Black Panther - Anna Harrison

I recently watched Black Panther and found the aspects of ritual throughout the film interesting. Much of the film is set in Wakanda in West Africa, so the rituals that the Wakandans perform seem to be inspired by, if not entirely, tribal African rituals. I liked that the nation of Wakanda is meant to be futuristic, but it still practiced ancient traditions. For example, the ceremony during which T'Challa was deemed the new king of Wakanda, the various tribes of the nation were present and wearing their unique styles of clothes. Each tribe showed their support for T'Challa by performing a chant of sorts. The tribes were also allowed to challenge him for the throne in this ritual.
Within Wakandan culture, there was also a strong belief in the power of their ancestors. At one point during the transition to becoming king, T'Challa visited his dead father in the dream-like plane of the afterworld. This seemed very much like traditional African culture in which the people worship their ancestors.

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