Black Panther: (De)criminalising (Dis)abilities in Reimagining Africa

This article considers the representation of disability as a criminalised un- African identity in the film Black Panther (directed by Ryan Coogler, 2018). Relying heavily on centuries of differentiation and the hierarchical ordering of bodies “that matter”, the film represents bodies as sites of writing and reading the politics of being and belonging in a future African society. Mass media representations of morality and criminality rely on this principle too. To construct the Wakandan moral identity, the film creates a criminalised non- Wakandan narrative that primarily relies on (dis)ability and futuristic prosthetic devices. A comparison between the characterisation of two white male characters, Ulysses Klaue and Everett Kenneth Ross, is presented in order to highlight their relationship to disability and its representation as a criminalised non-Wakandan concept. Klaue’s prosthetic arm is framed to represent greed, theft, punishment, and death. The article further considers how the film explores the intersection between disability, gender, and class. Nakia’s and Shuri’s relationships to Ross is juxtaposed with Linda’s relationship to Klaue in order to illustrate how the film constructs disability as a question of class and nationality. The article concludes by drawing lessons from Black Panther that can be used by film makers and media content producers alike. It highlights that in trying to imagine a desired African future, there is a need to embrace the complexities and multilayered nature of African bodies.