BOBBEE BEE: THE BLACK PROPHETIC FIRE OF KILLMONGER

“I am the man-You think you are…..”-Cornell West, Black Prophetic Fire

KILLMONGER: THE BLACK PROPHETIC FIRE
by eric d. graham

Despite all of his abilities, the Black Panther could never defeat Erik Killmonger, whose real name is N’Jadaka in combat. And, the movie Black Panther, in the age of Donald Trump, tried to explore the civil war between the “so-called African-American” presence (Killmonger) versus the “colonial African” mind(Black Panther) But, some of us chose to view this film, with historical amnesia, intellectual narrow-ness, in fear that the trans-Atlantic dialogue might reveal, who we really are. Especially, in the larger world and within this complex Marvel Universe.

See, the Black Panther film was more than just a comic book movie. Because, it had philosophical and psychological implications, which attempted to explore our “combative imagination” that historically has caused a split within our psyche.
It was the Black Bourgeoisie versus The Black Revolutionary. DuBois vs Garvey. Malcolm vs. Martin. Separation vs. Integration. Obama vs. Jeremiah Wright. The Moses Generation vs. The Joshua Generation. The 1% vs the 99. That, Black Prophetic Fire vs. the Black Political Voice.

See, Killmonger (like Warmonger) wasn’t simply jockeying for a leadership position. He wanted to free all oppressed people in the world by “All Means Necessary.” He had a prophetic vision. Some may disagree with my premise. But, he was thinking “Collectively instead Individualistically.” It was Freedom or Death. Nothing Else. No Compromise. Killmonger didn’t want popularity. So, he refused to be “well-adjusted” when it came to seeking Justice within the unjust world. Therefore, he became- what Frantz Fanon caused the Wretched of the Earth, whose deep desperation and hunger for truth and justice, produced a courageous combative anti-Empire soul, who refused to be a conformist.

Why? Because, in the movie, Michael P. Jordan, who also played Oscar Grant, was viewed as a villain, a criminal and a no-good THUG by the people of Wakanda as well as most moviegoers. Even though, he was a graduate of M.I.T with a Ph.d in Engineering. Hence, as Dr. Amos Wilson states, “If, you are viewed as a criminal, (they) deal with you criminally. Therefore, (they) don’t owe you justice. Therefore, (they) can shoot you in the street. This is Justice (to them). So, what are you complaining about.” The Nation of Wakanda was no different, unfortunately, when it came to Killmonger, whose name came from all the people he had killed as a Black Ops soldier.

On the other hand, the Black Panther had a political idea. So, he did what most, “well-adjusted” politician do. He sold his soul (Obama-style) for a Neo-liberal position and became an extension of the greater empire, while protecting white supremacy and the hidden hand of the intelligence community in the form of the CIA. And, the people as well as the moviegoers loved him for it. Hence, he gained access to the United Nation at the end of the battle with Killmonger. No different than Obama, who “metaphorically” tossed the Honorable Louis Farrakhan as well as his former pastor Jeremiah Wright, a student of Black Liberation Theology, over the waterfall, in order to gain access to the White House, while preserving American Imperialism by constantly supporting their agenda and remaining us constantly that he was “The President of the United States not Black America…”

Yes, T’Challa, in this twisted Marvel Universe, became a symbolic image, who represented that Black professional class, whom the people followed like the piped piper and blindly protected like the female bodyguards, who circled the Black Panther throughout the movie.

Let’s not forget, that the Black Panther only cared about the security of Wakanda and no one else. Plus, Wakanda was hidden in secrecy and isolated from the outside world. And, this isolationism is one reason, they refused to accept Killmonger, even though he was from their own divine bloodline, who somehow had been tainted and demonized in America.

I will utilize the words of Professor Cornell West to explain myself… “the ideology of the self-made man is the benchmark of spiritual immaturity and the chilliness of American culture, that believes we gave birth to ourselves….This is a part of the American Exceptionalism, (in this case Wakandan Exceptionalism). This is a rigid, raggedy idea…that’s wrong. It’s a species of mendacity, which hides and conceals the degree that we are all interdependent. That, we are all shaped by those that came before us. The degree that all of us must come to terms with the circumstance not of our own choosing.”

Killmonger shows signs of this after becoming a fatherless child, while suffering with the rage and pain of being abandoned by his family. However, the Black Panther and the nation of Wakanda also display this as well as in their sense of arrogance and entitlement by rejecting and denying Killmonger when he returned home like the prodigal son. We, unfortunately, see traces of this in our own families, where fathers have denied their own children, while families continue to conceal the fact the children have been born in order to protect the social status of the family. Or, women, who have left their own children with grandma down South, in order to pursue careers up North, while pretending the child never existed and never coming back home to see it.

Yes, there are many layers presented in the Black Panther if we choose to view it with a critical eye. Because, this is a dysfunctional family, who have failed to discuss the realities of what happened to them over a period of time. This is simply a metaphor, however, for the complexities surrounding the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade-about why did some “African” nations agreed to sell us into slavery? And, why didn’t they come to rescue us? Why didn’t their ancestors tell them about our suffering in the Hells of North America and abroad?

Yes, these are some of those perplexing questions left unanswered along with others like: Why do “some” Africans or “Wakandans” think they are better than us? And, why do some “Africans” continue to be tricked by “Westerners, or the White Political Structure,”with the assistance of the CIA, who offer their “corrupt” leaders nothing but “meaningless” political power and “worthless wealth”.

See, many historians, feel the roots of the Black Panther may stem from the Revolutionary Leader Patrice Lumbuma, who was assassinated in the Congo by the CIA and the Belgium government because the country was enriched with Plutonium and Uranium, which was later utilized by the United States in order to make the Nuclear Bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima.
(To be continued KILLMONGER: THE REAL BLACK PANTHER Part 3) (bobbeethehater.blogspot.com)