phantom of the dystopia

nashuri nation, i bring to you today another win from the frontlines. so, tenoch is at CCXP and they were talking about shuri and namor’s relationship, here’s a rough translation from one of my bird app moots:

the interviewers: we watched the movie together, and we wanted a lot that namor and shuri ended up together

interviewer: I feel everything would be solved with a kiss, right?

tenoch: like everything in life, everything in life would be solved with a kiss and a hug

inteviewer: true, but why not?

tenoch: I don't know, dammit! because of covid, maybe?

and don’t you just love this! nashuri being brought up at conventions, and so playfully. the romantic chemistry was clear to EVERYONE. so much that interviewers are able to banter about it and actually ask the actors ‘what’s up with all of that then?’. nashuri is mainstream and i’m over the bloody moon.

not the editors trying to remove overt romantic tones from namor and shuri, but keeping in the scene where namor gives her his mother’s bracelet and them realising there are big romantic-marriage-proposal symbolism attached to it.

not the editors trying to posture namor as a big brother figure, but still admitting that there are always going to be romantic undertones because they are able to relate to each other.

not the editors ACTUALLY HAVING A STRONG ROMANTIC CUT OF SHURI AND NAMOR SCENES.

…knowing i’m not delusional, but also realising how close we were to committing to a complex, romantic direction….ROBBERY.

princess shuri’s heroine’s journey

- according to maureen murdock

created by maureen murdock in the 1980s, the heroine’s journey is the alternative to joseph campbell’s hero’s journey which focuses on the heroine’s quest for wholeness. this is not a flawless way of charting a character’s journey. with how dense and beautiful shuri’s arc is in wakanda forever, i thought it would be fun to do an overview of her story through the paradigm of the murdock’s heroine’s journey. so here we go.

HEROINE SEPARATES FROM THE FEMININE

the rejection the mother/mentor figure or a societally prescribed feminine/marginalized/outsider role.

at the start of the film, there’s a definite separation between shuri and the feminine- her mother, queen ramonda.

ramonda has been able to navigate her grief with the strength of her spiritual beliefs. though heartbroken, she is able to heal because her spiritualism gives her comfort. shuri on the other hand, is still wrestling with her loss and hasn’t started healing at all. scientific beliefs only provide torment despite her utter confidence in them. this causes a wedge between mother and daughter. shuri is dismissive to her mother’s wisdom and is happy to be distance herself by bunkering in her lab. there is also an underlying resentment towards how her mother and the women around her are so attached to the spiritual. when okoye mentions the stories she grew up on being seared into her mind, shuri sarcastically replies “that must have been painful for you.”

IDENTIFICATION WITH THE MASCULINE & GATHERING OF ALLIES.

the heroine embraces a new way of life, a different path that prescribed. identifying with a male figure (or societally prescribed masculine role).

while ramonda would prefer the princess to stay in the palace and her lab, shuri chooses to step into a hero’s path and help okoye to find riri williams. because wakanda is not a patriarchal setting, there aren’t many things that society prescribes as a ‘male role’. however, for decades in the mcu the black panther, the hero of wakanda, has been her grandfather, then her father, and then her brother. shuri is now stepping into this hero role to find and ensure riri’s safety just like t’challa would.

ROAD/TRIALS AND MEETING OGRES & DRAGONS.

the heroine encounters trials and meets people who try to dissuade the heroine from pursuing their chosen path, or who try to destroy the heroine.

the finding of riri, followed by the cia chase scene, and the appearance of the talokanil could symbolise the trials and tribulations of this stage. shuri is playing the role of the hero, but the CIA are trying to derail her and the talokanil have no problem with killing the princess. at the end of this stage, shuri is successful however: riri is alive and shuri has a chance to convene with namor in hopes of finding a peaceful solution.

EXPERIENCING THE ILLUSORY BOON OF SUCCESS.

the heroine overcomes the obstacles in their way but her values are betrayed in the end.

the political/romantic courtship of shuri takes place. the princess and god king have a deep understanding and connection. it seems as if a peaceful solution might be reached between the two mirror images, but when shuri’s own rescue goes awry and two talokanil get killed this success disappears immediately. shuri, the healer and self appointed diplomat, leaves a scene that could only be understood as an act of war from namor.

this stage and the next can be seen as one big stage. there’s a domino effect at play: the peaceful courtship to unintentional betrayal to the attack on wakanda to the death of ramonda. any hope that was building between the two nations gets snuffed out.

