Black Panther (2018)

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Bacon wrote:
December 12th, 2018, 8:05 pm
I think it's because, iirc, there's literally a scene where he speaks like a generic villain and says they're going to take over the world with their technology.

That's what bugged me most. They had an extremely complex character sandwiched between an extremely impressive set up and conclusion, but resorted to the same kind of climax one would expect when it came to the actual dismantling of the villain.
Killmonger's plan is to appropriate Wakanda's technology to re-enfranchise an impoverished and oppressed class in the U.S. and the world. He's taking the tools that supported Wakanda's pillars of privilege of apathy, their technology that could have saved millions of lives, and redistributing them. This is an allegory for seizing the power structure of the ultra rich White American and forcing wealth distribution to Oakland or inner city Chicago or Detroit.

It's not a generic plan at all but mirrors the Bolsheviks' seizing ships a hundred years ago, or the Continental Army ripping off canon caravans during the American Revolution. Maybe Che's strategy against Batista was "generic" too?


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The thing I liked most about Killmonger is that he's right.
then when he dies, T'Challa actually does bring the technology to people who were disenfranchised. That's what I think makes the film so great. The villain has the right idea and proposes what should have been done all along. And then his plan actually does get carried out in the end. It's absolutely haunting and I think that's what gives this film more depth.

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But he's not right.
His plan is not to bring it to the people the way Panther does. It's still apparent that while his initial ideas may be correct, he's still a villain and that difference is what ultimately makes him one. It's sort of like Ra's al Ghul in Begins. That's why I feel like it would have been more interesting if he actually was correct.

Him killing his girlfriend randomly didn't help either lol

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Bacon wrote:
December 12th, 2018, 9:09 pm
But he's not right.
His plan is not to bring it to the people the way Panther does. It's still apparent that while his initial ideas may be correct, he's still a villain and that difference is what ultimately makes him one. It's sort of like Ra's al Ghul in Begins. That's why I feel like it would have been more interesting if he actually was correct.

Him killing his girlfriend randomly didn't help either lol
his overall idea is definitley right though and his need to free his people is admirable. But ultimately it does come down to "NoT LIke ThAt" from T'Challa. But I do think it was significant when they actually did start to share the technology afterwards.

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The girlfriend thing was eyeroll worthy, but I don’t get why
him being incorrect at the end should count as criticism. He’s an extremist. He had good ideas and a point, but having had the kind of life his people had, he ended up going over the top. Didn’t we have stuff like this happen in some way or form all throughout history? Various socialist uprisings and regimes (and etc.) have started out with nice and admirable ideas, then nobility dwindled out and the leaders went hardcore nuts. If it’s “cliche” villain behavior, it’s cuz such pattern of behavior is real

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Bacon wrote:
December 12th, 2018, 9:09 pm
But he's not right.
His plan is not to bring it to the people the way Panther does. It's still apparent that while his initial ideas may be correct, he's still a villain and that difference is what ultimately makes him one. It's sort of like Ra's al Ghul in Begins. That's why I feel like it would have been more interesting if he actually was correct.

Him killing his girlfriend randomly didn't help either lol
Killmonger is actually correct... it's the militant extreme of his beliefs that's too far. He's a Malcom X figure, someone whose father was killed at a very young age and cultivates a belief that black supremacy is necessary in a world without white enfranchisement. Wakanda does need to distribute its technology to help the world and without Killmonger T'Challa never would have realized. Coogler validates Killmonger's beliefs in its conclusion.

Also: Killmonger isn't like Ghul at all. Ghul wants to destroy a corrupt society so it can rebuild itself over time, Killmonger's plan, again, is a martial redistribution of wealth.

Bacon, study history. Panther is extremely literate as it pertains to historical record. The French Revolution, which is the basis for The Dark Knight Rises, began as a just cause but quickly devolved into chaos due to their extremism as Ruth just pointed out. Killmonger is a classic historical radical. People exactly like him have existed through history and will exist again.


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I said Killmonger was like Ra's because both's general ideas are correct and both take them to extremes that make them dangerous. I understand they're different characters with different motivations. Jeez dude.

@Ruth: fair points. I just personally felt his extreme-ism was too standard. I would have liked more conflict and uniqueness, especially considering the directions his character goes in his backstory and ending.

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Vader is delievering the goods.£

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Killmonger is the only good villain in the MCU not even Thanos comes close

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Michaelf2225 wrote:
December 12th, 2018, 10:38 pm
Killmonger is the only good villain in the MCU
Wrong.

Thanos, Ego, Vulture, Loki and Zemo are not good? What planet do you live on?

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