Nah him finally confronting the family that murdered his father let out all his anger.
Rationality went out the window and he was overcome with emotion. His ghetto upbringing naturally came out. There was no more subduing it.
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Did Killmonger actually believe in his cause?
- Thread starter Typhon
- Start date
Nah him finally confronting the family that murdered his father let out all his anger.
Rationality went out the window and he was overcome with emotion. His ghetto upbringing naturally came out. There was no more subduing it.
Killmonger was basically a better protagonist that they had to make unreasonable so that black panther could be good by comparison.
Didn't know that term, so thanks for teaching me something new today. To be fair, I like his character a lot, and I think he made a good villain specifically because he contradicted himself. The contradiction itself was what made him tragic.
That's the problem with society. Only extremes matter. People who show nuance are shitty people
I never actually thought of it that way before, about his ghetto upbringing coming out. Good point.
Though I still think him choking out that poor lady seemed a little silly lol.
that's how I felt at the start but afterwards it grew on me and I enjoyed his performance.
I thought the whole point was that he was doing both; destroying Wakanda as a means of redistributing their power, wealth and technology to the people who needed it.
Him burning the herb made prefect sense to me.
He was an outsider regardless of his claim to the throne and the herb makes him the strongest one around. Who's to say that given the radical nature of his power grab and the sudden change in actions with the outside world that some others wouldn't think "Fuck tradition, it's up to ME to right this wrong!"? To him he needed to keep that power status.
He could have an uprising on his hands in a matter of days or weeks, having to fight off 4-5-10-15 or w/e number of people who got BP powers from the herb after a break in or with insider help. They stated it in the movie, that it's a colonization/ military tactic when taking over.
As for what he wanted, I think he did want to do this for the betterment of oppressed black folk around the world. He was a parallel to Nakia, she pointed out how in Wakanda they have so much yet just outside the boarders people that look like them were struggling and living in fear. She wanted them to become more involved, through charity and relief efforts IIRC. Erik wanted to empower people like them by using Wakanda weapons to cause revolution through violence, give black people around the world the power to topple unjust governments/ systems through pure fire power. (GET OUT even talked about how the world's a mess and Wakanda is THE BEST and if told they could "clean up" this mess easily and I remember it being pointed out that the tech advantage that keeps Wakanda safe and comfy is gonna go away not too far into the future with the rate at which the outside world is advancing).
BP learns from both Erik and Nakia. By opening boarders with the world and sharing their knowledge, to lead the world going forward and help others who look like them by doing so through black areas like Oakland ... empowering them through these efforts.
Hahaha.
T'Challa is, imo, the most boring character in Black Panther. Many of the characters surrounding him are much more interesting to me.
I see this opinion a lot, but thought T'Challa was a really good portrayal of a calm, composed king. He took time to make his decisions carefully, which is precisely what he should be doing in his position. And while he always tries to present himself in that calm - or you may say boring - manner, he very much struggles on the inside to find a solution to Erik's laments, a struggle that finally erupts when he gives his deceased father a stern talk in what I think is the best scene of the whole movie.
You aren't the only one tbh. Killmonger, Shuri, Klaw and Okoye all outshone T'Challa.
I called him boring not because he is a "calm" character; Okoye is "calm", and I wouldn't in a million years call her boring. Nakia too.
Or maybe I shouldn't have said "boring". Let's just say he is the most ordinary out of all extraordinary characters surrounding his character.
Wrong. Subtle, nuanced acting and character = boring.
I know, unnecessary sarcasm, but the T'Challa takes annoy me a ton because it feels like nobody even wanted to engage the character in the first place.
And reminds me of the Carol takes.
He stuck me as a Char Aznable type: He talked a good talk about a noble cause, and might have even deluded himself to believe in it, but ultimately all of the violence and war he started was for petty vengeance against a world he felt had wronged him.
I loved T'Challa in BP. It was kind of refreshing seeing a marvel protagonist who didn't quip all the time.
No, its the opposite. Killmonger's ideology doesn't make me uncomfortable at all, because its simply plain evil and destructive. No one in their right mind is going to agonize over the pros and cons of murdering children based on their race.
