Black Panther's Limitations

      Black Panther is one of my favorite movies of all time. So, when I heard we were going to get to analyze it from an Afrofurutism perspective I was very interested. For this weeks blog I chose to read "The Limits of Black Panther's Afrofuturism."

    In "The Limits of Black Panther's Afrofuturism," Gerry Canavan argues that the transcendent politics of Ryan Coogler's Black Panther face a challenge due to the concept of mythic time in comic-book narratives. As I read the article, I found Canavan's points interesting and thought-provoking. According to the article, comic book narratives take place in an eternal present where events beyond the origin story do not have consequences that "stick." This means that superheroes like Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman cannot make a transformative impact on society without disrupting the comic's original point of entry.

    Canavan also discusses how this mythic time has been translated onto the big screen in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, where catastrophic events have little impact on social or economic conditions on the planet. While Black Panther's vision of Wakanda offers hope for a society that upends racist violence and Western hegemony, the franchise narrative's temporal limitations mean that Wakanda cannot exist after Black Panther. This presents a challenge to the Afrofuturist vision of imagining alternative futures that can transform the present.

    As I read the article, I couldn't help but think about the significance of these points to Afrofuturism, a movement that explores the intersection of African diaspora culture, technology, science fiction, and history. Canavan's argument highlights the limits of mythic time in comic-book narratives, which pose a challenge to the Afrofuturist vision of imagining transformative futures. The article raises important questions about the potential for stories to transform society and the challenges of reconciling artistic vision with narrative limitations.