HEROINE AWAKENS TO FEELINGS OF SPIRITUAL ARIDITY/DEATH.

the heroine’s new way of life (attempting the masculine/dominant identity) is too limited. their success in this new way of life is either temporary, illusory, shallow, or requires a betrayal of self over time.

shuri tried be the hero without taking the mantle- saving riri, refusing to the set the world on fire in the name of her anger, and attempting to heal the innocent talokanil- but it wasn’t enough. her mother still drowns in front of her eyes and wakanda is even more vulnerable than before.

she knows she must become the protector her kingdom requires if a war against talokan is on the horizon. but her pursuit to become the black panther is motivated primarily by vengeance, which is a betrayal of her previous heroic nature. becoming black panther will inevitably lead to a spiritual rebirth.

INITIATION & DESCENT TO THE GODDESS.

 the heroine faces a crisis of some sort in which the new way of life is insufficient, and the heroine falls into despair. all of the masculine/dominant-group strategies have failed them. there’s a return to the feminine.

oh look. i just write an entire meta about shuri’s descent into becoming a goddess. how convenient.

anyway, after taking the synthetic heart shaped herb shuri is the domain of the goddess bast. shuri is meeting the feminine. murdock’s template suggests that the heroine should be accepting all of the positive values that shuri left behind at the beginning. and we start to see this- shuri’s return to the spiritual. she is no longer relying on science only to overcome her struggles.

through n’jadaka, shuri is asking for the godly power of punishment and retribution, which is bast grants her. i always say this part of the movie isn’t shuri as the black panther, but shuri as the goddess: destructive, wrathful and ready to cause eternal war in the name grief.

HEROINE URGENTLY YEARNS TO RECONNECT WITH THE FEMININE.

the heroine wants to, but is unable to return to their initial limited state/position before the rejection of the feminine.

shuri becomes the scientist once more with her plans to trap namor. however, she isn’t fully able to return to this position because she is now the goddess, and her fury takes her away from that role. thankfully, riri is there to help her. though she is now interacting with the spiritual, it’s not the peaceful spiritualism that her mother was preaching. she is ready to use her new found connection with the spiritual (goddesshood) to kill.

HEROINE HEALS THE MOTHER/DAUGHTER SPLIT.

the heroine reclaims some of their initial values, skills, or attributes (or those of others like them) but now views these traits from a new perspective.

this stage neatly aligns with shuri seeing the parallels between herself and namor. she’s reclaiming her empathy, love, compassion, her need to protect her people. only now she is the protector of wakanda and has the power to defend her kingdom.

the healing of the feminine comes in the form of a message from her mother. and her message is to remember who she is and show that to namor. shuri is able to receive that wisdom and fully accept it, integrate it, and thus make a substantial, conscious step with accepting the spiritualism of her mother. the mother/daughter split is healed.

HEROINE HEALS THE WOUNDED MASCULINE WITHIN.

the heroine makes peace with the “masculine” approach to the world as it applies to them.

coming to terms with the masculine could literally mean her reaching an alliance with namor. it could be seen as her truly becoming the black panther, noble and just. and just like her brother letting go of vengeance and allowing for mercy. it could mean her full acknowledgment of namor as her mirror image and accepting that killing him would be wounding and killing the part of herself that he reflects back. there’s a lot a different things that could slot into this stage of the heroine’s journey.

