
You may think that Ethiopia and Star Valley have very little in common; however, Ethiopian students Ben Henderson and Alias Erickson both graduated last year, and this year both I and James Erickson are walking the hallways here.
I was adopted from the village of Durme and junior James comes from Addis Ababa. When I was in Ethiopia, I remember seeing people with big disks in their lips and using spears to fight or to kill things, both things you see referenced in the movie.
This fictional country “Wakanda” in Black Panther is like Ethiopia in many ways. Just like Wakanda, Ethiopia was once known by Europeans during the Middle Ages as a mythical Christian kingdom of good wealth, encircled by unfriendly Muslim states, and hidden in the mountains.

This movie was influenced by many countries in Africa. People really liked it, especially in Africa, because it has connections to the way of life there and the characters are somewhat related to tribes in Africa.