The Black Panther Theme Of Justice

In the movie The Black Panther revenge vs mercy is an important theme that reappears throughout the book. This theme is a very important theme because it shows the complexities of justice throughout the book and how there are some consequences when you seek revenge. There are 2 main characters in this book, T'Challa and Erik Killmonger. T’Challa is a man that could be viewed as wise and understanding. He was the king of Wakanda until Erik Killmonger showed up and challenged him. He did this because he viewed the world as “us vs. them” and he felt that the world owed his people and he was looking for revenge. They are both very different yet similar people. When it comes to addressing injustice T’Challa believes more in mercy and kindness while

Erik Killmonger has had lots of experiences in his life that have included oppression and marginalization and these made him view the world in the stark terms of “us vs. them”. One of the reasons he feels this is because when he was a little boy his dad got killed because he was smuggling/stealing vibranium from wakanda and the king of Wakanda (T’Challa’s Dad) was forced to kill him. This encounter really made Killmonger start to feel hatred and fueling his want for revenge. Killmonger’s plan to take revenge on those who have wronged his people reflects his deep desire for justice against those people and how he feels a deep sense of anger and hatred towards them. Killmongers approach isn’t the best because it does have its potential pitfalls and it isn't the best way to deal with the problem. His approach is to be violent and cause chaos and harm people. He approaches it this way because he

Instead of seeing people as different groups he sees them in more nuanced ways like “community” and “shared responsibility”. T’Challa understands what Killmonger feels and how he feels pain and suffering and this leads him to extend his mercy, even in the face as what he sees is wrongdoing. T’Challa comes to understand this during the many times Killmonger has expressed his feelings and how in his perspective he is a bad person. T’Challa didn’t share and give the resources to the rest of the world because he follows tradition in a way and he just hasn't tried to think about what other people felt until Killmonger brought it up. When T’Challa realized that Killmonger was right he decided to show mercy and kindness to make things better. This approach had multiple potential benefits and it could have led to foster healing and reconciliation. Killmonger had tried to kill T’Challa in a fight because he was still technically competing for the throne. T’Challa really didn't want the fight but still fought him. T’Challa ends up beating him but not necessarily killing him. He then takes him to the top of a cliff and lets him see the wakandan sunset his dad always talked about. Killmoinger then proceeds to kill himself by taking the knife out of him. T’Challa then proceeds to portray Killmongers feelings in a better and less violent way creating centers that help people in