"Black Panther" (2018)

“Wakanda will no longer watch from the shadows. We cannot. We must not. We will work to be an example of how we, as brothers and sisters on this earth, should treat each other. Now, more than ever, the illusions of division threaten our very existence. We all know the truth: more connects us than separates us. But in times of crisis the wise build bridges, while the foolish build barriers. We must find a way to look after one another, as if we were one single tribe.”

That quote in Marvel’s latest is just the most obvious and unveiled foray into serious, nuanced, political discussion, an area that popcorn films do not often venture into.

“Black Panther” is, on the surface, a film about black culture and history like has seldom—if ever—been seen. But what takes it beyond that significant groundbreaking achievement and into a universally important story is the way it really struggles with its message. What is the responsibility of a powerful, rich, influential nation? What do people with the options and freedoms of wealth and opportunity owe the poor and downtrodden?

T’Challa, the young prince turned king, hears answers to that question from allies and enemies. And the tension is not directly in the answer—they all basically have the same answer. The conflict is in how he is pressured to help. Because everyone sees the need to help. There is no morally palatable option that includes isolation, “looking out for number one”, or doing nothing to help others. Some naively think that help will be accepted and easy to give; while others think the true road to improving others’ situation lies in forcing them to do what the powerful command.

T’Challa struggles (alongside the viewer) because he knows that doing the right thing will be hard, thankless, and will often fail to change things. But none of that frees him from the responsibility.

(As an aside, I suspect we will find out in subsequent films that the isolationism practiced by T’Challa’s father and the past leaders of Wakanda was no mere selfish position. I think they are hiding something that greater powers in the universe are looking for, and that will endanger the whole planet as Wakanda makes itself known.)