Killmonger Challenges T'Chala

    Most of the story morals in the Marvel Cinematic Universe are things like “the importance of love between friends and family” or “believing in oneself to learn inner strength.” But Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther offers two different and, in my opinion, much deeper messages about our world today than the rest of the MCU franchise. 

    The most predominant of these two messages would be the effects of colonialism, slavery, and racism on the African people and their descendants. This is the theme that the film is mostly known for, and rightfully so; it’s undeniably relevant to our times. But the second theme is not discussed nearly as much, despite it also being profound, especially within the context of imperialism in the first theme: executive power; how it is obtained, consolidated, wielded, and denied to others. The central tension of the movie is based on executive power; who is the King of Wakanda? How does the country make that decision? Or rather, who decides it?

    The seemingly obvious answer is “Because he’s the son of the old king!” Well, this is true. But this is not the deciding factor. As we learn, any relative of the great tribes can challenge the King in ritual combat. And thus, T’Chala must prove himself as the best warrior of Wakanda in the ritual ceremony, defeating M’Baku. “Ok, so T’Chala is king because he's the son of the old king AND he’s proven himself as the best warrior in Wakanda!”

    That’s still not the full answer. At the river ceremony, we see all of the great tribes of Wakanda and their leaders gathered to witness the coronation. And without the dramatic entrance of M’Baku, we would assume that this ritual combat stuff is only that: a ceremony. But this ceremony is immensely important, regardless of whether there is a challenger or not; this is where we understand the real reason why T’Chala is meant to be king. 

    The ceremony is held so that all of Wakanda sees, under the open sky, that the ceremony occurred (the forms of Kingship have all been filled out) and the tribe leaders have chosen T’Chala as their king, so he is King. T’Chala wields executive power, only because the tribe elders, the religious leader, the head of the military, and the head of the royal guard acknowledge him as king. Despite Wakanda's monarchial government, the king is only king if and only if the people accept him as king, and the people only accept the king if their other branches of power accept him as king. Executive power derives from consolidating the heads of power within the nation; religion, media, military, economic, information (spies).

    Now enters Killmonger, a murderous, tyrannical claimant to the throne. We all know he’s the bad guy, even the Wakandans know he’s the bad guy, and yet he still succeeds, if only momentarily, in taking control of the country. How? Because he knows the customs of Wakanda and never breaks the rules. He fills out all of the proper forms, which, despite him being a total wangrod, forces Wakanda’s leaders to accept his claim. Authority has been questioned, and the heads of Wakanda need to decide who is king again. The scales of power are tipped and there is a vacuum left in executive power. Of course, the Wakandan tradition calls for a trial by combat, but before we get to that, let’s take a look at Killmonger’s reception scene to see how Coogler depicts this upending of power in the film in dramatic fashion. The characters and their interactions with each other are the core of the scene, as every character here is a prominent figure in Wakanda's power structure.

