Journal Week 12

Nov 5: This week in class we discussed leadership qualities from the movie Black Panther. Black Panther follows the story of T’Challa, who, after the death of his father (T’Chaka, King of Wakanda, returns home to the isolated, technologically advanced Afrofuturistic nation to succeed to the throne and take his rightful place as king. The main antagonist of the film is antagonist Erik “Killmonger” Stevens, T’Challa’s cousin who was abandoned by T’Chaka after T’Chaka killed his brother, Killmonger’s father. I always related more to Killmonger than T’Challa’s character because I saw him as an antihero. I felt that Killmonger was mentally and emotionally broken and was trying to find his way and purpose in a world that had already wronged him. Most of his pathology stems from the death of his father and the trauma of having to live with that while at the same time growing up in the impoverished flats of Oakland. I also relate to him in terms of us both being from the same area. I was born in San Francisco and raised in the East Bay. Growing up, I frequently went to Oakland either for Church, Oakland A’s games, or to visit family friends. Oakland has a reputation across the country for being a crime-ridden, dangerous place, but I always felt comfort there being around majority black people. It does have areas that are extremely impoverished with rampant homelessness affecting mostly Black Americans many of whom suffer from drug addiction and other mental illnesses. I always kept my image of Oakland in the back of my mind while analyzing Killmonger’s character because I believed that this coupled with the death of his father in the film were the two main reasons for while he had the mindset he did. Killmonger represents the neglected Black child in America who has been unjustly wronged before they can even find their way in the world. Seeing Killmonger rise out of the Oakland ghetto reminds of the film Fruitvale Station, (also directed by Oakland native Coogler),where Michael B. Jordan (Killmonger) portrays Oscar Grant, a 22-year-old father unjustly murdered at the hands of law enforcement. While watching, I can definitely say that I wanted him to win just as much as I did T’Challa, but I also can’t overlook how Killmonger murders Black women throughout the film, seemingly with no remorse. Shortly after he takes the throne, Killmonger chokes an elder woman who cultivates and protects the very flower that gave him superhuman strength. He seemingly did this just to demand her obedience. Having watched most of the Marvel movies before Black Panther, including Captain America: Civil War, I was already familiar with T’Challa’s character and had seen the movie twice before we had to watch it for class. T’Challa was portrayed by a fellow Howard University alum, Chadwick Boseman, a Black American actor who recently passed away in late August of this year from a long, private battle with colon cancer, a disease that disproportionately affects Black American men compared to other demographics. The first film I watched starring Chadwick Boseman was his breakout film, 42, a 2013 biographical sports film about baseball player Jackie Robinson, the first black athlete to play in Major League Baseball. I went to see the movie in theaters with my dad and brother when I was 12 and had really enjoyed it. Boseman died in his early 40s, which is still a very young age to die at. I remember after Chadwick Boseman died, a his Howard graduation commencement speech from 2018 went viral. My favorite excerpt from his speech was when he said, “Most of you graduating here today struggled against one or more of the impediments or obstacles I’ve mentioned in order to reach this hilltop. When completing a long climb, one first experiences dizziness, disorientation and shortness of breath due to the high altitude, but once you become accustomed to the climb, your mind opens up to the tranquility of the triumph. Oftentimes, the mind is flooded with realizations that were, for some reason, harder to come to when you were at a lower elevation. At this moment, most of you need some realizations because right now you have some big decisions to make. Right now, I urge you in your breath, in your eyes, in your consciousness — invest in the importance of this moment and cherish it. I know some of you might’ve partied last night. You should, you should celebrate, but this moment is also a part of that celebration. So, savor the taste of your triumphs today. Don’t just swallow the moment whole without digesting what has actually happened here. Look down over what you conquered and appreciate what God has brought you through.” I feel like the overall message of his speech was to convey to the graduating class that living in the moment and appreciating the little things in life are some of the most important teachings and wisdom you can attain. Some of the leadership comparisons I saw throughout the film that I related to other literature we read during this semester were Moana and Binti. Both Moana and Black Panther are movies produced by Disney and they focus on being a leader of a large nation or tribe at a young age. Moana and T’Challa both demonstrate their love for humanity and willingness to lead. The plots of both movies transform both of them into better leaders throughout the course of the films. I also saw similarities between Binti and T’Challa. They both strive to become master harmonizers, having to bring their people together in unity as a way to overcome the challenges they face.

Nov 10: This week in class we discussed the presentations that were given by two different groups. The first group which selected the song “Changes,” by Tupac Shakur. The song a makes references to the war on drugs, the treatment of black people by the police, racism (especially the divide between the black and white people in America), the systems of poverty and the vicious cyclic nature of it in urban Black American communities and the difficulties of life in the ghetto. Tupac is an influence of mine due to me being both a producer, MC, and songwriter. He also grew up in the suburbs of the Bay Area, the same as me, which is why I related to him as well. I thought the group did well presenting as well as promoting discussion throughout their presentation. One of the strengths of their presentation was them sharing a Google doc for the class to respond to and comment on various lyrics from the song. The second group did a presentation on the Disney film The Princess and the Frog. I remember watching the film in theaters, when I was 8 years old, and being proud that Black girls, including my sister, finally had representation in a Disney film that they could look up to. The film is set in 1920s New Orleans and focuses on Tiana, a hardworking waitress named who dreams of opening her own restaurant. After kissing a prince who has been turned into a frog by an evil voodoo sorcerer, Tiana becomes a frog herself and must find a way to turn back into a human before it becomes permanent. The Princess and the Frog also plays tribute to New Orleans’ musical heritage with a set of songs inspired by jazz, rhythm and blues, and, gospel. I saw many similarities in the film between Moana and Tiana. Although Tiana isn’t a technical princess, they both demonstrate strong leadership qualities such as determination, love for humanity, and goals they work towards. Some critiques that I had of the film were the ways that Tiana was portrayed as being impoverished, even though this was common for the era, and the lack of explicit racial disparities throughout the film, although they were implied. I thought the portrayal of voodoo, a real life religion, was also dramatized for consumption which I feel could’ve offended some that practice the religion. I thought the group had a good presentation.