Last night, enthralled, I watched the movie Black Panther.
Beginning last night and through this day, I contemplate the plot; though not difficult to grasp, still complex with manifold proverbial “moving parts” – some elements, fantastical, aye, cosmic and others, conventional, yet all, for me, reflective of historical and contemporary real-world realities:
The African nation Wakanda, capitalizing on a serendipitous (karmic, yet in a communal, not an individual, sense) long ago meteorite-fall laden with an earth-alien metal vibranium, is an über-technologically advanced civilization, which, cleaving to a historic arc of isolationism (Wakanda-first) so to protect its culture from external rapacious, usurpacious influences (European colonialism), outwardly pretends to be a Third-World country…
The Wakandan government is a non-titular monarchy headed by a king (aka the Black Panther), who, by custom (codified tradition with religious overtones), ingesting a heart-shaped, vibranium-infused herb, is endowed with superhuman powers to be employed for the sake of service to and for the people (as a Christian theolog, I couldn’t resist beholding a connection with 1 Corinthians 12.7: To each is given a manifestation of the Spirit for the common good), and who is protected by an all-female secret service, the Dora Milaje (would that all long-believe and promote the necessity of the welcome and inclusion of women’s national-leadership!)…
To cut to the film’s fast-paced-chase, the Wakandan government, for generations, has sent emissaries (diplomats and secret agents) throughout the world to monitor the ebbs-and-flows of international political machinations; in one story-centric case, leading to subterfuge and the betrayal of established Wakandan protectionist policy (internecine party-partisan conflict), a death (murder or assassination), a cover-up (pick any historical era), and a subsequent coup d’état (again, pick any historical era!)…
In the end, order is restored, good prevails, and Wakanda, with a heart for universal and unconditional generosity (exporting benevolence, not armament; advocating peace, not war), opens its doors to a disbelieving world that wonders what this backward people can offer (would that all peoples of the world would and could accept the gifts of all peoples of the world!).
With my passport up-to-date, I am ready to travel, perhaps to relocate to Wakanda.
occasional observations of mind and heart, soul and spirit 
Dear Paul,
The Seay-Allens saw Black Panther together on Saturday evening. Like you, we were absorbed, cheered, and encouraged by the visions put forth by its compelling narrative. We believe Wakanda exists, and its spirit lives in those who see beyond the limited imagination that seems to imprison and paralyze humanity, particularly world leadership today. Wakanda’s heart beats in those who see and work for a different way for Earth’s inhabitants to relate to each other and to steward, protect, share, and replenish the resources of our precious planet. God bless all those who see beyond what is to what may be, to what can be, to what must be for humanity and the Earth as we know it to restore itself to what it was made to be: a holy, vital part of God’s sacred Universe, the living, evolving incarnation of God’s creative Being.
Love from all three of us,
Karen
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I love your ability to tell a story here! I’m so eager to see the movie–let’s hope the lines aren’t too long!
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Thanks, Elle. I hope you enjoy the film and I’d like to know what you, dear eloquent and thoughtful one, think of it.
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