Film Techniques for Dr. Vrooman’s Pop Culture Classes   by Steven S. Vrooman, 2004-2020
category		name				examples					meaning
the shot	A shot is an uninterrupted sequence of film/video bounded by edits. Note that camera and/or actors can move or zoom, and any elements below can change as that happens.
focal depth/ implied proximity		Closer to people’s faces seems more intimate and “about” the character, usually.
		extreme long shot/ establishing shot (XLS)				1:13:17					The establishing shot depicts the capital of Wakanda, the center of power, and where the council is meeting
		long shot (LS)				1:13:19 1:14:00					A shot of the council in the throne room. The people of power Similar shot to above, shows the Imperial Guard and T’Chala advancing on Killmonger.
		medium long shot (MLS)				1:13:26 1:13:42 1:15:14					Not a lot of action going on, so not so many of these shots. Mostly used to see all of the councilors, from a certain character’s point of view before they speak
		medium shot (MS)				1:13:22 1:13:46 1:14:35					Used to frame T’Chala and Killmonger in their first appearances in the scene.
		medium close up (MCU)				1:13:38 1:14:12 1:14:20-1:14:30 1:14:40 1:15:00 1:15:10 1:15:30-1:16:00					Mostly used with T’Chala, compared to Killmonger’s domination of close-ups. T’Chala lacks the conviction and intensity that Killmonger has.
		close up (CU)				1:14:07 1:14:16 1:14:37 1:14:53 1:15:09 1:15:39 1:15:45 1:16:13 1:16:26 1:16:37					Lots of close-ups used, especially in dramatic moments, like Killmonger mentioning vibranium, challenging the throne, T’Chala whispering to Killmonger. Intimate and intense. There is more of Killmonger in these close ups, showing his deep conviction and power.
angle		Looking up gives them power. Looking down disempowers them.
		high				1:13:19  1:14:00					Looking down on the council. They are the people in power, yet the arrival of Killmonger has them confused, in disarray. They’re not in control. T’Chala and the Royal guard advance on Killmonger. But do they really have any power to stop him?
		eye level				Almost every single shot in this scene.					The eye level of the camera makes the audience feel present in the throne room, as well as showing the relationships and power dynamics between the characters here. That is the focus of the scene, the relationships and dynamics of power. When looking at the councilors and T’Chala, we are looking down on them slightly; they are the ones at a disadvantage. While we look slightly up a Killmonger, the one who is dominating the throne room.
		low				1:13:17					We look up at the Wakandan capital, showing that it’s the center of power, and the center of the conflict, in the coming scene
movement		pan				1:13:17 1:13:39					Some panning over the establishing shot Pans from Killmonger to W’Kabi, showing their connection
		POV/subjective/”I”/eye camera				Camera is a character as it moves.					There is a small amount of camera shake, increasing in dramatic moments, or with the footsteps of Killmonger. We feel like a character in the room with the council
plane		foreground				1:15:42		The Throne			T’Chala has had his throne challenged, by Killmonger and W’Kabi in the darkness behind him. He turned his back on them in this scene and in the story itself, and will suffer the consequences because of it
		midground						T’Chala
		background						Killmonger and W’Kabi
		Some shots reduce to foreground  &  background.				1:14:01		Killmonger and T’Chala			Foreshadows the coming conflict of T’Chala and the Royal Guard vs Killmonger and the Military
								Royal Guard and W’Kabi
diagonals		balanced/centered				Large scale Medium scale		1:13:19			The council is the center of the shot, central the scene
								1:13:26			Killmonger enters, framed by the doors. He’s now center of attention
		oblique/unbalanced				Medium scale		1:13:43			Diagonals are at the side, Killmonger on the left and T’Chala on right. It’s unbalanced, showing more of Killmonger. He’s disrupted the power balance, causing trouble.
lighting
low contrast/high key						The typical Hollywood bright lighting style is present through all the scenes.					Typical Marvel movie lighting.
						T’Chala and Council vs Killmonger and W’Kabi					There is more light on T’Chala and the Council side of the room, while Killmonger and W’Kabi are on a darker side of the room. T’Chala has more backlighting, while Killmonger has more front light and less backlight. A lot of what Killmonger says is right, true, but he’s also very much in the wrong. T’Chala is a good guy, but there are some things he has to learn and change in his country (address Killmonger’s points on Wakandan foreign policy). Therefore, Killmonger is front lit, but there is darkness everywhere else around him, while T’Chala is surrounded by light, but a shadow is cast on his face.
oddities		diagetic lights				The light from the windows in the background of the throne room					On the side of T’Chala, representational of his “goodness” and Wakanda itself.
photography
aspect ratios		1.78:1 (16x9) & 1.85:1				Dominant size for 1950s-current films.					It’s a Disney marvel movie.
lens		telephoto/zoom				limited focal depth					Focuses on particular things, in this scene, specifically characters and their faces
image quality		digital		high res							It’s a Disney marvel movie.
exposure	The amount of overall light.
“correct” exposure						You can see lights and darks.					Nothing special
editing	The joining of shots together.
styles		“classical cutting”				The norm for editing for 100+ years. The idea is to explain scene transitions in and out of a space.
						outside in	1:13:17				Shows the Wakandan capital, then we move into the building and throne room
						master shot & coverage			Seems to be shot in this way, with master shot and then close ins on characters to cover
invisible (ish)		eyeline match				Tons of these. 1:14:00-1:16:30 T’Chala looking to Killmonger, T’Chala looking to tribe leaders, councilors looking to other councilors					Again, the emphasis of this scene is the conversation between characters, mostly Killmonger and T’Chala
		graphic match				W’Kabi handing the heirloom to X Ramonda
		shot reverse shot				Mostly used in the back and forth discussion between T’Chala and Killmonger. 1:14:00-1:15:00					These two are the main conflict of the movie and the heart of the scene. The back and forth of their ideologies.
sound	These 5 pairs of terms can overlap and serve to differentiate kinds of sounds. For example, a voiceover is diagetic…
		diagetic			All of the dialogue and sounds in this scene are diagetic, except music					This is like 99% of film sound.
		non-diagetic			Music is barely audible, picking up at 1:14:00, then peaking at 1:15:40					Music (most of the time). Rare other possibilities. A narrator might be, although if they turn out to be a character in the world, no.
		onscreen			1:13:26 Most of the dialogue					The sound of the door opening
		offscreen			1:13:34 1:14:22 1:15:55					We hear the footsteps of Killmonger and W’Kabi, but don’t actually see their legs. The laughs of the councilors We hear the surprised gasps of the councilors while looking at Killmonger’s heirloom.