WAKANDA FOREVER: AN AFROCENTRIC ANALYSIS OF THE FILM BLACK PANTHER

Upon its release, Black Panther became a symbol of Afrofuturism and how the Black imagination could redefine Blackness and one's interpretation of Black People. Many asserted that African Americans had no "Wakanda" to call their own, but it was merely a fictional land from a comic book. This dissertation examines the Black imagination as a tool of Black resistance and liberation through the film Black Panther. It looks to see how the Black imagination has been used to redefine Black people, reinterpret the Black past, and place Black people in the future. This dissertation also asserts that Wakanda is not some mythical place only found in the pages of a comic book but exists throughout the Africana diaspora. Using the theory of Afrofuturism and Afrocentricity, this research will analyze how there are spaces of Black excellence that appear lackluster to the outside (White) world but, in reality, are hidden jewels of thriving Black spaces that encourage Black survival, creativity, brilliance, and innovation. These "Wakanda's" are African American institutions, neighborhoods, schools, barbershops, beauty salons, and churches. By demonstrating the Wakandan-ness of these spaces, Black Americans do more than struggle against oppression or subversion but use them to build advanced Black futures away from the world and seek to preserve them. Finally, this research examines the factors that led up to the cultural phenomenon of Black Panther, its lasting impact, and what did this moment say about the Black Imagination and what Black people want to see.

Grantor dc:publisher

Temple University. Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2023

Author dc:creator

• Craig, John

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Johnson, C. Amari

Committee members dc:contributor.committeemember

• Nehusi, Kimani S. K.
• Smith, Aaron X.
• Williams, Roland Leander

• African American studies

Statement dc:rights

• IN COPYRIGHT- This Rights Statement can be used for an Item that is in copyright. Using this statement implies that the organization making this Item available has determined that the Item is in copyright and either is the rights-holder, has obtained permission from the rights-holder(s) to make their Work(s) available, or makes the Item available under an exception or limitation to copyright (including Fair Use) that entitles it to make the Item available.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12613/8885

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:scholarshare.temple.edu:20.500.12613/8885