Wakanda for everyone: an invitation to an African Muslim perspective of Black Panther

Abstract

Black Panther's (2018) Afrofuturistic cultural footprint-left by the utopic, fictional African country of Wakanda and its new King, T'Challa/Black Panther-was significant not just for the superhero film genre, but also for the representation of Africa, Black femininity, Black identity, and a mighty and self-sustaining society unimpacted by war or colonization. While the film was praised for its character development, story, and celebration of Black identity, it is not without critique. Much of its success was linked through its impact on/for Black America, ignoring its transnational implications for Africans living throughout Africa and the African diaspora. While nearly half of the African continent practices Islam, the lack of Muslim representation, save for violent imagery, left many questioning the absence of a truly transnational and inclusive African story.

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

“…Wakanda has not experienced colonisation and has created a thriving society, with extensive social and technological capital. 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…”