Black Panther: Critical Thoughts

[Simon_Jester]

Well, someone has to ('pretend to be') responsible for keeping outsiders out of the country, and it might as well be members of the Border Tribe.

True enough, though depending on the size of Wakanda and the size of the border tribe, the whole of border tribe might not have to pretend to be soldiers or police and some could pretend to be civilians.

Also depending what border zone of Wakanda is like they might not need that many disguised border guards, since if the borders are say for example thick jungle with few paths thru it anyone trying to enter wakanda unannounced probably already knows about the high tech nature and thus disguises would be pointless.

Sure fine. Note that I didn't speculate that literally every member of the Border Tribe probably has an AK. However, it may well be that enough have them (as props) to maintain plausible deniability as the armed militia that chases away intruders who try to sneak into Wakanda.

This would explain them having 'boxes and boxes' without necessarily having 'one for everybody.'

[Civil War Man]

Is there a critical difference between the two to a non-Californian audience?

About 370 miles

Probable reasons:

--Design choice during film-making, to reinforce the whole utopian ideal of Wakanda. Goes along with the comments during the chase scene where Shuri and Okoye are all 'guns, ugh, so primitive'.
--In-universe: cultural taboo against firearms in Wakanda/lack of need for them due to high tech... but that wouldn't do for telling outsiders as to why they don't use them, the cultural taboo thing might be a convenient fig leaf though.
--In-universe: perhaps illegal immigration/border-crossing isn't *quite* as much a concern as we think, has been in the past but for perhaps a generation, Klaue's attack aside, hasn't been recently. Thus the traditionally large Border Tribe forces are bored and raring for action. Part of this, as well, is that Wakanda is (supposedly) very isolated. Large snow-capped mountains on one side, near impassable (and populated with a rather hostile tribe to boot). Veldt/savanna on another side; this would be where the Border Tribe comes in. If they are bordering the Congo rain forest in central Africa, then that would be another natural barrier.

The impression I got is that Wakanda avoided a lot of unwanted attention by a combination of their geographic isolation along with their masquerade making colonial powers think they are so resource-poor that there was no point in trying to control that area. Even after the other countries found out about vibranium, they were under the impression that the metal in Captain America's shield and/or the metal that Klawe stole was the entirety of Wakanda's stockpile.

[Elheru Aran]

We discussed that; I have no great beef with it. At the moment I'm not as concerned with how colonial powers viewed Wakanda (though Wakanda and colonialism are another question, regardless of the border thing), more how they keep other Africans out.

Vibranium though, seems to be a rare and ridiculously capable metal. There's some implication that the raw ore is unstable in some form-- Shuri has to invent some kind of sonic barrier in order to move it by fast train. My thinking though is, either the stockpile that Klaue stole was ridiculously large-- the fact that Ultron was able to hold a landmass the size of a (very small) country with it suggests this-- or people are deliberately obtuse about how much vibranium is really in the world.

If Captain America's shield is literally the ONLY openly known piece of vibranium in the world, beyond perhaps the occasional artifact or two (depending on how you read museum lady's reaction to Killmonger declaring that the weapon in the case was vibranium), that raises the question of why scientists haven't tried to test the properties of vibranium further. One would think that an artifact or two might have been sacrificed for the sake of science. It also raises the question of why exactly Howard Stark used a random unknown metal to make the shield. He probably had at least some idea of its capabilities. I don't know how far 1930s-40s Western science could have gone with that.

The movie is pretty consistent in arguing that Wakanda is the ONLY source of vibranium. There's an Easter Egg in Iron Man 2 (IIRC) that suggests SHIELD is watching Wakanda (but then, they watched everybody). Perhaps Stark sent some men there because he found an artifact with vibranium and identified its origin. Old-school Wakandan artifacts were notably not as fancy as modern Wakandan vibranium technology (that we know of). I suppose he might only have known it's really good at absorbing/reflecting/whatever impact forces.

[Imperial528]

Given that the Wakandans have holograms, couldn't the just disguise a vibranium-based weapon as an AK-47? Or just project images of them?