It would make me uncomfortable if his plan was more morally ambiguous and hard to argue with his justifications. Killmonger being a reasonable guy would be terrifying.
Coogler said he had a rough time wrapping his head around the character because he felt he was too perfect. What you saw in the film was his attempt to humanize him and make him more likable/relatable to audiences. I personally think T'Challa works better as a power fantasy character like Bond or Batman. He's an assertive, calculating badass in the comics and I think people would have taken to the character better if he was presented that way in the film.
There are also people who come back from the military even angrier than when they started. Aggressiveness is considered an asset in certain fields, but it makes you poorly suited for civilian life if you reach a point where you can't control it.
I agree with the poster who said they had to play up his anger to make him appear less sympathetic. Otherwise the film has no villain.
Not a bad take. I often see complicated villains whom readers/viewers admire and trying to distill what really motivates them. Kilmonger, Griffith (Berserk), Dany (GoT)... it's more often than not nothing more than sheer entitlement. They disguise it with noble speeches, but it always boils down to wanting what somebody else has because you think it belongs to you.
True, he is very unreasonable. But I also think his anger, while destructive and ultimately wrong, is at least at some level understandable.
Not really. They had to make Killmonger into an extremist in order for him to be a badguy.
You sound like you want to punch me for saying I find him boring or something.
Or worse, rooting for the villain over the hero, haha.
I kinda wish Killmonger's character didn't go all crazy, it would make a much more interesting movie to watch, I think.
There's a difference between a commanding role and a combat role. Speaking from anecdote (being a marine brat), soldiers tend not to give a crap about the repercussions of their actions or the very least not think in the manner of politics of actions.
Well, I can tell you right now that every black person I know, including myself, never lost what makes up their personality just because they went to school, military, or both. Regardless of what they did, they still spoke and acted like theirselves. I mean yes, people do change, but no one is going to lose their swagger because they worked with a spec ops unit.
If anything, black people who did school or military learned how to code switch if they didn't prior to enlisting or registering for classes.
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It is a mistake to assume the training molded his thinking instead of him seeking the training he needed to further his goals like most heros and some villains.
Yeah that's a fair point. I was basing it more on my own experience with having friends coming back from the military changed and more subdued.
Honestly my argument was pretty flawed to begin with, so I feel like a dumbass right now. My perspective on Killmonger has definitely broadened after reading this thread.
If we're talking about the museum lady, he poisons her, he doesn't choke her (it's why the line right before it is about how she should be careful what she puts in her body). Sometimes I wonder how much you guys are really paying attention to the movie.
Edit: I'm just now realizing you're probably talking about the woman in the room with the herb. In which case it was a simple display of power to ensure that everyone in the room followed his orders.
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I think he's a complicated character with a lot of conflicting emotions and motivations.
The scene where he orders the burning of all the Heart-Shaped Herbs I think is a strong indication of his overall philosophy though. When he shouts "Burn it all!" I don't think he's just talking about the herbs. He's talking about the status quo. Wakanda's leadership, the oppression of black people worldwide, he wants to tear it all down.
I think his convictions are genuine. Shipping out highly advanced weapons en masse to start a worldwide revolution probably isn't a great solution to black oppression, but he genuinely believes that it is. Keep in mind that he's an angry, vengeful person, was violently orphaned as a young boy, and through his experience in the military has learned that violence is a very effective way to solve problems. He's a product of his environment. His toolbox consists of nothing but hammers and he sees all problems as nails.
The scene where he orders the burning of all the Heart-Shaped Herbs I think is a strong indication of his overall philosophy though. When he shouts "Burn it all!" I don't think he's just talking about the herbs. He's talking about the status quo. Wakanda's leadership, the oppression of black people worldwide, he wants to tear it all down.
I think his convictions are genuine. Shipping out highly advanced weapons en masse to start a worldwide revolution probably isn't a great solution to black oppression, but he genuinely believes that it is. Keep in mind that he's an angry, vengeful person, was violently orphaned as a young boy, and through his experience in the military has learned that violence is a very effective way to solve problems. He's a product of his environment. His toolbox consists of nothing but hammers and he sees all problems as nails.
Nah. I went to a top university and that kind of stuff doesn't just go away. I'm sure he could code switch if he had to but during the events of the movie why would he?