Howard University professor says ‘Black Panther’ fails with angry Black man stereotype and a conservative fantasy even Trump would love

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Black Panther is zooming towards a billion dollar box office, racking up effusive reviews, and the film’s stars are gracing major magazines weekly, but not everyone is a fan of the Marvel blockbuster.

Howard University history professor Daryl M. Scott wrote a contrarian review of Black Panther for The Hollywood Reporter. Unlike some of the anti-Black Panther memes and videos circulating online, Scott’s piece is not a click-bait, shock value type of offering.

Ryan states his (unpopular) opinions and walks readers through how he came to his conclusions.

Wakanda is a Conservative Fantasy World

Initially, it might be a head scratcher to hear someone call Wakanda conservative. After all, many people look at Wakanda as a fantastical utopia of unbridled Black freedom, brilliance, and beauty. But Ryan argues that Wakanda is the African American version of MAGA- Make Africa Great Again.

“Black Panther taps into the tendency to romanticize the Great Kingdoms of precolonial Africa,” he writes. Ryan argues that Wakanda might seem like a Black haven in some ways, but it is still deeply flawed.

–Black Twitter drags Taye Diggs for blaming Black women for his dating issues with White women–

“This conservative utopia where only one is free could easily be revolutionized into the world’s most powerful democracy. Wakanda possesses the magical metal vibranium and the knowledge of how to grow enough of a heart-shaped herb to transform the king’s subjects into soldier citizens. The Black Panther is brilliant but only so enlightened…the power is conserved for one king and one people.”

The Wakanda presented in the film isn’t exactly the sharing type. There is generosity galore within the country, but outside of those borders (and the Jabari tribe’s mountain home), no amount of suffering or need was enough to convince the King of Wakanda to share the country’s resources.

Angry, Violent Black Man Stereotype

Killmonger, the popular anti-hero in the film, is someone who Ryan correctly characterizes as a person who “has respect for neither Wakandan tradition nor Western democracy.” This half Wakandan, half African American man roars through life with, assaulting and killing people (several Black women we might add) as he seeks to use Wakanda’s resources and weaponry to free the African diaspora, kill the colonizers (and become one), and rule the entire world.

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Ryan argues that Killmonger is little more than the same tired stereotype of the angry Black man. “He would end global white supremacy, but there would be no happily ever after. No future king, no democracy, no nothing. Destruction is the vision of the good life. He appears as an American stereotype of unparented African-American hate,” says Ryan. Killmonger’s father died when he was a child and his mother is barely mentioned.

The professor is not the first person to provide critical analysis of Killmonger. Many have made note of the character’s misogynoir.

Ultimately, Ryan does not hate the film. In fact, he opens his essay by calling it beautiful. He does, however, have some tough love for it. Is it too soon for serious critiques of Black Panther or do we need to bask in glow of Wakandan glory a little longer?

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