Like so many people, I saw the movie Black Panther and loved it.
One of my favorite parts of the movie was the use of W’Kabi’s horn. W’Kabi is the character played by Daniel Kaluuye, and anyone who’s seen the movie understands how awesome this character’s horn turned out to be. I thought I’d take a moment to talk about this cool storytelling device and why every story needs one.
But before we get into that, let’s talk give the warning. If you haven’t seen Black Panther yet, and don’t want spoilers, turn away. As Black Panther is currently approaching the billion-dollar sales mark worldwide, I’m hoping there are fewer and fewer people who haven’t seen it.
Now, to W’Kabi’s horn. For those of you haven’t seen the film but don’t mind spoilers, I’ll go over what makes the horn so great as a storytelling device. Essentially, the horn is a great device because it gives such great payoff that the story watcher (or reader) didn’t know they needed or wanted.
In the movie, the horn is actually not really seen in any real way until we see it in the climax battle. However, we are given clues as to what it does, but clues that are so minimal, you don’t put it together until you see the horn in use. In the early part of the film, King T’Challa (aka the Black Panther) visits his friend/ally W’Kabi at what appears to be his workplace. He’s some type of farmer and happens to be keeping rhinoceroses. W’Kabi feeds a rhino as he and T’Challa have an important conversation about finding the villain Klaue. The audience knows Klaue is an issue, and while a rhino as a pet seems unusual, they are in Africa, in an untouched paradise, so why not. We don’t think anything of it. It wasn’t the focus of the scene.
But then, when the battle at the end takes place, W’Kabi now fighting against his king, the tide seems to be turning in T’Challa’s favor. Suddenly, W’Kabi climbs a large boulder and blows on a ram’s horn. T’Challa screams out “Nooooooo” as if the world is ending. The director waits just long enough for the audience to go, “I don’t get it. So what if he blew a horn.” And then the ground starts to shake, and there is rumbling, and then you see a cavalcade of armored rhinos heading toward the battle, all at W’Kabi’s command. Called to battle by that horn. And it’s just awesome. It’s unexpected but oh-so fulfilling. It’s the moment you didn’t know you needed, but can’t imagine not having now that you’ve seen it.
Every story needs a moment like that. Something that’s had an unnoticeable build. Small things that seemed inconsequential, but in looking back, are so important to understanding this cool scene.
Ryan Coogler’s Black Panther is actually quite good at this. Even in one of the earliest scenes in the film, the viewer thinks he knows the significance of what is happening, but later in the film Coogler takes us back to that scene to reveal elements that he hadn’t earlier. Part of the reason the film has enjoyed critical and commercial success is it just excels at storytelling.
But getting back to that horn, I think our favorite stories all have that horn. That element that, when you look back on it and say, wow that’s awesome when that seemingly small thing turns up and turns out to be very important. JK Rowling’s Harry Potter is filled with such moments. That old tiara Harry moves in the room of requirement. Or the locket no one can open when they’re cleaning 12 Grimmauld Place. And when you see them for what they are, finally, it so enriches the story and makes you fall in love with the tale that much more.