HEROINE INTEGRATES THE MASCULINE & FEMININE. 

in order to face the world/future with a new understanding of themselves and the world/life, the heroine integrates the “masculine” and “feminine” perspectives.

if the masculine is the role of black panther, a position shuri heavily associates with her late brother, and the feminine is spirituality, what her mother was a beacon for, then in the end we see her step towards the union of the two.

she is the black panther, empathetic and able to build bridges like t’challa. she is also listening to the spiritual wisdom of her mother and bringing her mourning to an end by burning the funeral garments. her journey to wholeness is in motion.

final thoughts

as i said, this isn’t a flawless way to think about storytelling. it would be interesting how accurately this template applies to future stories where shuri is at the core.

there’s not many mcu heroine’s who have such an extensive and mythic journey, so i hope shuri just becomes more complex and compelling as her story progresses forward.

bast’s gamble: shuri’s descent into godhood

shuri’s brief stint as a goddess (symbolically/mythically/whatever) is probably one of the most fascinating parts of wakanda forever. and i call it a descent into godhod because there’s nothing glorious about it. it’s ugly, fiery and brutal. it’s very nearly a tragedy: shuri praying for bast to save her brother, her prayers being ‘ignored’, only for bast to grant her power to seek retribution and to find vengeance corroding shuri from the inside.

shuri’s descent into godhood starts with her death. the heart shaped herb is represents spiritual death and rebirth- the person gets transported to the ancestral plane, meets their ancestors , and then awakes from a burial blessed with the powers of the goddess bast. it serves a unique role of both killing and reviving the individual. and the only way for shuri to become a goddess, is to be reborn into one.

shuri wants the will of a warrior. she wants to be strong enough to best namor, have him beg for mercy, and kill him. through n’jadaka, she is asking bast for the power to enact retribution. and whose role usually is it to dish out punishment and retribution in legend and lore? a god’s. shuri, consciously or not, is asking for the power of a god.

i think bast is aware of shuri’s previous non-belief and understands that granting the powers of the black panther to shuri will enable her path of retribution. shuri literally sets the ancestral plane on fire with her fury. and yet, bast obliges with her request and gives her strength to burn the whole world if she wishes. the question is why? we don’t know much about bast in the mcu, but in marvel comics she has a strong sense of morality and justice. bast casts judgement and decides who is and who isn’t worthy of the becoming black panther. she has even denied shuri before.

depending on how you see bast, shuri becoming the black panther could either be seen as a punishment or a test. for the former, it’s a classic case of hubris. granting shuri the power to obtain the one thing she believes she needs, but knowing that it will only lead to more pain and misery for her. all of this as punishment for her non-belief and vindictive spirit. shuri, in her state of anger and vengeance, will cause her own self destruction.

the second reason is more in line with a journey of a hero. shuri is given the power to cause eternal war and the gamble is that shuri will know better and and walk back from the precipice. there is an understanding that shuri has a goddess’ anger, but a protector’s heart. and there is a hope that shuri will give up the former for the latter. bast risked the fate of wakanda and the world on this gamble. i want to believe this reason. it’s more hopeful.

for whatever reason, shuri becomes the black panther. but with a goddess’ touch everything is amplified. shuri’s once casual confidence turns to arrogance, her rage becomes wrath. we see shuri (as i love saying) become a vengeful goddess. she’s dismissive of nakia and m’baku. the lives of her people come second to her goal of killing namor. it’s been a while since i’ve seen a female character be this ugly in her anger. it’s amazing.

we know how it ends, with a spear on namor’s neck and shuri about to do the deed that causes eternal war- a goddess queen killing a god king. shuri is also about to kill her mirror image, something that will irreversibly wound her deeply. but then, bast’s gamble pays off. her protector’s heart fights against her goddess’ rage. her kindness and empathy are inextinguishable beacons despite her grief. shuri does not walk off the cliff edge. maybe as encouragement or as a gift, bast allows ramonda to give a brief message to her daughter. and in that moment, shuri lets go of her godhood, an amplifier of her anger, and instead stands as a warrior and protector over namor.

and if bast was intending to punish and not test? then it’s love changes shuri’s tragic fate. the love she has for her people, the love namor has for his people, the love between child and mother, the connection between two people who understand each other entirely. just like a fairytale, love conquers all and shuri is able to relinquish her fury. bast, impressed, accepts this twist of fate and allows shuri to continue being the black panther.

there was something mesmering and powerful about shuri’s emotions during her stint as a goddess. i like to think bast knew shuri could cope with the weight of godhood and not be crushed by it. at least for a small amount of time. i also think shuri is at peace without that righteous rage. she’s no longer burning, she’s surviving. and with clarity of mind she’s able to become the protector bast was gambling on.