[Lord Revan]

Given that the Wakandans have holograms, couldn't the just disguise a vibranium-based weapon as an AK-47? Or just project images of them?

that depends on the limits of that hologram tech. It could be possible that holograms good enough to fool a person up close need large facilities to project them, or small versions of it are simply too expensive to be common. Granted I've yet to see the film so if it shows the hologram tech to both small and plentiful I retract this statement.

[Civil War Man]

We discussed that; I have no great beef with it. At the moment I'm not as concerned with how colonial powers viewed Wakanda (though Wakanda and colonialism are another question, regardless of the border thing), more how they keep other Africans out.

Similar things could be at work here. If Wakanda has a reputation of being remote, poor, and of no strategic value, then other Africans might avoid it as well. Of those that persist, refugees are probably either turned away or transported elsewhere without bringing them into the interior of the country, while hostile militias are taken out and the circumstances covered up. Maybe the forces are killed, their bodies are transported elsewhere, and it's made to look like they fell victim to an ambush from a rival militia or wild animal attacks. It increases the reputation of the area around Wakanda being dangerous, making people in the area less likely to want to risk venturing through there, while not raising suspicions on the international level.

[Elheru Aran]

Given that the Wakandans have holograms, couldn't the just disguise a vibranium-based weapon as an AK-47? Or just project images of them?

that depends on the limits of that hologram tech. It could be possible that holograms good enough to fool a person up close need large facilities to project them, or small versions of it are simply too expensive to be common. Granted I've yet to see the film so if it shows the hologram tech to both small and plentiful I retract this statement.

Without spoilers:

Most of the Wakandans that we see have access to a portable hologram system, apparently their equivalent to a cell phone, via the technological bead bracelets they wear. The capital city is concealed by either a cloaking field or (more likely) a massive hologram. The Wakandans have technology to remote-pilot vehicles via a holographic simulation which the pilot sits within; it's a pretty good simulation.

So I'm not concerned that a Wakandan could hide a vibranium weapon with holograms; that's probably quite likely.

Where the monkey wrench comes into the spokes is that those aren't bullets the vibranium weapons are firing...

[Vendetta]

We discussed that; I have no great beef with it. At the moment I'm not as concerned with how colonial powers viewed Wakanda (though Wakanda and colonialism are another question, regardless of the border thing), more how they keep other Africans out.

Similar things could be at work here. If Wakanda has a reputation of being remote, poor, and of no strategic value, then other Africans might avoid it as well. Of those that persist, refugees are probably either turned away or transported elsewhere without bringing them into the interior of the country, while hostile militias are taken out and the circumstances covered up. Maybe the forces are killed, their bodies are transported elsewhere, and it's made to look like they fell victim to an ambush from a rival militia or wild animal attacks. It increases the reputation of the area around Wakanda being dangerous, making people in the area less likely to want to risk venturing through there, while not raising suspicions on the international level.

To be honest one of the main groups of people Wakanda would be persistently fighting to keep out would be rhino poachers.

[Zixinus]

The thing about "lol supertech from vibranium" is that there was also a a line somewhere in the comics about Wakanda being a nation of geniuses. Also, it is a brainbug. If you go back to the first depiction of Black Panther, this wasn't the case and it was the Black Panther all by himself that modernized the country relatively recently. "Wakanda is a supertech utopia made by black people" is an idea that developed and matured over time.

But Wakanda rather obviously is an African-American's utopic fantasy of Black Unconquered Nation that superseded their own country in most respects (except democaracy, which was actually a topic of a civil war in current comics). It is a narrative that is counter-racist (outside Wakanda, most comics would have unlikely to have features a city of superior technology that wasn't made by whites or aliens) that sadly still works on racist logic (race is key, Wakanda MUST mean black). In the comics there was an emphasis on actual science and engineering, with T'Challa also being a scientist that was Tony Stark's equal as well as a strategic genius. The idea that Wakanda is a country where the "black" race was never "held back" by outside influence, you'll see the superior race undertone easily lead to "nation of geniuses".

