Criticisms of Black Panther

 

Black Panther is an empowering superhero franchise for the Black community. Through music, Afrofuturist costuming, an all Black leading cast, and just all around bad*** stunts and crime fighting, we get the perfect superhero to love. In all of its progressive standpoints and obvious ties to the Afrofuturist genre, the franchise does fall short in presenting longevity for Black Panther. In the article The Limits of Black Panther’s Afrofuturism, written by Gerry Canavan, he discusses these downfalls. Most specifically, the issue of time. The Afrofuturist genre is know to root itself in, well, the future. Seeing that our Black Panther is a part of the Marvel universe, and inevitably is involved in the same timeline as the Avengers, we are confronted with the idea that all these superheroes — Black Widow, Iron-Man, Captain America, Spiderman and the list goes on and on — exist within the same time as our Black Panther. Though the Black Panther is existing in a completely different part of this universe, Wakanda, in comparison to the mostly New York based characters, we have to ask: How can this be?

If we continue to acknowledge the scope and outlines that are set to be considered Afrofuturist, we must wonder why Marvel has chosen to set Black Panther in what is seen as ‘present day’. To be clear, we can all agree that what happens in the Marvel universe is beyond what is considered normal in our everyday lives; and is, for all intents and purposes considered science-fiction and fantasy. But the interesting point that Canavan has made is: why not give Black Panther his own space to exist. By conflating Black Panther with all the more generic notions of super heroism, we ultimately lose sight of all the truly fantastic attributes that Black Panther stands for. In other words, he can, and as Canavan argues does, get lost in the mix. This argument, I must agree with. If we were to truly have a an Afrofuturist superhero, that lasts beyond a couple movies, he should have had a more lasting impression on the universe. At the very least, be separated by time or actual space. However, I do believe this article, though making fair points, may be a bit critical of Black Panther. In the same breath that we point out its downfalls, we must also acknowledge the space it has created in the multi-billion dollar franchise. To say a less than perfect depiction is okay because at least it exists, is not the point I am trying to make. But instead, that Back Panther was an incredibly successful movie that I personally saw a shift in pop culture thereafter. And that is something to hang our hats on.