flows down the river, it reaches a waterfall. In the spiritual plane, the ancestor is reunited with her baby. The ancestor tells the prince to return to the river, in which he finds the scepter. He is reunited with the elder, who anoints him again with white paint, and he floats upwards into the spiritual plane. The prince reunites with his father and breaks down in front of him. The ancestor reminds the prince of his power, and he assembles an army of women to fight his uncle ("My Power"). They chase him out of the kingdom, and the prince reclaims his throne. The ancestor brings the new king and queen their baby ("Spirit"), and the baby is anointed. Cast Beyoncé as a spirit guide, maternal figure, and/or ancestor Folajomi Akinmurele as a young prince, inspired by Simba Nyaniso Ntsikelelo Dzedze as the adult prince, inspired by Simba Stephen Ojo as the blue man, a representation of the prince's subconscious Nandi Madida as the prince's love interest, inspired by Nala Warren Masemola as a villain who takes over the kingdom, inspired by Scar Sibusiso Mbeje as the prince's father, inspired by Mufasa Connie Chiume as the prince's mother, inspired by Sarabi Mary Twala as an elder, inspired by Rafiki. The film was Twala's last role and was released after her death. Fumi Odede Special appearances Themes and analysis Black identity and black pride The storyline of the prince's journey of self-discovery in Black Is King acts as an allegory for the African diaspora's journey of self-discovery, with the film acting as a clarion call to the diaspora to reclaim their identity through black pride. The story of how the prince is exiled from his homeland to an alien world acts a parallel to the story of how Africans were forcibly removed from the continent and taken to the United States as slaves. As the prince grows up, he is plagued by the question of his identity, reflecting African Americans' continued struggle with their identity. Colonialism, slavery and the oppression of black people has severed their connection to their heritage and has caused even black people themselves to think of their culture as corrupt or worthless, in the same way the prince was led to believe that he is undeserving of the role that was his birthright. With Black Is King, Beyoncé is providing a solution for this. In the story