That said, I do have one explanation that is partially supported by the canon: Bast, plus the rest of their gods (they have their own pantheon, can't be bothered to look it up atm) influence. They take a present role with the country. Wakanda wasn't just depicted as technologically superior, but spiritually superior. The heart-shaped herb wasn't the Wakandan equivalent of a super-serum. It was used to help one reach commune with Bast herself and it is her that grants the power of the Black Panther (which included supernatural powers). If you did not meet Bast's approval, you died. The Black Panther wasn't just king, but the pope of Wakandan religion as they (there were female Black Panthers) represented Bast (all the statues? They were for Bast, not just the king).

The herb was supposed to be the final test for becoming Black Panther (the challenge thing was actually meant to be public event where anyone could challenge the king, thus ensuring that the king was always physically capable). This goes further, with the nation retaining supernatural knowledge as well as scientific, or with little separation between the two. There are actual priests and shamans of supernatural power in Wakanda on-call.

From this, and this is where my speculation starts, you can see a similar attitude made for education as well as clear respect for knowledge. Knowledge has its own god, Toth IIRC. Consider that Wakanda's intelligence network didn't just take information about potential enemy's intentions, they took information about technology as well**. Combine that with a strong, spiritually-enlightened focused on education, the fact that vibranium is universally useful and that Wakanda is very rich (not just by Vibranium although I don'T recall how), and you have the basis of a virtuous cycle of technological development.


Of course, there was little time for all this in the movie. I would not be surprised if later on we see deleted extended scenes about Bast or that the religious aspect was taken out almost entirely except as background detail.

If Captain America's shield is literally the ONLY openly known piece of vibranium in the world, beyond perhaps the occasional artifact or two (depending on how you read museum lady's reaction to Killmonger declaring that the weapon in the case was vibranium), that raises the question of why scientists haven't tried to test the properties of vibranium further. One would think that an artifact or two might have been sacrificed for the sake of science. It also raises the question of why exactly Howard Stark used a random unknown metal to make the shield. He probably had at least some idea of its capabilities. I don't know how far 1930s-40s Western science could have gone with that.

In the comics, the current Black Panther's grandfather gave it to Steve Rogers after he helped repel a Nazi invasion to Wakanda (Wakanda gets lots of invasions). Depending on the comic, the Black Panther actually BEAT Cap (Cap was still inexperienced at that point).

How it got into Stark's hands in the MCU is unknown. All I can think of is that at that point the Allies have gathered up lots of weird stuff that the Nazis gathered up and Stark got his hands on all that. Then, being Stark, he experimented with it and produced the shield among other things. I do recall that Stark had several shields ready for experimental purpouses.

** Someone pointed out how a black person having access to delicate and secrative scholars would be strange in various times. Well, there are two simple answers to that: first, Wakandan spies had superior technology that likely included things listening devices; second, Wakandan spies could have simply made or gotten white (or Asian or whatever was necessary) agents that would have done the interrogation for them.

[Elheru Aran]

The thing about "lol supertech from vibranium" is that there was also a a line somewhere in the comics about Wakanda being a nation of geniuses. Also, it is a brainbug. If you go back to the first depiction of Black Panther, this wasn't the case and it was the Black Panther all by himself that modernized the country relatively recently. "Wakanda is a supertech utopia made by black people" is an idea that developed and matured over time.

But Wakanda rather obviously is an African-American's utopic fantasy of Black Unconquered Nation that superseded their own country in most respects (except democaracy, which was actually a topic of a civil war in current comics). It is a narrative that is counter-racist (outside Wakanda, most comics would have unlikely to have features a city of superior technology that wasn't made by whites or aliens) that sadly still works on racist logic (race is key, Wakanda MUST mean black). In the comics there was an emphasis on actual science and engineering, with T'Challa also being a scientist that was Tony Stark's equal as well as a strategic genius. The idea that Wakanda is a country where the "black" race was never "held back" by outside influence, you'll see the superior race undertone easily lead to "nation of geniuses".

