays powerful female soldiers in the Dora Milaje and

intelligent female scientists like Shuri.

In the American society, black women are a very stigmatized group (Mgadmi, 2009:1). They are

not only struggling against gender discrimination but also racial inequality. The amount of strong

women in the movie demonstrates that the fight for black emancipation is not solely a fight for

black men. It is as much a fight for black women to have. We argue that the representation of

women in the movie can be seen as an inspiration for Afro-American women to challenge the

societal perception of black women and fight for their aims, like Rosa Parks and Alicia Garza.

The movie inspired the Afro-American tennis player Serena Williams. She wore a bodysuit

inspired by the Black Panther movie in a tennis match, which she said made her feel “like a

warrior princess” (Dawson, 2018). Furthermore, Williams stated that wearing the bodysuit

provided her with an opportunity to inspire women and children. Hereby, we see that Black

Panther is not just an inspiration for Afro-American men but also women.

In the movie, T’Challa and Erik, have different perceptions of how to lead Wakanda and its

people. Erik has a militant approach whereas T’Challa has a diplomatic and more pacifist

approach. Wakanda has never been colonized and as a consequence of this T’Challa has not been

affected by the colonial past. However, Erik grew up in a post-colonial society and has suffered

from racism. Erik is full of anger and frustration. He disagrees with Wakanda’s impassivity

regarding the black community outside their walls. Furthermore, Erik perceives T’Challa as a

weak leader who is unable to protect his people and the black community all around the world.

36


Likewise, amongst civil rights activists, the discussion about the right way to lead and liberate

black people is debated. As previously mentioned, Martin Luther King and Malcolm X had

conflicting perspectives on how to fight for black emancipation. We identified similarities

between the two male characters and the activists mentioned. This is visual in the final fight

scene between T’Challa and Erik. In this scene, T’Challa asks Erik: “You want to see us just like

the people you hate so much? Divide and conquer the land as they did?” Erik answers “No, I

learn from my enemies - beat them at their own game”. In this dialogue, we recognize a

similarity to Malcolm X's notion of by any means necessary. Furthermore, we discovered a

connection between T’Challa and Martin Luther King's diplomatic philosophy as well.

We propose that this movie offers a platform to debate on this particular aspect. In the black

community, the approach to the emancipation fight is disputed. With the establishment of an

outreach center, T’Challa’s diplomatic approach and Erik’s notion that one should support the

black community are unified.

The movie is, therefore, paying homage to civil rights activists who fought and died for black

emancipation. Another example is the Black Panther Party who established community programs

to support the black community. Despite the original Black Panther comic book series disavows

the Black Panther Party the movie acknowledges the movement by using the party’s hometown,

Oakland and showing posters of Huey Newton.

In Black Panther, black people from all over the world are represented in a country where they

live free from racial oppression. Wakanda is a well-developed and prosperous nation. It is a

utopia for black people. Black people are not only greatly represented in this movie. They are

presented as royals, as scientists and generals who have a high status in society. The movie is,

therefore, an inspiration for the black audience. However, most importantly the movie is a tool to

change the negative discourse concerning Afro-Americans. It can not only change the way white

people perceive Afro-Americans but also the way they perceive themselves.

37


6. Discussion of the analysis

The election of Barack Obama as the first black president was seen as a big step towards a

post-racial society. However, the succeeding election of Donald Trump was a big step backward.

Donald Trump has expressed racist comments several times during his presidency. An example

of this is his reference to various African countries as “shitholes” (Kendi, 2019) and additionally,

he has been cited that Nigerian immigrants in America “would never go back to their huts”

(ibid.). Thus, the president is legitimizing a racist discourse in the American society. Since

Donald Trump was elected, the discourse in the government has become more conservative and

racist. In this conservative era, it might seem peculiar to have a superhero movie that celebrates

African culture. However, we argue that because of this increasing racist discourse, the movie is

even more important. It creates a possibility to dream of a better future.

In the Black Panther movie Wakanda is portrayed as a utopia and therefore it becomes a tool to

provide hope for Afro-Americans. Black Panther illustrates a society where having black skin is

not negatively associated. It presents a future where the black community does not struggle with

the racial issues that are present in America. With Donald Trump as the president, it can be hard

to imagine that kind of future.

The movie cannot change American society on its own, but it can be an inspiration. It is

dependent on actual people acting upon the the movie. In our analysis, we identified that the

characters possess both symbolic capital and cultural capital. This does not mean that

Afro-American people automatically receive symbolic capital and cultural capital by just seeing

the movie. For this to be a reality, people actually need to fight for it.

According to the Hohfeldian Analysis of Rights, we identify the Afro-American population as

the right holder and society as the corresponding duty holder. Therefore, when the Black Panther

movie claims for the rights of the black population, the society has a corresponding duty. This is

since society is in charge of the change and responsible for the claim to be obtained. The movie

claims for the right for black people to be proud of themselves. In this case, society is

responsible for treating black people with respect and dignity in order for the claim to be

obtained. According to the Hohfeldian Analysis of Rights, Black Panther is dependent on the

38


audience to be able to contribute to the emancipation of Afro-Americans. Furthermore, we also

recognized a governmental responsibility to establish equality for Afro-Americans. Especially,

when Afro-Americans are claiming a change in social structures, we identified the American

government as a corresponding duty holder. Many issues that disadvantage Afro-Americans in

society such as poor school systems and police brutality need governmental involvement. Ergo,

the government has the corresponding duty and therefore the claim is dependent on the

government’s actions in order to be fulfilled.

