. The MMRI (Sellers, Smith, Shelton, Rowley, & Chavous, 1998) discusses four dif
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Question
. The MMRI (Sellers, Smith, Shelton, Rowley, & Chavous, 1998) discusses four different racial ideologies a person may endorse: oppressed minority, nationalist, assimilationist, and humanist. What are examples of these ideologies in the film? 2 Given that Wakanda had never been conquered or colonized, would the concept of race or racial identity apply in the same way? Why or why not? 3. Can the society presented in the film serve as a model to build towards or improve upon? What lessons from the movie can be applied in real life to create a better future for African Americans?Explanation / Answer
1. The Multidimentional Model of Racial Identity (MMRI) defines racial identity as the person's self-concept in terms of her/his membership within a race( Sellers et al, 1998). It is concerned with both the significance the individual places on race in defining him/herself and the individual's interpretations of what it means to be a member of a particular race such as being ‘Black’. In the movie the ‘Black Panther’, the protagonist is shown to undergo major transformations in his identification with his native culture and in the process exemplify different ideological positions regarding his identification as a Black community.
For instance, in the initial scenes, it is shown that the Wakandans use the metal vibranium to develop highly-advanced technology while simultaneously isolating themselves from the rest of the world. Their separation as an independent and isolated nation exemplifies the nationalist ideology of the state of Wakanda where the members take pride in their technological advancement an in being Wakandans
However, compared to the nationalist pride of the majority Wakandans, there is a stark identification of a few Wakandans with the deprived state of existence of the African nations in the rest of the world. Characters like Prince N'Jobu identify with the identity of an oppressed minority and he vows to share the technology of Wakanda with people of African descent around the world in order to help them conquer their oppressors.
Then, there are instances in the final stage of the movie where the protagonist, T’Challa is seen to reject the isolationism of past Wakandan kings, and he establishes an embassy in the United States to be run by Nakia and Shuri. In a mid-credits scene, T'Challa appears before the United Nations to reveal Wakanda's true side to the world thereby showcasing the emergence of an assimilationist identity where he seeks to merge Wakanda with the rest of the world.
Finally, the movie also reproduces instances of a superordinate identity where some individual members of the Wakanda tribe can behave with members of the out-group on a humanitarian ground rather than racial grounds. Thus, such a humanist ideology can be said to be at play when T'Challa takes the CIA agent Ross to Wakanda where his sister Shuri uses the nation's technology to save Ross' life after the later was injured in an attack against Klaue, Wakanda’s enemy. In treating their national resource to help an outsider, they show a sensitivity to his needs and thus extend their social interaction beyond their racial categorisation of the world.
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