Yeah, this is pretty much exactly what it comes down to me re: Wakanda, cultural elements aside. Not that it's a BAD thing per se, African-Americans are just as allowed to have their super-tech African fantasy as Caucasians are our super-tech mostly-white Star Wars fantasy. But when it meets someone with actual knowledge of what 'real Africa' is like... well, it clashes a bit.

I suppose it's a bit of a comic-book version of Kwanzaa or something. I wonder if Black Panther ever got super-popular in like the 70s or something?

[Zixinus]

A note about Wakanda's educational system: in one of the recent Ms. Marvel comics there is a junior super-scientist genius boy who goes to Wakandan school (due to some complications with his scholarship, forgot exactly what that was about). There, he talks about barely keeping up and the teacher being very, very well qualified for his position. So Wakandan education being high is thrown around.

Yeah, this is pretty much exactly what it comes down to me re: Wakanda, cultural elements aside. Not that it's a BAD thing per se, African-Americans are just as allowed to have their super-tech African fantasy as Caucasians are our super-tech mostly-white Star Wars fantasy. But when it meets someone with actual knowledge of what 'real Africa' is like... well, it clashes a bit.

I guess that's true in general for African-Americans and their conception of Africa?

I heard the line "this is what Africa could be without colonialism" elsewhere about Black Panther. Which worries me a bit but then again, most people (myself included) have only vague ideas about what is truly required to make a high-tech civilization.

I suppose it's a bit of a comic-book version of Kwanzaa or something. I wonder if Black Panther ever got super-popular in like the 70s or something?

The problem isn't the fantasy, especially for something as fanciful as the Marvel universe. The problem would be is if racist thinking is allowed to be taken for granted and excused just because it is portrays blacks positively.

Of course, the comics have been slowly trying to expand Wakanda and its people to be more than just about that.

[Simon_Jester]

To be honest one of the main groups of people Wakanda would be persistently fighting to keep out would be rhino poachers.

In that case, covertly armoring the rhinos and surrounding them with armed herdsmen who double as the Wakandan Army turns them into good bait, and it keeps a steady stream of foreign assholes coming in who no one will miss much. The international community won't complain as much if you stick a rhino poacher's head on the end of a pole, as if you do it to a normal person.

[FaxModem1]

Someone actually made a YouTube video on this topic, and how, realistically, Wakanda should be less prosperous than it is due to isolationism and autocracy. As well as the relative value of Vibranium due to lack of trade outside their borders. Here's the link.

Though, this doesn't take into account the foreign education and sapping of outside knowledge through espionage.

[Elheru Aran]

Someone actually made a YouTube video on this topic, and how, realistically, Wakanda should be less prosperous than it is due to isolationism and autocracy. As well as the relative value of Vibranium due to lack of trade outside their borders. Here's the link.

Though, this doesn't take into account the foreign education and sapping of outside knowledge through espionage.

Without watching the video, but your post did make me think:

There has been the implicit assumption, I suppose, that Wakanda is just as closed to exit as it is to entry. Is this necessarily true? Because it would make sense for the Wakandans to conduct trade outside their borders. If nothing else, it allows them to assert their international status as a country, not just a random bit of Africa which is controlled by random tribes. And I can see them doing a limited trade in vibranium weapons of the fancy-rock-on-a-stick variety in order to purchase whatever raw goods aren't available in Wakanda. After all, they do have a Merchant Tribe; kind of silly to have one of those if they only ever conduct trade with their own people...

Conversely though, can you realistically only have your own people entering and exiting the country, and still completely deny entry to anybody else? In the modern day it might be possible; there's really not much reason NOT to do it... other than pretty much having zero diplomatic relations with anybody outside your immediate sphere of influence, because I can't really see having ambassadors from foreign countries who aren't even permitted to enter the country. In history, particularly the colonial period... it'd totally make the Powers that Be wonder what they were hiding.

At a certain point the whole "we don't let anybody in" thing has to flex. If there's a fake capital of mud huts or whatever that they let the foreigners visit, that's one thing (that I note we *never* hear about nor, IIRC, is ever mentioned in the comics). But that's only an assumption that such a thing exists.

