Marvel’s “Black Panther” was hyped up for more reasons than one, but how does it hold up? Here’s what APU students think.
Black Panther received much hype prior to its release on Feb. 16. Even as a Marvel franchise film, the excitement surrounding Black Panther was distinct because of its significance to the black community.
In celebration of the movie, Azusa Pacific’s Black Student Association (BSA) rented out a theater at the local cinema so students could all see it together. Amanda Dixon, junior criminal justice major and BSA vice president, shared that she sees the movie as a celebration of their heritage, an acknowledgement of their oppression and an example of representation in media.
“Black Panther is beautiful because it’s about black people portrayed not only as superheroes but as royalty. It’s the first time I’ve seen anything like it,” Dixon said. “It’s history, it’s a celebration of our heritage.”
Nisa Seals, a junior marketing major, spoke of the power of representation.
“It’s definitely a rainbow of black excellence in the movie, from the actors to the characters they play,” Seals said. “Having black people represented as royalty…there’s something very powerful in that. It’s exciting to see the history and the cultural aspects of that.”
The movie picks up shortly after the events of “Captain America: Civil War,” centering on T’challa, the Black Panther, and his struggle to get a grasp on ruling Wakanda after his father’s death. Protected by an invisible force field, the world sees Wakanda as “one of the world’s poorest third-world countries,” while in actuality, it is one of the richest and most technologically advanced. Throughout the film, T’Challa debates whether or not to share Wakanda’s resources with the world as he sees more of the oppression people of color face.
Sophomore marketing major Malachi Smith said he thought Black Panther was a conversation starter about current issues in our society.
“It’s grabbing people’s attention, but not in a preachy way,” Smith said. “[It has a message, but] its means is entertainment. I think the success of this movie will set a precedent about the way black people are marketed to.”
Strategically released during Black History Month, Black Panther was set up to be a box office hit, and it did not disappoint. Earning $75.8 million on its opening day, as reported by Forbes, it currently ranks as the fourth biggest debut day ever.
Smith said even during the 1970s Blaxploitation era, where mass media targeted black audiences with stereotypical content, he felt that representation still left something to be desired. He said that in the past, whenever the media tried to present an “authentic” black character, it would reflect negative stereotypes.
“We’re not just the athlete, the best friend, the sidekick, the drug dealer or the abundance of things we see reinforced…[as] our ceiling,” Smith said.
Luke Cage, Marvel’s first black hero with his own series on Netflix, was an ex-convict who escaped prison for a crime he did not commit. The first black DC hero was Black Lightning, a former Olympic athlete who taught inner-city school children by day and fought gangs by night.
However, thanks to writer Don McGregor, T’Challa, king of Wakanda, has always been different from other characters conceived from that era. The original comics is a cult classic to comic book fans, one of the first series with a tightly-written story arc and complex characters.
McGregor had previously complained about the fact that “Jungle Action” was set in Africa but starred five white superheroes. In response, Marvel made McGregor the main writer for the “Jungle Action” comics. McGregor gave Black Panther the starring role and gave him one of the first multi-issue story plots in comic book history, chronicling the revolution of Wakanda and its dynamic king.
As a Marvel fan who read the original Black Panther comics, Umai Sushi manager Jamal Cavil, said the movie was one of the most accurate to the comics, giving it a score of 9.2 out of 10.
“They tied it into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and made it relevant to today’s society so the issues would fit the narrative of the story, but they kept the Black Panther-isms and tropes that actually happened in the comic books,” Cavil said.
While staying mostly true to its original narrative, Black Panther plays on Wakanda’s policy of extreme isolation and xenophobic tendencies to comment on issues like systemic oppression and privilege.
Because of this, to some, Black Panther represents a social movement. Jeremiah Harris, junior communication major, said the movie illustrated the effects of the oppression of people of color throughout history.
“[The fact that] they show the powerful, beautiful black people in Wakanda untouched by colonization and enslavement [and contrast it with another character’s experience in the States]…helps us understand oppression and privilege,” Harris said.
Smith said while he thought the film was a timely response to the recent social movements in society, the larger message of the film was solidarity.
“I think [Marvel] definitely made this movie keeping in mind the Black Lives Matter movement and the overall movement society’s made to becoming more woke,” Smith said. “There’s also definitely more of a solidarity with the black community now, so there’s now more…support [for] each other. I’m not gonna say its a bad thing, because it brings solidarity.”
But perhaps the unifying effect of Black Panther doesn’t have to be for the black community only.
One of the movie’s hallmarks is that it shows people of all ages, races and genders outside of the boxes society would put them in. Young girls build the most advanced technology. Women fight the fiercest battles. Good people make grave mistakes. Villains shed tears. Kings show kindness. Nations show generosity instead of hostility.
Perhaps more than a movie to appeal to certain groups, Black Panther is an appeal to humanity.