The Black Panther’s scientist role models(iafrikan.com)
iafrikan.com
The Black Panther’s scientist role models
https://www.iafrikan.com/2018/02/09/the-black-panthers-hidden-superpower/
16 comments
I haven't seen the film yet, but I get the impression it might be providing role models who accomplish magical feats effortlessly and confidently. I'm not sure if those sorts of role models are very good preparation for the real world of slow, painful progress and impostor syndrome. I have a suspicion that the popular representation of technology as wizardry might be extra-offputting if you already fear you're somehow not the right kind of person for it.
I understand your concern, but I disagree. This kind of story isn't intended to convey what the real world of being a scientist is like, rather it is intended to show the dream of what being a scientist is like. You have to have the dream first, or you never get to the point of painful progress and impostor syndrome. If this movie makes it easier for some kids to imagine themselves finding the secret formula for super-strong battle armor, that's great! That's what stories like this are for. Later, they can read or watch other stories that tell them that the reality of science doesn't usually involve beautiful secret agents and explosions.
But then, my perspective is that I was a white kid who read the Black Panther comics and dreamed of being like him. He's like Batman or the Phantom, who are also crime fighting comic book scientists... but cooler. So, now I'm an adult scientist and my particle accelerator is in a suburb instead of a jungle cave, and I drive a Honda which does not actually have a hang-glider escape mechanism, and the beautiful Egyptian engineer in the next cubicle is (probably) not a secret agent. And, yeah, reviewing more data is boring. But still I have the dream, and the dream led me here.
But then, my perspective is that I was a white kid who read the Black Panther comics and dreamed of being like him. He's like Batman or the Phantom, who are also crime fighting comic book scientists... but cooler. So, now I'm an adult scientist and my particle accelerator is in a suburb instead of a jungle cave, and I drive a Honda which does not actually have a hang-glider escape mechanism, and the beautiful Egyptian engineer in the next cubicle is (probably) not a secret agent. And, yeah, reviewing more data is boring. But still I have the dream, and the dream led me here.
To be fair to the film, much of soft sci-fi does this. Iron Man happening to create an arc reactor in a cave coming to mind.
Oh totally, it's maybe a bit awkward that I'm attaching this criticism to this particular film, given that showing non-white-male people in films seems to be oddly politically controversial right now. I just wonder if the unreasonable efficacy of fictional nerds might be an even bigger psychological problem for poorly represented groups than they are for my white male self. I think I've actually seen this arise IRL.
But which is the bigger problem for those groups - having those unrealistic role models, or not having them to begin with?
Black Panther's origin as a billionaire super scientist/martial arts expert with high tech body armor and mystical powers isn't that unusual as superhero origins go, what's unusual is having that power fantasy template attached to a character who isn't white.
Black Panther's origin as a billionaire super scientist/martial arts expert with high tech body armor and mystical powers isn't that unusual as superhero origins go, what's unusual is having that power fantasy template attached to a character who isn't white.
> which is the bigger problem for those groups - having those unrealistic role models, or not having them to begin with?
I think they're probably both a problem, but the latter seems to get talked about and somewhat addressed, and the former not so much (not at all in fact, afaik). My (tentative) hunch is that letting people know that it's supposed to be hard and you're supposed to struggle might result in more non-white-male people making it into STEM than more minority wizard characters.
I think they're probably both a problem, but the latter seems to get talked about and somewhat addressed, and the former not so much (not at all in fact, afaik). My (tentative) hunch is that letting people know that it's supposed to be hard and you're supposed to struggle might result in more non-white-male people making it into STEM than more minority wizard characters.
I feel like that's the kind of nuance you learn as you get older. Black Panther might inspire some pre-teens to start down the path to science, and someday they'll probably see October Sky or whatever the current equivalent is.
Or a particle accelerator in his basement, generating an element that didn't exist before.
Or an AI that is smarter than most humans, and super strong materials and super powerful miniaturized actuators and on and on.
And don't forget being a stone cold killer. He's breezy cool in lots of scenes that follow the deaths of multiple adversaries.
And don't forget being a stone cold killer. He's breezy cool in lots of scenes that follow the deaths of multiple adversaries.
A sociopathic, yet brilliant biollionaire? Probably the most realistic part.
Or a serum injected into your body, while being exposed to radiation, to transform you into a peak physical specimen.
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The author is also responsible for an excellent graphic novel about science: https://thedialoguesbook.com/
This article's headline doesn't do it justice.
Can you explain why not?
Not to imply that I disagree with your sentiment, but comments around these parts are encouraged to contain more substance and create or add to a discussion.
Not to imply that I disagree with your sentiment, but comments around these parts are encouraged to contain more substance and create or add to a discussion.
The title on HN has since been changed. It was previously the article title: "The Black Panther's Secret Superpower". Which doesn't give any hint as to why that superpower is actually interesting. "Oh, I didn't know that he had x-ray vision" would have been really boring, and I almost didn't click through to read the article because of that.