Even medieval Japan (probably one of the historic parallels they were deriving Wakanda's isolationism from) still conducted trade at fixed ports with people from certain countries (the Dutch and Portugese come to mind).

[Zixinus]

I would imagine that Wakanda created its own wealth just as it does espionage: using its tech superiority and well-placed wisdom to do everything under cover. So it would trade, but indirectly. In the past I'd imagine the Merchants simply pretended to be from somewhere else or used intermediaries. Today, I'd imagine Wakanda industry selling stuff through shell companies that on paper are owned by whoever but whose significant amount of profit comes goes to Wakanda. Possibly in form of things that Wakanda cannot produce. Ideally, it would be stuff like seeds or books that they can use to make more things themselves. They could also do stuff like have factories import materials, use Wakandan technology and vibranium process and export them as products that have neither.

The notion that Wakanda is completely self-sufficient is also there and a key element there. This is a big difference, because very few nations are self-sufficient. In the comics, where Wakanda lost all of its vibranium due to Doom (or rather, lost it all rather than let Doom have it), Wakanda did actually survive, although it was a big economic hit.

It is also possible that Wakanda's policy of immigrants and secrecy has changed over the ages. I mean, keeping Wakanda super-technology a secret must have been easier in the 1500 than in the 1800 and so on.

Also, Marvel does love isolated super-city states. There is Attillan and Atlantis.

[Elheru Aran]

Yeah, I'm fairly sure Wakanda probably used to be more open, at the very least up until the colonial era. At that point they would have just been a myth to anybody outside Africa, similar to Prester John (hey maybe in the Marvel universe a Wakandan King *was* Prester John). That might explain the influx of different cultural garbs, though I would have thought that by the modern era they wouldn't resemble the original cultures they were derived from.

[Bob the Gunslinger]

Was Genosha also an advanced, isolated nation in the comics?

[Majin Gojira]

Was Genosha also an advanced, isolated nation in the comics?

No, they were introduced as Aparthide South Africa enslaving mutants with power-negating collars and power armoured guards. Not unheard of in the Marvel Universe by that time, but just a little on the uncommon side.

Though what I mostly remember was from the 90s Animated Series, I think they may have had some ties to Apocalypse to justify the tech.

[FaxModem1]

I had a few thoughts while re-watching this film on Netflix:

One of the tribes is the Mining Tribe. Since Vibranium is a huge part of what makes Wakanda so special, what is the relative power of this tribe compared to the others? Is there some sort of fundamental belief that Vibranium belongs to all Wakandans, regardless of tribe, or does the Mining Tribe enjoy a huge amount of prestige due to being the ones who mine the mountain? Would that possibly make them the powerhouse of the nation? Would they be the ones who developed the technology and science to refine it, and institute it's properties in other aspects, such as defense, clothing, herbs, etc.?

On another note:
Is T'Challa's family part of one of the five tribes, or as the royal family they are separate and considered above except in times of succession, in which it gives the tribes a chance to challenge them for leadership? If so, what happens to the royal family during such times?

For how much Wakanda cares about their vibranium, they don't seem to mind that the British museum and presumably other museums have small quantities of them in small items left behind in other nations. Maybe they don't want the world to know that there's more than they say there is and let people misidentify it as another metal. Does this mean that vibranium, unless tested properly, will identify as a less rare metal?

This also means that Wakandan weapons and other artifacts have left Wakanda somehow. War Dog parties who lost equipment, or did Wakanda have military campaigns outside their borders back in the day?

[K. A. Pital]

Rewatched recently. A lot could be said about worldbuilding, vibranium etc. "Not realistic" and such.

A much greater, and perhaps more sinister, transgression of the Marvel scriptwriters is that the film offers fundamentally a deeply racist view of Africans. And an unrealistic, ahistorical and asociological approach to technological and social development.

