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English 384: Popular Culture: Reading Popular Culture Texts

In the movie black panther prince, T’challa returns to his homeland of Wakanda to begin

serving as the country’s king. However, as the narrative progresses, T’challa faces several

challenges before the personal and political situation can stabilize. What are these

challenges and what noble or heroic qualities does he display as he attempts to bring peace

to his homeland?

Introduction

Black Panther is a metaphorical film about Wakanda, a fictional African country. The

director, Coogler, uses sophisticated technology as a tool to address issues related to colonialism,

the moral rejoinders to injustice, and the international African immigrant community. The

Wakandan kingdom is a hereditary regime where certain people can challenge the ruler to

duel and possibly take over the reign. When T'Challa moves back to his native country, the

isolated but advanced and powerful Wakanda kingdom in Africa, he is truly tested as both ruler

and the Black Panther once he is thrown into a power struggle that jeopardizes the destiny of

Wakanda and the global community. Before transitioning into the Panther, T'Challa was

simply King T'Chaka's son, the previous Black Panther. Regrettably, T'Chaka clashed with

Klaw, a villain contracted by N'Jobu, the antagonist and T'Chaka's brother, to steal Uranium and
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cause a global mutiny. N'Jobu eventually killed T'Chaka making T’Challa the automatic and

sudden heir. Throughout the suspenseful thriller of Black Panther, T'Challa confronts internal

and external challenges as he embraces his burgeoning position as Wakanda's figurehead.

Challenges

The first challenge was M’baku challenging him for the throne. As a step in the process

of being hailed as King, T'Challa was subject to a duel for the crown. Any individual of the

noble blood could fight T'Challa to the point of death or surrender. M'Baku, a relative from

the Jabari clan, became the only member of the family to counter T'Challa. The fight for the

throne was a fight of death, or till one adversary ended up giving up the battle. On the

day T'challa's inauguration, Zuri inquired whether there was a fighter who would contest the

crown. M'baku openly declared interest in toppling T'challa. Flanked by the Jabari tribesmen

and Wakanda's all-female military forces, T'Challa and his opponent don traditional panther and

ape headgear respectively, and also arm themselves with spears and armour. At the initial stages,

po hl M'Baku seemed to have the overwhelming advantage, initially sending T'Challa 's off-

balance and causing him to lose his head-gear and armaments, then locking him in a choke-hold

position and thumping his head severally. Although he initially resisted conceding defeat,

M'Baku ultimately ceded and T'Challa became the bonafide Black Panther as well as the new

ruler to the delight of to the jubilant spectators.

Secondly, another challenge which came across T’challa was the return of Erik

KIllmonger. Killmonger used his royal blood lineage to challenge T’challa for the throne. The

fight took place at the waterfalls. Killmonger was about to take T’challa’s life for the death of his

father but Zuri stepped up and said he was the one responsible. After killing Zuri KIllmonger

threw Tchalla off the waterfalls. Nakia and his family retreated after Killlmonger had declared
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himself the king. However, the fight was not technically over since T’challa had not passed away

nor did he given in to Killmonger. After some time his mother and others found him and revived

him with the traditional revitalizing herb. T’challa was within his rights to call out Killmonger

and continue his ceremonial contest.

Thirdly, T'Challa confronts the challenge of traditional heritage. soT'Challa opens the

script as a crown prince suddenly thrust to control of the country after his father's sudden death.

Wakanda has been led by a series of rulers whose ideologies have kept the kingdom's

sophisticated technologies hidden for generations. There seem to be negative outcomes to this

course of action, which T'challa has to navigate around in an attempt to open up Wakanda to the

global economy and save it from the midst of remaining a backward country. Years of seclusion

make it challenging for T'Challa to use public relations and engagement.

Noble qualities portrayed by T’challa

When T'Challa's father, King T'Chaka, passes away and T'Challa succeeds him, he

(T'Challa), has served as a Black Panther for some time. Still, that role has not equipped him

fully for his current position as the figurehead of his country. Raking things up t in a super-

hero costume is one thing, and becoming a country's face on the global arena is a different ball

game. Nonetheless, T'Challa has some noble attributes that set him apart, help him to mitigate

obstacles and endear him to his people.

The first noble trait that stands out is self-awareness. Notwithstanding his

royal background, T'Challa is not a self-centred brat. He is self-aware and honest enough to

acknowledge his ill-preparedness to take the leadership mantle of the Wakanda kingdom. This

characteristic makes T'Challa relatable. Besides, his willingness to think critically to improve his
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leadership ability makes him remarkable. Although T’challa confronted many obstacles in his

leadership journey, he did not cave under the weight of the pressure. He took everything in

stride, assuming a calm demeanour. These traits are the hallmarks of remarkable leadership.

T’Challa respects everyone around him, more so, women. Leaders at times forget that

they have to show respect to their subjects for them to get respected back. In nearly all contexts

in the film, T’Challa appears surrounded by women. However, he does not even once exhibit

displeasure or discomfort at the fact, despite his status as King. He respects and acknowledges

each woman’s contribution to his life and the kingdom.

Another noble trait is that of Open-mindedness: T'Challa must prove himself worthy of the

kingdom. As such, rather than isolating himself from others and embracing a lone-ranger

approach, T'Challa maintains an objective view, learning from the context of all he meets.

Notably, even though Killmonger momentarily dethrones him unlawfully, and strives to remove

him permanently as an existential problem to his dictatorship, T'Challa nevertheless chooses to

listen to Killmonger's issues and concerns. His knack to listen without condemnation enabled

him to fully grasp Killmonger's motivation, despite his gruesome death. This contributed to

toT'Challa's realization of the flaws of Wakanda's mores and to proclaim the opening of the

hidden country to the international community. As the king of Wakanda, he had all powers to

overrule the voices around him but he did not. An upright leader must pay attention to the views

of his followers.

Quick thinking: Insightful and strategic reasoning might push one a big step ahead if in

the face of instant decision-making. One might not always be mentally prepared for any threat

that happens in their life, or have all the resources they need to make a judgment call. After the

arrival of Killmonger to Wakanda, he dared T’challa to a duel for the throne. T’challa went along
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with the challenge. Being the leader of Wakanda he had a duty to protect his people against all

threats. A good leader must protect the people he rules against all odds. T'Challa was definitely

at a detriment when tackling Erik but they both plunged into the Vibranium tunnel. When

engaging on the rails of the Wakandan train, T'Challa thinks on his feet and urges Shuri to

deploy the train, realizing that it will stimulate the super-sonic stabilizers thus rendering their

suits ineffective. This super-charged thinking amid a formidable threat allowed him to strike

Killmonger fatally with a spear and eventually killed him.

Humility and accountability are other traits exhibited by the Wakanda king. T’challa was

modest when he sought for leadership counsel from his father. Some leaders find it problematic

to overlook their self-worth but a noble leader has to be humble. T’challa spent most of his time

trying to correct the mistakes that his father had made. It is frustrating to correct peoples

mistakes. T’challa is a good leader since he corrected the mistakes made by his father. A good

leader must correct the mistakes of those who were there before him.
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Work Cited

Black Panther. Directed by Ryan Coogler, Marvel Studios, 2018.