Current Events > Apparently, Black Panther is guilty of cultural appropration...

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darkjedilink
02/28/18 7:22:08 PM
#1:


https://io9.gizmodo.com/the-religion-of-black-panthers-jabari-tribe-raises-ques-1823354320

The moment you first lay eyes on Black Panthers Wakanda, you can immediately see the care and attention to detail that went into realizing the fictional nations diverse array of cultures. They blend elements of the fantastical with actual African iconography, languages, and tradition. But certain religious aspects have raised eyebrows.

Black Panther production designer Hannah Beachler has spoken at length about just how hard the minds behind the film worked to create a Wakanda that was respectful of the real-world cultures that influenced it, and it certainly shows. But one particular moment in the film was allegedly cause enough for Indias Central Board of Film Certification to bleep out a line because of what some might consider cultural appropriation.

At one point during the film, MBaku, leader of the Jabari, says glory to Hanuman, a reference to his tribes gorilla deitytheir answer to the panther goddess Bast, whos worshipped by the royal family.

Hanuman doesnt play much of a role in the Black Panther film or comics, but the deity is featured prominently throughout the Hindu epic poem Ramayana, a fundamental text that informs much of Indian society both culturally and religiously. In one story within the Ramayana, Hanuman (a monkey deity, not a gorilla) is tasked with retrieving the sanjeevani, a fabled herb that can heal mortal wounds and resurrect the deadsomething he needs to save the life Lakshmana, son of Rama. Though Hanuman knows that the special herb is located somewhere on a mountain in the Himalayas, he isnt exactly sure what it looks like and so he does the sensible thing and brings the entire mountain back. While there are a number of tales about Hanuman throughout the Ramayana, the story of the sanjeevani is so tied to the deity that hes often depicted carrying the mountain.

Theres a lovely bit of narrative symmetry between the story of Hanuman retrieving the sanjeevani plant and how the Wakandan royal family flees into the Jabari mountains to bring MBaku the heart-shaped herb during Black Panther. But that doesnt change the fact that Black Panther seemingly borrows the name of an actual religions deity to give character to a fictional, non-Hindu culture. It is, in the most literal sense of the phrase, cultural appropriation and it raises some questions about the filmmakers intent.

While it didnt at all seem as if Black Panther was trying to be disrespectful toward Hindus, its rather odd to hear Hanumans name dropped in a film about an isolationist African nation where Hinduism isnt practiced and would not have become part of Wakanda through cultural osmosis. Regardless of Black Panthers intent, the line about Hanuman has been censored all the same in Indian screenings, though some reports claim that the decision came from the producers behind the films Indian distribution.

Regardless of who passed the decision down, its worth keeping in mind that films like Black Panther are seen by audiences across the globeand that studios have to take care to be respectful if and when they choose to start drawing inspiration from the stories of other cultures.


Jesus fucking Christ...
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CruelBuffalo
02/28/18 7:24:07 PM
#2:


If Iggy is appropriation then so is this
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Youngster_Joey_
02/28/18 7:25:28 PM
#3:


Of course it is
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NeonOctopus
02/28/18 7:26:21 PM
#4:


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NeonOctopus
02/28/18 7:27:38 PM
#5:


Also, that guy would have a heart attack if he played any Shin Megami Tensei game, where they 100s of real life deities just messing around willy nilly >_>
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Kazi1212
02/28/18 7:28:56 PM
#6:


Why am I not surprised Hollywood cares more about a pretense of representing African diversity and instead just copy and paste together whatever sounds diverse regardless of the actual culture its from. I wouldnt be surprised if Hindus get offended by that line
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StarLightGlimmR
02/28/18 7:29:55 PM
#7:


It's true.
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ThyCorndog
02/28/18 7:29:59 PM
#8:


when people don't have something important to complain about, they find unimportant things to complain about. just ignore it and move on
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MC_BatCommander
02/28/18 7:30:43 PM
#9:


Important to note this was censored by India's censorship board and no one else. Gizmodo claiming it was due to cultural appropriation appears to be pure speculation.
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darkjedilink
02/28/18 7:49:03 PM
#10:


MC_BatCommander posted...
Important to note this was censored by India's censorship board and no one else. Gizmodo claiming it was due to cultural appropriation appears to be pure speculation.

They censored that line because they consider it disrespectful to their religious beliefs. That it's there is the cultural appropriation.
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Prestoff
02/28/18 7:51:40 PM
#11:


No one will ever be happy
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Zodd3224
02/28/18 7:53:10 PM
#12:


Cultural appropriation is the dumbest concept
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Tyranthraxus
02/28/18 7:54:34 PM
#13:


They took Bast away from Egyptians to give it to people not even remotely related to Egyptians besides "lolafrica". Why isn't he also complaining about that?
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darkjedilink
02/28/18 7:57:05 PM
#14:


Tyranthraxus posted...
They took Bast away from Egyptians to give it to people not even remotely related to Egyptians besides "lolafrica". Why isn't he also complaining about that?