Even with the highest technology, socially they are on the primitive tribal stage - not feudal, not capitalist, not socialist... There is nothing of the sort. They have not outgrown such a thing as a duel to the death - so basically, forever stuck with vendettas and honour killings. "He killed him fair? Then what's the problem' etc. Bodily self-mutilation in the name of tradition persists. Why? Do the Chinese - a society that managed to remain independent for the larger share of its history and become technically advanced - still bind the feet of women, in this day and age? They do not.

They are also an absolute hereditary monarchy in the XXI century. I will leave it for the readers to judge how realistic is it for such a state to not just become technically advanced, but stay so - without a shred of political reform?!

Erik's words "Bury me in the ocean, with my ancestors that jumped from the ships, because they knew death was better than bondage" were the only profound thing that could move me in the film. The truth, spoken by a designated "villain"...

[The Romulan Republic]

Rewatched recently. A lot could be said about worldbuilding, vibranium etc. "Not realistic" and such.

A much greater, and perhaps more sinister, transgression of the Marvel scriptwriters is that the film offers fundamentally a deeply racist view of Africans. And an unrealistic, ahistorical and asociological approach to technological and social development.

Even with the highest technology, socially they are on the primitive tribal stage - not feudal, not capitalist, not socialist... There is nothing of the sort. They have not outgrown such a thing as a duel to the death - so basically, forever stuck with vendettas and honour killings. "He killed him fair? Then what's the problem' etc. Bodily self-mutilation in the name of tradition persists. Why? Do the Chinese - a society that managed to remain independent for the larger share of its history and become technically advanced - still bind the feet of women, in this day and age? They do not.

Personally, I think the idea that there are certain "levels" of culture, and that they correlate precisely to different levels of technological development, is a dubious, over-simplistic, and in some cases arguably racist conclusion in and of itself.

I mean hell, the colonial-era Iroquois were more democratic than, say, 20th. Century industrial Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia, for example.

They are also an absolute hereditary monarchy in the XXI century. I will leave it for the readers to judge how realistic is it for such a state to not just become technically advanced, but stay so - without a shred of political reform?!

There are a few other more or less absolute hereditary monarchies in modern times. A lot can also likely be explained by their self-imposed isolation.

I could see the current Black Panther gradually moving towards constitutional monarchy, especially when he's friends with Captain Freaking America.

Erik's words "Bury me in the ocean, with my ancestors that jumped from the ships, because they knew death was better than bondage" were the only profound thing that could move me in the film. The truth, spoken by a designated "villain"...

That is a good quote, although surely you are not suggesting that the film was trying to portray those who resisted slavery in a negative light.

[K. A. Pital]

Personally, I think the idea that there are certain "levels" of culture, and that they correlate precisely to different levels of technological development, is a dubious, over-simplistic, and in some cases arguably racist conclusion in and of itself. I mean hell, the colonial-era Iroquois were more democratic than, say, 20th. Century industrial Nazi Germany or Stalinist Russia, for example.

Is it wrong to assume social development must at least coincide or be correlated with technological development? I mean "development" not always in a positive sense. The agrarian revolution took a colossal death toll on the hunter-gatherer societies, and generally led to profound health consequences as diets shifted to crops such as rice from protein-based meat diets. But it was also development, a change.

Technically primitive societies can be more democratic than industrial societies. It is a true observation. But a technically primitive society led by a dictatorial hereditary monarchy to become the most technically advanced state on Earth without much interation? Pardon me... I just do not think this is very logical.

There are a few other more or less absolute hereditary monarchies in modern times. A lot can also likely be explained by their self-imposed isolation.

A real-life example of "Wakanda" is Qatar and Saudi Arabia. They have a magic mineral (oil), they have technologies - though not innate. But they are definitely spreading violence and radical islamism across the entire Middle East without remorse through their agents. It is also ahistorical to have a reactionary, conservative regime stuck with absolute monarchy and tribal honor killings, and no rights of women, to be spreading progressive values. So the opposite happens.

That is a good quote, although surely you are not suggesting that the film was trying to portray those who resisted slavery in a negative light.

