Cultural Importance of Black Panther
In January 2018, Black Panther graced the big screen as one of the most anticipated Marvel films of all time. It’s $200 million dollar budget and all star cast wasn’t the only reason this film was so anxiously awaited. This film was the first large scale film to feature a black director and predominantly all black cast. Hollywood and mainstream media is not historically known for their commitment to diversity. Everyday the silver screen reflects infinite versions of white protagonists, but rarely do African Americans get to see themselves represented as heroes. This was a defining moment in modern history where people of color could gaze at the big screen and see their culture represented and reflected proudly.
Besides the groundbreaking representation for people of color in a major motion picture, Black Panther won countless awards for it’s cinematic genius. Black Panther grossed over $1.344 billion dollars globally to date. The film received a myriad of awards and nominations. Seven Academy Awards nominations, including Best Picture, securing wins for Best Costume Design, Best Original Score, and Best Production Design. Black Panther was the first superhero film to receive a Best Picture nomination and the first Marvel Cinematic Universe film to win an Academy Award. It also received three nominations at the Golden Globe Awards, two wins at the Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three wins at the Critics’ Choice Awards out of a total of twelve nominations. Black Panther has also been named one of the ten best films of 2018 by the National Board of Review and one of the ten best films of 2018 by the American Film Institute.
Black Panther acknowledges and celebrates everything from traditional African society to African-American political debates. It depicts women of color in power positions and the brains behind the groundbreaking technology that sets Wakanda apart. Representation matters and this groundbreaking film set a new precedent that hopefully Hollywood and society continue to follow.
Works Cited
Eckhardt, Giana M. (2018) “Black Panther: Thrills, Postcolonial Discourse, and Blacktopia,” Markets, Globalization & Development Review: Vol. 3: No. 2, Article 6.
Johnson, Malia. “Exploring African Culture in Black Panther.”Info.umkc.edu, https://info.umkc.edu/unews/exploring-african-culture-in-black-panther/
Smith, Jamil. “The Revolutionary Power of Black Panther.” Time, https://time.com/black-panther/.
Thank you for this informative and welcoming context presentation. Your inclusion of the impressive and overwhelming amount of awards this production achieved really highlights the power of diversity in such a popular field in society, such as the film industry. I agree that the film Black Panther could and should set a precedent for the importance of inclusion in such a widely known industry that influences people of all ages.
Great Context Presentation blog post! Black Panther was one of the biggest Marvel films brought to screen this century. Black Panther didn’t just stand out becuase of the plot, but because of the fact it featured an African American dominated cast and was directed by an African American. This truly was a definying moment for the African American community in the film department like you mentioned. The film represented these characters as heroic and brave. As a result, this African American dominated movie blew up and made big bucks. It is very nice to see an African American based movie do so well in this society!
Hello, thanks so much for such an informative presentation. I was unaware about how successful Black Panther was and how many awards it won. It is disappointing how you mentioned that Hollywood isn’t know for is diversity, but I hope that this will continue to change. It will be interesting to see how they continue with this aspect of the MCU and see the diversity that will, hopefully, be presented.
Nice presentation Jaysa! I knew that Black Panther had received many awards and nominations but I wasn’t sure which ones, its pretty neat that they checked the boxes for almost every category of awards in cinematography. Black Panther was a great film that portrayed many minorotiy groups in a strong and powerful light, not only did we see black individuals as heroes, but we saw how even women were shown to be a source in the films plot.
You did an excellent job explaining this! This film is really special because it was one of the first major films to feature/star an African American actor. This is so important because African American people were finally able to watch a film that made them feel proud of their skin color because it truly showcased how amazing the actor represented them. It is great that this film was able to influence more films to include more diversity.
Good post on the background of the film. The return on investment is incredible. The main actor, Chadwick Boseman, was one of the main reasons of the film’s success. He was the perfect fit for the main role in this film. In addition, all the nominations and awards just proved how successful it was.