Nevertheless, we recognized that the movie is able to challenge the norms and discourses by its

own means since it is providing a counter-discourse concerning black people. As the movie was

a commercial success it reached a large audience. A lot of people were, therefore, exposed to a

positive discourse regarding Africans and people of the African diaspora. It was nominated for

important international movie awards and was well acknowledged.

Black Panther received a lot of reactions through various types of social media as tweets, posts,

and hashtags were used to hype the movie. The movie resonated with a diverse crowd and

reached a wide range of people. The percentage of female viewers was higher than the average

rate of female moviegoers for a superhero movie (Huddleston, 2019). In comparison to the

movie’s overall audience, Afro-Americans were also overrepresented (ibid). We discovered that

the movie was positively-received not only by the black community but also by

non-Afro-Americans. This shows interest in movies where the black race is presented dignified

and with respect to their culture.

However, Black Panther is one of the exceptions that deviate from the common discourse.

Hollywood is producing thousands of movies every year and the majority of these are presenting

something different. We acknowledge that it is difficult for a single movie to change the general

perception and discourse in society. Nonetheless, Black Panther can be used as something to

reflect upon. The movie is dismissing the “myth” of the black man and woman as being “exotic”,

“savage” or “criminal”. A perception that otherwise is deeply rooted within American society.

Despite being a fictitious story Black Panther still has strong importance to the African diaspora.

As Gaël Monfils says Black Panther is more than a movie, it is a whole movement that reflects

39


what is going on in society. This movement is visual as a lot of people have adopted the X

gesture as a symbol for black pride and unity. Even though the Black Panther movie is very

important for the black community, it is not exclusively relevant to this marginalized group. The

Black Panther movie demonstrates that it is possible to use a movie to present the voices of

minorities. Black Panther shows that movies can be used as a platform to question the norms and

discourses in society that are repressing marginalized groups. Furthermore, it suggests that

fighting for equality through a movie is a possibility.

Using a movie as a tool for black liberation is an alternative to more traditional methods such as

protests and civil disobedience. Civil rights activists like Martin Luther King, Rosa Park and

millions of other important activists fought for fundamental rights such as voting rights, equal

education, etc. Black Panther focuses on black pride and self-awareness and the general

discourse of black people. We argue that the perception of Afro-Americans is extremely

important. As we presented in our contextual framework Afro-Americans often get subprime

loans even though they qualify for a better loan. If the perception of Afro-Americans was to

improve we see a possibility for issues like these to decrease. Furthermore, we see an

opportunity for self-awareness to create a possibility for Afro-Americans to subjectify

themselves. In order for this subjectification to be possible, it is a need for Afro-Americans to

understand the structures that have suppressed them for centuries. We argue that the movie is a

claim for the Afro-American people to question social structures.

By looking at the movie’s success, it seems like there are a demand and interest in movies like

Black Panther in society. Due to this demand, there will presumably be more movies in the

future, where black people are not neglected but celebrated instead. For instance, it is confirmed

that in 2022 Black Panther 2 will premier.

Black Panther can thus be a predecessor for mainstream movies with a dominant black

production team. If movies that are claiming black pride become more mainstream it is easier to

normalize this narrative. Hence, Black Panther can be a contribution to the fight for

emancipation for Afro-Americans.

40


7. Conclusion

In this research paper, we aimed to understand how the Black Panther movie is a claim for black

emancipation. In order to establish an answer to this question, we connected our contextual and

theoretical framework with our case study of the Black Panther movie. From that, we have

concluded the following:

By coding the movie in different categories we were able to recognize the African culture as an

essential theme of the Black Panther movie. Within that category, we identified a claim for the

ability to celebrate African culture and heritage.

We recognized that the element of African heritage is important as the African people are

scattered around the world. The movie is a possibility for the African diaspora to connect around

their heritage. It is connecting and unifying the African diaspora.

Furthermore, we concluded that the movie created an alternative perception of Africans and

black people in general. In the movie, the African characters are powerful, trustworthy and

legitimized. We see this as a claim for a new narrative concerning black people. In the American

society the Afro-American community is disadvantaged. However, we concluded that the movie

can give hope for a better future and a reality where the black community is a part of the norm.

According to our content analysis, we were able to showcase that Black Panther has established a

counter-discourse challenging the dominant narrative about black people.

In our project, we discussed the impact of Black Panther’s counter-discourse in relation to

American society through the Hohfeldian Analysis of Rights.

By understanding the counter-discourse of the movie as a claim for the liberation of the

Afro-Americans, we were investigating how realistically these claims can actually be achieved.

In that investigation, we realized that the movie’s claims can not stand on their own as the claims

are dependent on the audience and society to react on it. The explanation is that a claim is

dependent on a corresponding duty holder in order to be achieved. Even though the movie does

have its limitations, we recognized it has an ability to inspire and promote an alternative reality

for Afro-Americans. The movie is a contribution to a discourse which breaks with the

stereotypical portrayal of black people.

41


Therefore, we argue that the movie Black Panther as a black superhero movie is an alternative

tool for black liberation. We see an importance in the media changing the discourse. In the

reactions from the Afro-American audience, we have understood that the movie’s

counter-discourse does have an impact on their self-perception. We are aware that this movie is

only a piece in the broader fight for black emancipation, however, this is Ryan Coogler and his

team’s contribution to the fight.

42


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Black Panther

Documents

Transcript of Black Panther