What it did is show how "Wakanda" in Africa would be like modern-day Hong Kong or Singapore where people can be racist even towards those of their own kind, but not belonging to a close isolated society which formed in the city-state. There was this dialogue about "how can we let refugees into Wakanda, then it will be like everywhere else" and outsiders are definetely absolutely not allowed inside the nation. Although the entire continent is drowning in blood and suffering, hunger and poverty.

Wakanda of the film is a very objectionable construct from a moral point of view. It actually serves as the thrust of the civil war inside it that propels the plot, so it is not like the scriptwriters were unaware of what they have shown.

[Majin Gojira]

Is it wrong to assume social development must at least coincide or be correlated with technological development?

Yes.

...

What? Do you want more explanations?

Technology often develops from what is available and what is needed by the societies at large. For instance, one African tribe discovered how to immunize themselves from smallpox, and another figured out how to make high-grade steel, and another discovered how to use biting ants to act as sutures.

But still had tribal structures in largely agrarian societies.

Pardon me... I just do not think this is very logical.

Whelp, that's humans for ya. We don't follow Sid Meyer's Civilization style models. I know it's tempting to think like that because the Victorians gave it to us and it's just another bit of racist ignorance to get rid of. There' is even more to get into with that, but let's just leave it at that for now.

A real-life example of "Wakanda" is Qatar and Saudi Arabia. They have a magic mineral (oil), they have technologies - though not innate. But they are definitely spreading violence and radical Islamism across the entire Middle East without remorse through their agents. It is also ahistorical to have a reactionary, conservative regime stuck with absolute monarchy and tribal honor killings, and no rights of women, to be spreading progressive values. So the opposite happens.

Not all "Conservative" groups have the exact same ideology, and it's foolish to assume so.

Also: Why the hell are you ascribing Islamic extremist values to an explicit polytheist and eclectic religious group. We have Bast and Hanuman worship being concurrent in Wakanda.

An Egyptian and Hindu god in the same belief system.

That has a LOT of implications without even getting into the possibilities Thor provides.

[K. A. Pital]

Technology often develops from what is available and what is needed by the societies at large. For instance, one African tribe discovered how to immunize themselves from smallpox, and another figured out how to make high-grade steel, and another discovered how to use biting ants to act as sutures. But still had tribal structures in largely agrarian societies.

The general development, however, is intractable from social relations. And from relations of production. Social structures are impacted by technical development just as the opposite is true. Therefore a socially static society cannot undergo a comprehensive technological revolution, even if isolated developments and discoveries can be made. That is why knowing how to make high-grade steel in principle and knowing how to make steel in the context of industrial mass-production are two very different things. Damascus blades and railways.

Not all "Conservative" groups have the exact same ideology, and it's foolish to assume so.

No, I don't assume they all have the same ideology. But there are common problems in Bhutan just as in Saudi Arabia, both absolute hereditary monarchies but with different beliefs. The general social backwardness is actually only reflected in the crude, obsolete power structure.

Also: Why the hell are you ascribing Islamic extremist values to an explicit polytheist and eclectic religious group. We have Bast and Hanuman worship being concurrent in Wakanda. An Egyptian and Hindu god in the same belief system. That has a LOT of implications without even getting into the possibilities Thor provides.

I do not, in fact I just mentioned them as examples of real-life societies where such archaic forms of dictatorship have endured into the XXI century. Having a society of mixed religion does not imply progressiveness by itself. Bhutan has Hinduism and Buddhism, but its social backwardness persists nonetheless.

[Vendetta]

Wakanda in the film and modern comics is one of those things that arises out of continuity artifacts.

In the original stories, it wasn't a super advanced nation and T'Challa was the one reforming it based on his intellect and capabilities plus Vibranium, and one of his major conflicts was with the primitivist Jabari. Over time it morphed into a highly advanced isolationist nation but because fixed points of Black Panther canon are "is King of Wakanda" and "Jabari tribe primitivists" that bit had to stay.

It's the consequence of worldbuilding kludged together over decades rather than intentionally designed.