A disturbing article in the Washington Post says that the Alt-Right and White Nationalists are co-opting the popular film “Black Panther” to promote their own hateful vision of ethno-nationalism.
White nationalists have embraced “Black Panther,” Marvel Comics’ blockbuster, to push their argument online that nation-states should be organized by ethnic groups, according to new research published Wednesday, an unlikely convolution of the ground-breaking African superhero movie.
One popular image circulating on far-right corners of the Internet shows the title character — the superhero king of the fictional, secluded and wealthy African nation of Wakanda — wearing a red “Make Wakanda Great Again” hat. This is an explicit homage to President Trump’s “Make America Great Again” campaign gear.
The image, first posted online in June, months before the Disney/Marvel film’s February release, carried a headline of “BLACK PANTHER IS ALT-RIGHT,” referring to the movement that espouses racist, anti-Semitic and sexist views and seeks a whites-only state. It claimed the superhero opposed immigration, diversity and democracy while favoring “ethno-nationalism” — a profound mischaracterization of the movie’s main themes, according to researchers at Data & Society, a New York-based think tank that studied far-right online conversation about the film. They said the film uses science fiction and “Afro-futurism,” a thematic exploration of African and African American history, to explore real-life questions of culture, race and politics.
This is such a crock of you-know-what. This country is thoroughly multicultural and that cannot be reversed or imagined away. We must learn to live together or we will surely destroy our great experiment in democracy.
Diane,
Much of the time, I sit and ponder what you posted and want to respond, but I am at a lost of words, because of the deplorable acts of the far right, and the lies they tell themselves and others.
Want you to know how much I appreciate you. Thank you, Diane.
I am not generally a fan of big budget, fantasy movies with lots of CGI. However, when I visited my daughter in Texas, I went to see the movie and found it entertaining and well performed. Obviously, the alt-right missed the message. The message was more about team work and mutual trust because the king decides unites with another tribe and allows his country to become part of the world in order to fight back. He abandons his isolationism. “Black Panther” also provided a fantastic and modernistic view of what Africa could have achieved if colonialism had not enslaved the people and depleted its resources.
Rare point of subtle disagreement. Neo-nazis (can we stop using their own branding???) didn’t miss the message. They did what they always do: twisted it to suit their own ideology and agenda. Facts, reality and aspirations don’t matter. Just look to the White House for further proof.
What is CGI? Gracias
Computer generated images. Used in tons of movies these days.
CGI is computer generated imagery, the stuff that makes superheroes in movies look like they’re doing real things, or makes the Apes in the Planet look like real talking, fighting beings. Some of us suspect our Dear Leader is CGI generated, but the technology would make him look better.
Duane: CGI=Computer Generated Imagery
Thanks to all who replied! Had me baffled.
We already know what happens when this type of ethnic cleansing, hate-filled, power-hungry thinking moves beyond thought. Yugoslavia’s break up is a perfect example.
The history of ethnic cleansing agendas is long …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ethnic_cleansing_campaigns
I have said this before. Let’s not judge who is worse, Hitler or Trump, until after Trump’s gone, because Trump is still breathing and what he is attempting to set in motion as a president of the U.S. could end up much worse than anything Hitler’s Nazi’s did.
Lloyd,
AGREE. I doubt that we know the extent to Dump’s evilness; we cannot even begin to imagine.
I recall the horrific news reels from the breakup of Yugoslavia. There were snipers everywhere picking off civilians in search of food, shelter or medical care. They would even shoot the medics who were trying to rescue the wounded. A mother and daughter were visiting a grave, a sniper shot the mother right in front of the daughter who immediately went hysterical with shock and grief.
We’ve already been through a civil war, hopefully we can keep a lid on these merchants of hate and discord such as the Nazis, white supremacists, Alex Jones, hate wing radio and crazed far right religious fanatics.
Hopefully, yes. At this point, it seems hope and/or wishful thinking is all we have, at least until the results of the 2018 election. If even one House of Congress flips, there will be more hope. If two, even more. If Trump is impeached for treason, fraud, abuse of his office as President, and even more, then we will really have something to hope for.
If Trump should be impeached, we can get to work impeaching Pence
A little fantasy about Yugoslavia being a place of peace and harmony before the break up . More like it was a place where Tito ruled with an iron hand, when it came to ethnic divisions and was the glue that held the country together.
But perhaps Lincoln/ Johnson made a big mistake in the terms of surrender . I would be happy to give them Texas. Arizona is too pretty . Then we can build a wall . I’ll contribute to a go fund me page for any Long Islanders who want to relocate . Some friends refer to Diane’s CD as Alabama of the east. .
How about giving the Alt-Right Texas now and building a wall that follows its entire border, a wall designed to keep them from leaving The so-called Republic of Texas?
Lloyd,
I’m not ready to give up Texas yet. Beto O’Rourke might defeat Ted Cruz, and Lupe Valdez might defeat Greg Abbott for Governor
Maybe Death Valley in California? It has 5,262 square miles. That should be enough. All we have to do is send all of the Alt-Right with their president during the summer. Just bus them into a tent city with no HVAC systems and drop them off. Then drive away and leave them there.
After all, Trump loves Sheriff Joe Arpaio and his infamous tent city prison of suffering. Let’s give Trump and his crowd of supporters some of their own harsh medicine.
Or SmithtownAlabama
Where can I contribute
I know about Tito’s iron hand. Maybe that’s what it takes … sometimes … to avoid millions being slaughtered just because of their religion or ethnicity.
Right now, Trump’s hand is stirring up and shoving the haters to go out and slaughter.
Lloyd: thank you for making this about the extreme events we call ethnic cleansing. That is indeed what this is about. It is true that Trump is a work in progress, and that the end result of his presidency is far in the future. His lack of desire to publicly damn hatred on the right should give everyone pause.
That said, it seems to me that the genocides we have witnessed in modern times seem to fall into two camps. Most of them have been perpetrated by particular hatred of a particular group of people. This seems to be what is happening in Myanmar with the Rohingia today. Other genocides seem to be ideological. Pol Pot comes to mind. Hitler seems to me to have combined those two with his hatred of Jews coupled with the ideology of the super race.
These incidents make me think that sentiment about is absolutely accurate. We must educate a generation that understands that pluralism and freedom are two sides of the same coin.
This is a multifaceted attack by Dump and the far RIGHT, his backers, of course.
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-facebook-cambridge-analytica/trump-consultants-harvested-data-from-50-million-facebook-users-reports-idUSKCN1GT02Y