(Re)imagining African futures: Wakanda and the politics of transnational Blackness

Asante, Godfried; Pindi, Gloria Nziba

doi:10.1080/15358593.2020.1778072

Cited by 12 publications

(11 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Given the mixture of African cultural elements and science fiction, Asante and Pindi (2020) maintain that “Afrofuturism” emerges as a key theme in the Black Panther movie. The main language used by the characters is English spoken with Xhosa accents and pronunciations; a mixture of African costumes and rituals, hip-hop culture and virtual high-tech technologies are represented.…”

Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Vacillating Imagination of ‘Us' in Black Panther (2018)

Song

2023

International Journal of Cultural Studies

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This article analyzes the cultural politics of the vacillating imagination of “us” represented in Black Panther, released in 2018. This popular cultural text centralizes Blackness in that it refers to instances of Black oppression in the early 1990s. Amid the contradiction between the film's Black-centered content and the form of the Hollywood superhero genre, the imagination of “us” in the film expands and shrinks. Drawing on concepts developed by Fredric Jameson and Étienne Balibar, including imaginary resolution, utopian potential, ideological containment, and equaliberty, this article critically examines the ideologies in the text. When it comes to the expansion of “us,” the article explores the utopian potential in the representation of the radical villain. In terms of the shrinkage of “us,” it investigates the function of ideological containment in the Hollywood superhero movie by focusing on the representation of the hero, and the portrait of South Korea as a spectacular background.

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Section: Literature Reviewmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Vacillating Imagination of ‘Us' in Black Panther (2018)

Song

2023

International Journal of Cultural Studies

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“…This nation has inspired researchers to imagine academia as decolonised and anti-racist,9 and has prompted reflections on gender,10 faith11 and colonisation 12. Researchers have also studied Wakanda for its contributions to Afrofuturism,13 14 including as means to engage black youth in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics 15 16…”

Section: Uncolonised Wakandamentioning

confidence: 99%

‘Just because something works doesn’t mean it can’t be improved’: an ethnographic analysis of the health system inBlack Panther’sWakanda

et al. 2023

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The emergence of COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2) has introduced significant global challenges for healthcare systems, healthcare professionals and patients. This current climate creates an opportunity to learn from equitable health systems and move toward making fundamental changes to healthcare systems. Our ethnographic analysis of Wakanda’s healthcare system inBlack Panther, from theMarvel Cinematic Universe, offers opportunities for system-level transformation across healthcare settings. We propose four healthcare system themes within the context of Wakandan identity: (1) technology as an instrument (blending bodies and technology, blending technology with tradition); (2) reimagining medication; (3) warfare and rehabilitation; and (4) preventative approaches to health (prioritising collective health, deprofessionalisation of healthcare services). The preceding themes represent core elements of Wakandan health systems that allow the people of Wakanda to thrive. Wakandans retain a strong identity and cultural traditions while embracing modern technologies. We found that effective upstream approaches to health for all are embedded in anti-colonial philosophies. Wakandans embrace innovation, embedding biomedical engineering and continuous improvement into care settings. For global health systems under strain, Wakanda’s health system identifies equitable possibilities for system change, reminding us that culturally relevant prevention strategies can both decrease pressure on health services and allow all people to thrive.

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“…This perspective aligns with many non-Western epistemologies (Cruz & Sodeke, 2020). For instance, “In most African philosophies on personhood, a person becomes human only amid others” (Asante & Pindi, 2020, p. 225). However, African epistemologies are rarely taken up in the academy writ-large, let alone in communication studies.…”

Section: The Limitations Of Identification and Potential Of Subjectif...mentioning

confidence: 99%

Organizational Rhetoric as Subjectification

Hanchey

Jensen

2021

Management Communication Quarterly

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Given arguments that organizational rhetoric is disconnected from contemporary and useful trends in rhetorical theory writ-large, we build a case for rethinking organizational rhetoric’s founding concept of identification through recent innovations in rhetorical theory. Drawing from theories of psychoanalysis, racialization, and coloniality, we argue for an alternative understanding of organizational rhetoric premised on subjectification, where subjectification is the process through which a subject is brought into being on the basis of shifting contexts, relations, and imbrication in forces of power. We highlight three facets of organizational subjectification that can contribute to innovative organizational rhetorical research: differential relations, dependence on Otherness, and uneven mutuality. These facets, we argue, highlight how processes of coloniality and racialization are fundamental to our very being and becoming, providing a means of understanding organizational rhetoric as inherently political.

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(Re)imagining African futures: Wakanda and the politics of transnational Blackness

Cited by 12 publications

References 7 publications

The Vacillating Imagination of ‘Us' in Black Panther (2018)

The Vacillating Imagination of ‘Us' in Black Panther (2018)

‘Just because something works doesn’t mean it can’t be improved’: an ethnographic analysis of the health system inBlack Panther’sWakanda

Organizational Rhetoric as Subjectification

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