Ideas in Antiquity Week 11
Words can’t even express how happy I am for this week’s reading. As a black soon-to-be woman in America, I never grew up with the things I wanted. Besides the traumas in my life, I always worked to achieve true happiness and an inspiration for my future. Like any other little girl would, I gained my inspiration and learned how to truly dream through Superhero’s, Princesses, and Dolls. My favorite was Princess Tiana (Princess Jasmine at first) while the favorite of many minority children is (drumroll please)….
The Black Panther!!! It will always be Wakanda Forever for myself, a huge part of the world today, and for the future (especially my very own children). It was so inspring to everyone to get the beautiful representation and to gain insight into our African Roots. This movie was truly wonderful and overall amazing to see. The technology inspired many children to get a love for STEM but what I loved most about this film was the leadership skills and overall representation it showed.
So let me stop ranting on and on about the movie and jump right into my analysis. Sorry, I’m just super excited to have this movie be an assignment of mine, I truly needed something happy and interesting for once.
Starting with scene two on the course website, I want to speak about the idea of leadership. And boy, the timing really couldn’t be any more perfect. The Women of Wakanda are nothing less than incredible and drop dead gorgeous, especially notable Howard Honorary Dr. Angela Bassett. I don’t care what anyone says, that woman is my mother and I would probably pass out if I were to ever meet her in person. The women, specifically Ramonda, Nakia, Okoye, and Shuri, serve as vital characters and the literal representation of leadership.
Beginning with The Queen Mother of Wakanda, also known as Ramonda, she serves as the strongest female leader. As the mother of the country, she served as an important elder and motherly figure to the Black Panther. Without her (or any mom), people overall struggle to develop. After all, mothers are known as the head of the household and the most important person in a child’s life. They teach things such as compassion, empathy, and as a symbol of home/the importance of a person’s upbringing. Mothers are known for their nurtering ways and are the ones who ensure that a child is fed and happy overall. The mother that Ramonda plays is one who is the matriach figure within the monarchy of Wakanda. She is T’Challa’s mentor and even serves as a member on the Wakandan High Council. She is the one who holds down the fort while T’Challa is away from home and makes sure her country is safe and sound for her people. Without her wisdom and amazing leadership, I doubt that there would be a Wakanda that could survive without their most important leader, the Black Panther if the daily tasks weren’t held up by the Queen.
Next up is Nakia who is the lover/girlfriend of T’Challa. I truly loved how her character challenged the stereotypical relationship most movies show. Most relationships have women who sit back and let their significant other be the hero. Nakia is the total opposite of this as she was shown as T’Challa’s partner and equal in their missions. She is a total badass who uses her cleverness and ability to disguise in order to be successful. True leadership comes from using your abilities for the greater good. So if we are giving out the leadership award, she surely should get one.
After is Okoye, the leader of the Dora Milaje. She is the strong leader of the all female army of Wakanda. Firstly, whoever came up with the idea for this ary needs a big hug. The representation of female warriors is one that made me smile and inspired many of my small cousins. Okoye’s leadership came through her strength and bravery that surpassed that of the Black Panther himself. She served as the most fearless character within the country who never flinched at any enemy and led her army into the toughest of battles to protect the country she loved so dearly. Her loyalty is one that I related with as I am someone who will go to war over something or someone I love. Her passion for standing up for those who couldn’t is one that defines her as a leader and was truly fascinating to watch.
And finally, we have the most creative person in the story, Shuri. Shuri’s character and the things she created had even me in awe and sparked a slight interest in science/engineering. That was until I remembered all the time I spent crying about Physics (worst six weeks of my life) and my vow to never take science again. And I’m sticking to it, I’ll still try the cool gadgets out though. Back to Shuri though, she was an amazing sibling and mentor to T’Challa. She taught him and me to think outside the box and that it’s okay to not be the type of hero who takes all the hits. She was a hero in the lab who used her powerful brain to beat her enemies. She defines leadership as she used her skills to address the needs of her country and the equipment they needed to defeat their enemies. Without her, T’Challa most likely would have been defeated by his enemies and would’ve lost his kingdom.
Now onto the Black Panther himself, I want to speak upon scene three between T’Challa and his father. Growing up, the Black Panther and his father had a pretty good relationship but at times, the necessary relationships go deeper and potentially need mroe things. In their case, it was honesty. As most children do, parents are seen in a high regard and comparable to superheroes. I feel that children should not be shielded as the world is a place that is dark and deadly to naive people. This topic is often debated but I truly see no reason why. One thing about the truth, people will eventually find out about it.
In this case, the truth was about T’Challa’s cousin Killmonger. His story is one of true tragedy and the affects of trauma on young children. His abandonment is one I could relate to but our endings were different for one reason: support. Killmonger lost the support of his family who chose to hide the truth about and even exile him. Though I endured the same to an extent, I was able to find support and people who believed in and were going to be there for me in my darkest times. Killmonger did this as well but he picked the wrong people who only led him even further in the dark until it was too late. He became someone full of so much hate that he resorted to almost ruining his native land. He was someone with so much potential but lost it just like his soul and morality.
His story is one that was saddening yet impactful, especially for leadership. Moving on to scene four for a second, T’Challa demonstrated something that I love to see in humans: empathy. I was so proud watching this scene as his empathy was so relatable. I’m learning in life to understand that people can come from situations that make them into someone who is not good in your own life. All villains have a backstory but most importantly a reason for their behavior, hell we all do. Everyone does things for a reason but it’s important to be empathetic as we are different and aren’t the same in certain instances. We all interpret life and various situations in so many different ways. But differences are something good. Differences are vital in leadership as it gives a new perspective and creates better and well-fitting solutions.
Empathy is an action that not everyone will completely feel but must at least understand. Leadership and a better future depend on it. T’Challa showed it by following the definition of leadership and addressing the needs of his people: honesty. It’s hard to lead when the truth is being clouded. True leaders have minds that aren’t corrupted and are able to do the right thing. Speaking about the elephant in the room was something that made me yell at my TV because some people don’t get that. I see in this world people that often turn into bad people who are extremely selfish due to their upbringing and lacks of honesty, specially admitting the truth in traumatic situations. People are hurt but it hurts even more when the truth can’t be set free or truly solved.
Now jumping backwards again into scene three, and idea popped up in my head as I was watching. This idea was the question of: How do I know that I’m ready to be a leader? And to be honest, it’s hard to answer. Leaders begin their journey by finding their calling. Yet the way to find out what you’re meant to be is so different for everyone. An example would be mine. I knew I was meant to be in the law and hustice field when I sat in a Judge’s chair in one of my home state’s court room. I will never forget how I felt and how effortless the job was to me. I barely even knew anything about it but when I was in that chair with my Student Court class ruling over cases, I felt like the smartest and happiest person in the world. Other people get visions or learn through nearly fatal experiences.
The next step to me is to take the leap of faith. This step is scary as your calling can lead to confusion. I barely knew anything about the law and governments yet it felt so right. Doing what’s right is always the best decison but sometimes it can be scary. Jumping into something you don’t know is always a risk, especially for failure. Next is asking for help. The journey to success is one that is never always happy. There are moments where the world can feel like it hates you or that you’re doing wrong. The way to fixing this is remembering who you are. This includes your past (ALL of it), who/where you are in the moment, and what the future for you is. The most important part of a leader is their identity.
I feel that this course has shown me that. I’ve learned so much about myself and the parts of me that need to be fixed. I can get so wrapped up in my future that I miss all the important things in front of me. I’ve learned to relax, smile, and remain hopeful for the future. Now let’s just hope I have one and that this election will at least calm me down so that I can get back to the things that really matter.
