I’ve heard this point of view many times.
Many people who analyzed the deeper layers of Black Panther ended up empathizing with Erik Killmonger & his message of black liberation.
While some appreciated T’Challa’s grace & peaceful nature; others felt he was too passive & totally dismissive of Killmonger’s desire to use Wakanda’s unmatched technological advances for black people exclusively, after they’d been deprived of fair treatment around the globe for centuries.
T’Challa himself, Chadwick Boseman spoke about his feelings on the dynamic, & some of his opinions may, or may not surprise you:
Via, The Verge:
“I actually am the enemy,” he says during a discussion with castmate Lupita Nyong’o and Marvel comics writer and journalist Ta-Nehisi Coates at Harlem’s Apollo Theater on Tuesday. (The comments were transcribed and reported by The Atlantic and Rolling Stone.) “It’s the enemy I’ve always known. It’s power. It’s having privilege.” He characterizes T’Challa as “born with a vibranium spoon in my mouth.”
Killmonger was a psychotic murderer & criminal; however, it’s admittedly difficult to ignore his knowledge of, & passion for black people. Circumstances throughout his life helped to turn him into the violent monster he became, but if he, & other children like him were shielded from such tragedy & dispair & cared for by his people, maybe he would’ve turned out differently.
What do you think?