Because he thinks it was "so respectful." You gotta remember that people defending the politics of the movie literally believe all of Africa would be just like Wakanda if not for white people.
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kuwab0
02/28/18 8:46:47 PM
#15:


People in the comments sure are okay with letting it slide
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E32005
02/28/18 8:47:38 PM
#16:


we can ignore this shit now. no one really cares.
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Smashingpmkns
02/28/18 8:47:44 PM
#17:


Glory to Harambe
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eston
02/28/18 8:51:50 PM
#18:


Though Hanuman knows that the special herb is located somewhere on a mountain in the Himalayas, he isnt exactly sure what it looks like and so he does the sensible thing and brings the entire mountain back.

I'm not gonna lie, that's pretty fuckin badass
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Tyranthraxus
02/28/18 8:54:02 PM
#19:


eston posted...
Though Hanuman knows that the special herb is located somewhere on a mountain in the Himalayas, he isnt exactly sure what it looks like and so he does the sensible thing and brings the entire mountain back.

I'm not gonna lie, that's pretty fuckin badass

All those old myths like Babylonian mythology, Mayan mythology, etc are full of shit like this.
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darkjedilink
02/28/18 9:06:01 PM
#20:


kuwab0 posted...
People in the comments sure are okay with letting it slide

Well, yeah - cultural appropriation is only bad when white people do it.
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Zodd3224
02/28/18 9:07:09 PM
#21:


darkjedilink posted...
kuwab0 posted...
People in the comments sure are okay with letting it slide

Well, yeah - cultural appropriation is only bad when white people do it.


LoL. I knew you would go that route eventually.
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masticatingman
02/28/18 9:10:52 PM
#22:


If they were referring to an ape like deity specifically with the name Hanuman (which is a monkey god ) thats pretty obviously lifted from Hinduism.
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FrisbeeDude
02/28/18 11:02:11 PM
#23:


Zodd3224 posted...
darkjedilink posted...
kuwab0 posted...
People in the comments sure are okay with letting it slide

Well, yeah - cultural appropriation is only bad when white people do it.


LoL. I knew you would go that route eventually.


It's the only reason he posted this article
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darkjedilink
02/28/18 11:47:24 PM
#24:


Zodd3224 posted...
darkjedilink posted...
kuwab0 posted...
People in the comments sure are okay with letting it slide

Well, yeah - cultural appropriation is only bad when white people do it.

LoL. I knew you would go that route eventually.

Of course, because it's the truth of the matter.
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boxington
02/28/18 11:55:21 PM
#25:


TC's the kinda guy who says white privilege isn't a thing, and scoffs at cultural appropriation (in relation to white people), but in the same breath, believes in both of them when it comes to black people

lol
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TheoryzC
02/28/18 11:58:20 PM
#26:


boxington posted...
TC's the kinda guy who says white privilege isn't a thing, and scoffs at cultural appropriation (in relation to white people), but in the same breath, believes in both of them when it comes to black people

lol

There's a word for this but it's not coming to me right now
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boxington
02/28/18 11:59:36 PM
#27:


disingenuous?
hypocritical?
cognitive dissonance?
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Bio1590
03/01/18 12:01:51 AM
#28:


TheoryzC posted...
boxington posted...
TC's the kinda guy who says white privilege isn't a thing, and scoffs at cultural appropriation (in relation to white people), but in the same breath, believes in both of them when it comes to black people

lol

There's a word for this but it's not coming to me right now

Did it have something to do with this guy, maybe?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocrates
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darkjedilink
03/01/18 12:02:13 AM
#29:


boxington posted...
TC's the kinda guy who says white privilege isn't a thing, and scoffs at cultural appropriation (in relation to white people), but in the same breath, believes in both of them when it comes to black people

lol

You're literally defending white genocide in another thread.
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boxington
03/01/18 12:04:52 AM
#30:


darkjedilink posted...
boxington posted...
TC's the kinda guy who says white privilege isn't a thing, and scoffs at cultural appropriation (in relation to white people), but in the same breath, believes in both of them when it comes to black people

lol

You're literally defending white genocide in another thread.

lol, show me where I did that.

you need to work on your reading comprehension
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Zeeak4444
03/01/18 12:07:49 AM
#31:


FrisbeeDude posted...
Zodd3224 posted...
darkjedilink posted...
kuwab0 posted...
People in the comments sure are okay with letting it slide

Well, yeah - cultural appropriation is only bad when white people do it.


LoL. I knew you would go that route eventually.


It's the only reason he posted this article


It's pretty much the highlight of his night.

This is what he lives for.
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Dathrowed1
03/01/18 12:08:49 AM
#32:


Tyranthraxus posted...
They took Bast away from Egyptians to give it to people not even remotely related to Egyptians besides "lolafrica". Why isn't he also complaining about that?

The first thing I thought of when i read "cultural appropriation"
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TheoryzC
03/01/18 12:10:37 AM
#33:


boxington posted...
disingenuous?
hypocritical?
cognitive dissonance?

Bio1590 posted...
Did it have something to do with this guy, maybe?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hippocrates

All these work lol
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Zodd3224
03/01/18 7:30:43 AM
#34:


darkjedilink posted...
Zodd3224 posted...
darkjedilink posted...
kuwab0 posted...
People in the comments sure are okay with letting it slide

Well, yeah - cultural appropriation is only bad when white people do it.

LoL. I knew you would go that route eventually.

Of course, because it's the truth of the matter.


It must suck being so bitter all the time
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