Marveling over “Black Panther”
Students attended a movie night co-hosted but the Black Student Resource Center and Torero Board Program.
Some may wonder what it would be like to live in a technologically advanced society that isolates itself by posing as a developing nation. “Black Panther” gives viewers the virtual chance to fulfill those desires. The main character T’Challa returns home to Wakanda (a fictional African nation) to succeed the throne after the death of his father, the king of Wakanda. T’Challa’s strength is tested when a powerful, old enemy appears and puts the fate of Wakanda and the entire world in danger.
“Black Panther” is an American superhero film released Feb. 16, 2018. According to Forbes, “Black Panther” earned $400 million in the 10 days after its release, which makes it the third-fastest grosser of all time to get to $400 million, just behind “Jurassic World” ($404 million) and “The Force Awakens” ($540 million). Over the weekend, the film surpassed “Star Wars” in total sales. As stated by Forbes, “Black Panther” has the potential to be the second-biggest superhero movie and the biggest solo superhero grosser ever in North America.
Senior Jacqueline Almeida found the timing of the film’s release to be appropriately aligned with the current state of politics in the United States, which allowed for the potential to make it highly relatable to the audience.
“I think being under the Marvel name and having introduced the Black Panther in a previous movie brought some hype, but I also think the timing in the release of this movie helped,” Almeida said. “In the current political climate, minorities don’t feel safe and as a result I think we’re seeing a bigger push for activism as a society, and I think this movie sort of reflects that as much as a superhero movie can. A lot of people are looking to support minorities and those that feel under attack in the current political climate and presidential administration, so I think that it was a good time to release this movie.”
Jesse Mills, chair and associate professor of the ethnic studies department, spoke about the direct and indirect messages throughout the film.
“The film has messages of black and African strength, equality, humanity, power, and black women’s power,” Mills said. “I think the most important themes, centering Africa and centering black identity and culture, are just that there is strength, there’s a vision of justice, there is a vision of humanity that is very powerful coming from an African perspective. It also has overtones about justice — ones about kind of like what world we do live in versus what kind we should live in — just like most other superhero movies.”
As one of the first superhero films with a black protagonist, the film had symbolic significance that Mills acknowledged.
“I believe that the celebration of the cultural and identity aspects that African Americans do still resonate with is part of what brings community together,” Mills said. “It’s part of why the box office was so successful. It has a very strong grounding and a timely and needed message in a timely and needed set of symbols for African Americans today.”
However, Mills mentioned that the film’s messages should not be intended for just one demographic.
“I wouldn’t say (the film is exclusively for) African Americans,” Mills said. “I think people in general are really sick of the misogynist, racist, sexist, classist piece that’s going on and predominates our society now.”
As with any complex film, what qualifies it as successful is up for interpretation, and is not limited to any one factor. Senior Tadzio Dlugolecki as well as Almeida offered their perspectives on the film’s success.
Dlugolecki credits part of the success of “Black Panther” to the widely popular soundtrack produced by rapper Kendrick Lamar.
“Once I heard about Kendrick, I became very interested in the release,” Dlugolecki said. “The movie had been on my radar for some time due to the previews. Then a couple weeks before the launch of the film I read that Kendrick had been appointed to produce the soundtrack. Apparently he was brought on initially to just make one track, but then he and the director hit it off and he really became invested in the project.”
It was not only the presence of impeccable music, but also the direction of the film that impressed Dlugolecki.
“Without a doubt ‘Black Panther’ broke the mold of the typical box-office hit,” Dlugolecki said. “I think a large part of that is due to the director, Ryan Coogler. Including ‘Black Panther,’ he has directed a grand total of three films. His first two films were dramas, so I think he had a fresh perspective on the typical superhero movie. Clearly that has paid off.”
Like Mills, Dlugolecki picked up on some of the indirect messages interwoven within the plot.
“One that I picked up on was the prosperous nations should use their wealth to help their less-fortunate neighbors, as opposed to keeping it all for themselves,” Dlugolecki said. “In the film, Wakanda was the example of a wealthy and powerful nation, but the same could easily be applied to the United States.”
Most Marvel films follow the same mold, but “Black Panther” was able to differentiate itself from its predecessors.
“The hero and villain were much more nuanced in their character,” Dlugolecki said. “The typical superhero movie is black and white — there’s a good guy and then there’s a bad guy, simple as that. However, in real life things are rarely so clear-cut. So I was very happy to see that the movie didn’t perpetuate these archetypes. I was also impressed by the level of character development in the film. It was so effective — I really did feel for the villain.”
Critics claim that the film is a force to be reckoned with because it destroys Hollywood’s long-held perception that movies with black leads don’t perform as well as ones with white leads.
“In the same way ‘Wonder Woman’ showed moviemakers that a female superhero lead can make a ton of money. I think ‘Black Panther’ will show people that films that star black people can too (make a lot of money),” Almeida said. Big, starring roles almost always go to white people, and I hope this movie can inspire a change that leads to a more diverse casting in Hollywood.”
While on The Daily Show, actress Lupita Nyong’o, who plays Nakia in “Black Panther,” commented on the fact that none of the cast has straight hair in the film. She claimed, “Before the advent of the white man, black people on the continent were doing all sorts of things with their hair. The idea of extensions and all that is not new. But the shaming or rejecting of kinks and curls is new. That did come with the white man. And so in the story, Wakanda is a country that’s never been colonized. So they embrace themselves. They have their own sense of what is beautiful.”
Mills echoed Nyong’o’s sentiment and explained the historical significance of such a hairstyle.
“It’s not an issue just in Africa, it’s an issue in other communities as well,” Mills said. “Straightening of hair is tied to Eurocentrism and it’s tied to racist ideals of beauty that blacks in this country have had to wrestle with constantly. Blacks are not viewed as beauty in this country and never have been, so that becomes an important step.”
“Black Panther” poses many thought-provoking scenes and messages for discussion. The film contains timely messages such as the need for activism in what could be deemed a hostile political climate. What makes the film stand apart from its other Marvel precursors is the film’s potential to become more than just another superhero movie — to be a cultural moment.