Black Panther and Philosophy

Explore the fascinating historical and contemporary philosophical issues that arise in Black Panther

In Black Panther and Philosophy: What Can Wakanda Offer The World, a diverse panel of experts delivers incisive critical reflections on the Oscar-winning 2018 film, Black Panther, and the comic book mythology that preceded it. The collection explores historical and contemporary issues—including colonialism, slavery, the Black Lives Matter movement, intersectionality, and identity—raised by the superhero tale.

Beyond discussions of the influences of race and ethnicity on the most critically and culturally significant movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, this book presents the moral, feminist, metaphysical, epistemological, existential, and Afrofuturistic issues framing Black Panther’s narrative. The explorations of these issues shed light on our increasingly interconnected world and allow the reader to consider engaging questions like:

• Should Wakanda rule the world?
• Was Killmonger actually a victim?
• Do Wakanda’s Black Lives Matter?
• Does hiding in the shadows make Wakanda guilty?
• What does Wakanda have to offer the world?

Perfect for fans of the most culturally significant film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Black Panther and Philosophy will also earn a place in the libraries of students of philosophy and anyone with a personal or professional interest in the defining issues of our time.

Contributors: One Single Tribe xi

Introduction: A Few Words from the Wakandan International Outreach Centre 1
Edwardo Pérez and Timothy E. Brown

Part I Yibambe! 3

1 Challenge Day: Tradition and Revolution in Wakanda 5
Armond Boudreaux

2 Transforming Wakanda: Justice (or Not?) in Black Panther 14
Steve Bein and Deana Lewis

3 Sins of the Fathers: Historical Injustice and Its Repair in Black Panther 22
Ben Almassi

4 “What Would You Have Wakanda Do about It?”: Black Panther, Global Justice, and African Philosophy 32
Christine Hobden

5 T’Challa’s Liberalism and Killmonger’s Pan-Africanism 42
Stephen C.W. Graves

Part II Wakanda Forever! 51

6 Panther Virtue: The Many Roles of T’Challa 53
Mark D. White

7 Should Wakanda Take Over the World? The Ethics of International Power 61
Greg Littmann

8 T’Challa, the Revolutionary King: Legitimation Crises in Wakanda 70
Kevin J. Porter

9 T’Challa’s Machiavellian Methods 80
Ian J. Drake and Matthew B. Lloyd

10 Understanding the Reigns of T’Challa and Killmonger through Hannah Arendt 87
Jolynna Sinanan

Part III The Heart-Shaped Herb 95

11 Beastly Boys: The Racial-Sexual Politics of Meat 97
Sofia Huerter

12 Panther Mystique: Wakandan Feminism Demystified 107
J. Lenore Wright and Edwardo Pérez

13 The Ancestral Plane: Metaphysical Mystery or Meaningful Metaphor? 123
Dean A. Kowalski

14 The Afterlife of Erik Killmonger in African Philosophy 132
Paul A. Dottin

15 Wakandan Resources: The Epistemological Reality of Black Panther’s Fiction 152
Ruby Komic

Part IV Vibranium 163

16 When Tech Meets Tradition: How Wakandan Technology Transcends Anti-Blackness 165
Timothy E. Brown

17 Vibranium Dreams and Afrofuturist Visions: Technology, Nature, and Culture 175
Alessio Gerola

18 Black Panther’s Afrofuturism: Reconnecting Neural and Cultural Pathways 184
Michael J. Gormley, Benjamin D. Wendorf, and Ryan Solinsky

19 Wakanda and the Dilemma of Racial Utopianism 193
Juan M. Floyd-Thomas

20 The Value of Vibranium 203
Edwardo Pérez

Part V Black Lives Matter 211

21 Dismantling the Master’s House with the Master’s Tools 213
Thanayi M. Jackson

22 An Impossible Return? (Anti)Colonialism in/of Black Panther 221
Julio C. Covarrubias-Cabeza

23 T’Challa’s Dream and Killmonger’s Means: Echoes of MLK and Malcolm X 230
Gerald Browning

24 “It’s Time They Knew the Truth about Us! We’re Warriors!”: Black Panther and the Black Panther Party 238
Karen Joan Kohoutek

25 Fear of a Black Museum: Black Existentialism in Black Panther 247
Charles F. Peterson

Index 256

Edwardo Pérez is Professor of English at Tarrant County College in Hurst, Texas, and Adjunct Assistant Professor of English at the University of Texas at Arlington in Texas. He is a frequent contributor to Wiley’s Philosophy and Popular Culture series and website at www.andphilosophy.com.

Timothy E. Brown is Assistant Professor of Bioethics and Humanities at the University of Washington. He is a founding member of the Neuroethics Trust in the Center for Neurotechnology and leads diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts in the International Neuroethics Society.

Should Wakanda rule the world?
Did Killmonger have a point?
Do Wakanda’s Black Lives Matter?
Does hiding in the shadows make Wakanda guilty?
What does Wakanda have to offer the world?

Directed by Ryan Coogler and starring the late Chadwick Boseman and Michael B. Jordan, 2018’s Black Panther took the ruler and protector of Wakanda from the comic book to the movie screen. Earning seven Oscar nominations (including Best Picture) and winning three awards, Black Panther’s nearly all-black cast (which included Oscar winners Lupita Nyong’o and Forest Whitaker, and Oscar nominated actress Angela Bassett) offered audiences the most socially and culturally significant film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Black Panther and Philosophy explores the characters and world of the Black Panther film and comics through the lenses of philosophy. Original essays on morality, justice, feminism, metaphysics, epistemology, existentialism, and Afrofuturism, tackle issues such as colonialism and chattel slavery, Black Lives Matter and the Black Panther Party, and intersectionality. With timely critical analysis, the authors not only illuminate Black Panther and Wakanda, but also help us navigate our interconnected world.

As T’Challa says, “this never gets old.” So, if you want to return to Wakanda, fight alongside Okoye and the Dora Milaje, help Shuri test out the latest panther suit in her lab, or maybe you think Killmonger was more of a victim than a villain, then Black Panther and Philosophy will engage you while not only showing what Wakanda can offer the world, but also what Wakanda can teach us about humanity’s future.