The Afro-Diasporic Imagining of African Power, Identity, and Subjection Through Dress
Abstract
This thesis is a critically interrogation of the film Black Panther through the lenses of costume and the concept of Afrofuturism. Previous research has largely focused on the thematic structure and analysis of the content of the film thereby creating a gap in literature, especially on the relationship between the film and power/identity. Through reflections on the film, I interrogate notions of power and identity as demonstrated in the film forms.
The thesis begins with a history of films in America and the poorly-recognized contribution of African American actors and filmmakers to the development of the movie industry. In this, it situates Black Panther within the story of African Americans search for a truer representation of black life and aspirations, and the relationship between this story and African identity and Black power. I address the subject of identity using the concept of Afrofuturism. I consequently interpret Black Panther as Afrofuturistic because of the film’s projection of an utopian futuristic society (by the name of Wakanda) of super-heroic Africans, African socio-economic independence, a rich natural resource called vibranium, and the elimination of all forms of racial subjugation. I suggest that as the first Black superhero movie of its magnitude, Black Panther redefines the African identity by the exemplifying Black heroism.
Michel Foucault's theory of power, which replaces traditional projections of power as sovereign with a new concept of power as discipline and biopower, forms the prime theoretical framework for this thesis. Foucault's theory of power further analysis of stereotypical representations of Black people in the history of American film. My centralized discussion of costume as a technique for projecting Afrofuturism and power in Black Panther concludes by drawing out the implications for Africans in the diaspora and Black people in America.
Citation
Adinku, Grace U (2020). The Afro-Diasporic Imagining of African Power, Identity, and Subjection Through Dress. Master's thesis, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /189540.