Black Panther is a movie based in the fictitious African nation of Wakanda. The fictitious movie is set in the future with many historical references throughout the movie. While this is a fictitious movie, there are historical references littered throughout the movie. For example, socially, the television company, European, shows Wakanda as a poor nation that does not have the resources it needs to survive without European aid. This is similar to the White Man’s Burden by Rudyard Kipling, as his poem believes that uncivilized, African countries cannot survive if they have the right of self determination. He implies that African countries have no merit without European powers. Politically, Wakanda is a monarchy with a council. The king is T’challa who inherited the throne from his father. The monarchy is a form of government characteristic of many earlier African nations. As far as interactions with the environment, vibranium is an abundant natural resource in Wakanda that leads to many technological advances, atypical to the primitive, savage view that scholars in the 18th and 19th centuries often possessed. Culturally, there is a strong cultural trait in the Black Panther itself. For example, as T’challa is about to become king, the citizens sing songs and dance together in a very specific way. This is representative of the culture that Africans had and continue to have. The ritual is also representative of the culture that was stripped from several African countries during European imperialism. There was no European dress or song, and thus the only European influence in the ritual was the language. Economically, Wakanda resists the common stereotype of a poor African country. The Europeans view Wakanda as not economically stable, although Wakanda is actually one of the richest countries in the world due to their vibranium. As far as the plot goes, the movie starts off with the previous king, T’challa’s father visiting the U.S. and reporting on a vibranium theft. 9 years later, that king dies and T’challa suceeds him as king. He had to complete a ritual, including fighting off Baku, a king from the mountain kingdom, in order to win the throne. After defeating Baku, T’challa suceeds the throne and attends a casino tournament in order to intercept the thief that stole the vibranium. While there, he meets an American ambassador, Everett K. Ross. T’challa’s party is forced to bring Everett back to Wakanda because Everett got shot. Erik Killmonger, a Wakandan who was born and raised in America, comes back to Wakanda to challenge the throne of Wakanda. He throws T’challa off of a cliff and ascends the throne. T’challa is found in a river and revived by Wakandans who sought help from the Mountain King. T’challa fights back against Erik and wins back the throne. The movie ends with T’challa at an ambassador conference and is opening up to the rest of the world. T’challa represents a monarch in African society. He is a good king and an effective leader, contrary to the historical view that Africans could not have the power to self-determine. Everett, the American, represents a European. He is amazed at the technological prowess of Wakanda. This is similar to the Europeans’ awe at figures like Mansa Musa who had huge amounts of money. Erik represents European influence. Raised in the U.S., he comes to Wakanda and suggests major changes. He burns the papers and chamber used for ascension, an example of the culture destruction characteristic of European influence. This movie was purely fictitious and not meant for any historical references, although several can be extrapolated from the movie. As far as filming techniques, the setting, Wakanda was a direct contrast to the poor African country view that is common. It contributes to the realism in that it is very futuristic and could be a viable futuristic city. Costuming was very important as it showed the lack of European influence on Wakanda. For example, the women warrior force is dressed in African garb and have shaved heads, even complaining about wigs that they have to wear during the scene in South Korea. To conclude, Black Panther, although not based on any historical events, has references to African history littered throughout it.