Sins of the Fathers: Historical Injustice and its Repair in Black Panther
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Academic Unit
College of Arts and Sciences
Publication Date
2022
Document Type
Book Chapter
Abstract
The film's rousing opening is a unifying creation myth every Wakandan child surely knows by heart. The characters in Black Panther are not contemplating justice from behind a veil of ignorance, nor applying ideal principles of justice to govern a nascent Wakandan society. Different approaches to achieving justice given that injustice has already happened vie for our consideration. The case for restitutive justice at the museum is pretty strong, but Eric Killmonger does a poor job of it: like his brief reign as king, his corrective justice begets further injustice. Killmonger is not the only character in Black Panther for whom retribution as corrective justice resonates. In Black Panther , T'Challa, Killmonger, and Nakia offer radically different visions for Wakanda after injustice, visions for our hero – and for us – to reckon with. Killmonger insists on what T'Challa wants to ignore, that the people within Wakanda's borders exist in relation to the people outside them.
ISBN
9781119635840
Publisher
John Wiley and Sons
Beginning Page Number
22
Last Page Number
31
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1002/9781119635871.ch3
Recommended Citation
Almassi, Ben, "Sins of the Fathers: Historical Injustice and its Repair in Black Panther " (2022). Faculty Authors and Creators Reception. 224.
https://opus.govst.edu/fac/224
Description
Chapter 3: Sins of the Fathers: Historical Injustice and its Repair in Black Panther in Black Panther and Philosophy: What Can Wakanda Offer the World? Perez, E.; Brown, T (eds.)