Commodified Afrofuturism in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther T. M. Rafat Rahman * Rumana Rahman ** Abstract: In this capitalist age, Cinema has become thoroughly commodified. With an aim of catering to a larger audience, films often commodify elements from different part of the society to show the underprivileged and marginalized communities breaking out of shackles. Through such narratives involving subversion, as much as they inspire such underprivileged communities in the society, the films simultaneously show precisely what is not real. Such is the case through its depiction of commodified Afrofuturism denoting a technologically advanced fictional African country of Wakanda in Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther. The film subverts the notion of Black African communities lagging behind in terms of technological developments through its Afrofuturistic portrayal of Wakanda. Under the inspiring narrative of a futuristic powerful nation existing in Africa within the fictional world, the deeper narrative of Black Panther can also point out how far the African countries have to come to become as powerful as Wakanda outside the fictional world created by the makers. It is imperative to address the issue of subverting racial representation in the film through the gimmick of Afrofuturism to sell it to a wider audience. Hence, the extent of commodification of Afrofuturism in the film is a pertinent subject of investigation.. Keywords: Afrofuturism, Commodification, Deconstruction, Race, Marginalized We should recognize the Blackophobia that lies behind much Blackophilia, and that both may be representative of the continuing ideological and cultural power of White supremacy in the 21 st century. (Yousman 371) In this age of unbridled capitalism, the world of cinema has often resorted to commodifying cultural and social elements functioning within the make- believe world of films. A common trope in modern cinema, involving such social elements, is the subversion 1 of social order to show the * Graduate student, English Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna. email: tmrafatrahman@gmail.com ** Assistant Professor, English Discipline, Khulna University, Khulna. email: rumana.ku.eng@gmail.com 1 “…a process by which the values and principles of a system in place are contradicted or reversed in an attempt to transform the established social order and its structures of power, authority, hierarchy, and social norms.” (qtd, in Ramirez 77)