Paper 1 Section B Film Marketing Black Panther

 What made it successful?

Black Panther is the 17th film in the "Marvel Cinematic Universe" the highest grossing franchise in history. The film officially introduced the Marvel Cinematic Universe to the fictional African nation of Wakanda which is also a secret technological and advanced civilisation . It added depth to the superhero that is Black Panther as he fights for his people and country. Another reason why the film was global triumph is because the Sci-Fi genre has been dominated by white male protagonists for decades. When ethnic minorities are portrayed in superhero movies they are often the sidekick and not the main character. This relates to Steve Neale's Genre theory as the audience are familiar with this particular type of structure in the film industry and that is what they enjoy watching. However, Black Panther does not conform to this stereotypical set up with the film having a black antagonist and main character which would intrigue people of all backgrounds who have not witnessed this before. This is exactly what happened as up to 48% of the films grossing came from an international audience.

Product Context

Black Panther is the 17th film in the "Marvel Cinematic Universe," the highest grossing film in the franchise history. It was directed by Ryan Coogler (Creed) and was released February 2018. The film introduces the audience to the fictional African Kingdom of Wakanda which has avoided European colonization and achieved a technological superiority through the use of a mineral called vibranium. It was produced by Marvel Studios a famous comic book brand that is also a subsidiary of the Walt Disney Company.

Historical Context 

From the 15th-20th century, European powers colonised African countries and exploited the continent for its resources and people. During the early 20th century African Americans attempted to establish a new black cultural identity with movements such as the Harlem Renaissance. The Black Panther Party (October 1966-1982) was a political activist group established initially to provide armed monitoring of police behaviour in the US.

Cultural Context

The Sci-Fi and Superhero genres have traditionally been dominated by white, male characters. In the 1990s, Will Smith and Wesley Snipes did break ground playing black characters. Although, superhero films rarely feature African American actors in lead roles. Black cinema has traditionally consisted of issues-based social realism (e.g Spike Lee's films). Blade (1998) is one of the few superhero films to have a black main character. US/European news media tends to portray Africa as under privileged, developing continent focusing on civil wars, famine and wars.  

Afro Futurism and Black Futurism

Afro futurism is a literary and musical movement that explores black literary and musical movement that explores black identity, culture and struggles. Black Panther is directly related to this movement as it reveals a black leaders role in a world largely controlled by white dominated power structures.

Economic and Political Context

Barack Obama (2009-2017), America's first African American president created initiatives that supported minority groups. Worrying statistics about the amount of unarmed people of colour shot by US police lead to the #blacklivesmatter.