In this theoretical essay, we revisit Muñoz's (1999) highly influential theory of disidentifications to explore the potentiality of queer (of color) identities, performances, and politics in intercultural communication processes. We seek to interrogate the fluid and complex nuances of (dis)identifications with hegemonic relations of power, oppression, and privilege through our narratives as queer transnational/migrant men of color. By arguing that sexuality, sex/gender, and body function as significant facets of overall identity, we move forward to discuss larger implications of disidentifications to communication theory.
Black Panther (2018) is now one of the most popular Hollywood movies across the globe featuring a predominantly Black cast. Its success lies not only in economic value, but also in its ability to present universal concerns of power, pride, and humanity from global Black perspectives. In this essay, we analyze Black Panther through the lens of postcolonial cultural critique guided by Afrofuturism to examine how the movie misrepresents itself as a vehicle for unifying complex histories of continental Africans and African diasporic perspectives on Blackness, home, and belonging. We argue that Black Panther's Afrofuturist unifying and codifying theme of Blackness, as transnationally shared intimate relations, while transformative, yields too much to Western neocolonial and cinematic fantasies about "Africa." We conclude by stating that while Black Panther is a welcome shift from the dominant white Western gaze; it also deserves a critical reading as an ongoing and imperfect project of emancipation from the dominant gaze.
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