When you think of a super hero who comes to mind? Superman, Captain America, Spiderman, etc. We have seen Marvel create movies with all these different super heroes. What we see lacking is cultural diversity across these super heroes. The movie Black Panther is different than any Marvel super hero movie created previously. What aspects of this movie create such a strong cultural depiction?
As I watch this movie for the first time the African culture is immediately prominent, the overall main theme in this movie is African American culture. Ryan Coogler, the director of this movie, held true to African culture throughout the movie. The ability to present so much of this culture within a super hero movie is nothing like we have seen before. The entire cast within this movie are African Americans, that alone holds such strong message. Through the movie we see the certain clothing used, jewelry, body painting and the language. These aspects give viewers details and insight to the African culture.
Not only does this movie present African American culture in a strong way, but the way Coogler depicts African American women takes the cultural and gender diversity to a whole new level. In society we know the struggles of women, African Americans and even more African American women. The strength and power the women hold next to the men in the movie creates a point of view toward such a large controversial subject, gender equality. Overall for lack of a better term this movie is a game changer. Coogler has created something different from any super hero movie we have seen and it changes the way we see super heroes, adds so much cultural diversity to the Marvel and superhero community.
https://www.thewilkesbeacon.com/opinion/2018/02/19/the-cultural-impact-of-black-panther/