BLACK PANTHER CONTEXT

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

How does the setting of the film and it’s context relate to exploitation and history of oppression of the black community?

Black Panther is set in the fictionalised world of Wakanda and in the modern world BUT it does reflect the historical discourse related to EXPLOITATION

From 15-20th century, European powers colonised African countries, forcing their inhabitants into slavery, eroding their culture and exploiting their country’s resources.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

How were Africans branded and how has this attempted to evolve?

Africans were branded ‘savages’ by the European invaders, their cultures dismissed as ‘primitive’. During the early 20th century African-Americans attempted to establish a new black cultural identity through movements such as the Harlem Renaissance

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

How has Black Cinema evolved? And what has it consisted of?

Black cinema has traditionally consisted of issue-based social realism or have been ‘arthouse/prestige’ pictures. They have rarely had Black main characters, particularly in the superhero genre.

The Victorian branding of Africa as the ‘Dark Continent’ has not evolved very far. Very few film from African have reached the Western mainstream, and films like the ‘Blood Diamond’ and ‘ Captain Philips’, though featuring sympathetic African characters, still portay Africa as dangerous and barbaric.

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

How did the mistreatment of the black community in history affect political movements and how does this relate to the title of the movie?

The mistreatment of the black community led to particular groups such as African-Americans attempting to re-establish a black cultural identity- raising awareness of historical inequalities.

The film and the character take their name from a group of political activists: The Black Panther Party - 1966-1982

HISTORICAL CONTEXT

What was the Black Panther Party?

A political organisation influenced by the speeches of Malcolm X. It’s aim was to address racial inequalities and police brutality and the murder of black people. It was a controversial organisation due to its advocation of violent tactics and many of its members were arrested or killed in confrontations with the police.

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT

What was the film released to coincide with?

The film was released to coincide with Black History Month in the USA a time when the struggles and achievements and culture of the black community are celebrated

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT

What 3 elements of the film made it so culturally and socially relevant? How did it address race disparity in the media?

The narrative, choice of a largely black cast and the themes covered in the film are all culturally and socially relevant.

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT

How was film marketed as a cultural event?

Although Marvel films had regularly featured black characters, these tended not to have central roles and only a limited number of films in the superhero genre have female leads.

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT

How did it address race disparity in the media?

The #oscarssowhite campaign in 2016 had drawn global attention to the lack of diversity in mainstream films - Black Panther addressed this disparity

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT

Culturally, how does the media portray Africa?

Culturally, the media tends to portray a negative representation of Africa, presenting the continent through the use of terms such as ‘war’ ‘starvation’ and ‘famine’ as descriptors and putting forward a view of Africa as a developing country with issues.

SOCIAL AND CULTURAL CONTEXT

How did Black Panther create a cultural footprint?

Black Panther created a cultural footprint with the Afrofuturistic aesthetic and in dealing with the issues faced by the black community

“The very existence of Black Panther feels like resistance. Its themes challenge institutional bias, its characters take unsubtle digs at oppressors and its narrative includes prismatic perspectives on black life…” Time Magazine

ECONOMIC CONTEXT

What was the effect of the film being made by Disney and part of the Marvel Franchise? How successful was the film?

The film was a commercial success, making over $1.3 billion with eight weeks of its release. The fact the the film was made by Disney and part of the Marvel Franchise reduced the financial risk of the film despite the movement away from the traditional format. The fact that the film is part of the marvel franchise means that spin-off products such as merchandise, computer games and theme park rides, contributed to the films profits

ECONOMIC CONTEXT

What helped demonstrate positive representations and allowed the film to appeal to a global audience? What else helped the financial and cultural success of the film?

The narrative, spectacular imagery and majority black cast ensured that this film had a global appeal, particularly with African countries who could see positive representations of themselves in a genre where they were usually underrepresented. The marketing campaign and the launch of the film as a big screen event helped both the financial and cultural success of the film

POLITICAL CONTEXT

How is the film political?

The film is political as in it combines the fictional Marvel world of Wakanda with contemporary politics, dealing with issues related to the experiences of Afro-Americans

POLITICAL CONTEXT

What presidency did the film follow in the wake of? How did presidency affect the context of the film?

The film follows in the wake of the Obama presidency, which introduced initiatives to aid minority groups and the Trump Presidency which sought to dismantle many of these established schemes, including Obama care which gave millions of low income Americans access to health insurance.

POLITICAL CONTEXT

How did Michelle Obama respond to Black Panther

Michelle Obama recognised the political and social importance of the film, congratulations the entire team in her tweet:

“Because of this film, young people will finally see superheroes who look like them on the big screen… I know this film will inspire people of all backgrounds to dig deeper and find the courage to be heroes of their own stories”

POLITICAL AND HISTORICAL CONTEXT

What activist group does Black Panther link to and how?

Through it’s name and some it’s themed, Black Panther has links to the group of political activists, called the Black Panthers. Although Kilmonger's political radicalised is rejected

PLOT

Wakanda is a fictional African Kingdom which has avoided European colonisation and achieved a technological superiority through the use of a mineral called Vibranium. T'Challa must fight a number of foes who oppose him becoming King after his father’s death.

SOCIAL CONTEXT

What led to the #blacklivesmatter movement?

Worrying statistics about the amount of unarmed POC shot in the US led to the #blacklivesmatter movement which utilised social media to raise awareness of an issue which has often been ignored in mainstream media

CULTURAL CONTEXT

What is colonialism?

Colonialism - the belief that native people were intellectually inferior and that white colonisers had a moral right to steal resources and subjugate their population as they were ‘civilising them’

CULTURAL CONTEXT

How is Wakanda a wonderful portrayal of Afrofuturism and how does it appeal to black audiences?

Wakanda is a sub-Saharan African country shrouded in mystery to the outside world and it has never been colonised due to its hostile topography. It is technologically-advanced and an isolationist country. Wakanda appeals to black people because of the diaspora of the slave trade, it is a country where African culture has never been supressed

CULTURAL CONTEXT

What stereotype does T’Challa fit into and how does he also break this mould?

The character is borrowed heavily from the ‘noble savage’ stereotype. He is a black man uncorrupted by the moral failings of the modern world and possessing innate wisdom. However he is humorous and his character is humanised, filling him with aspirational traits.

What are the dangers of a singular representation?

A singular representation, lacking depth and plurality can be as damaging as a negative representation

CULTURAL CONTEXT

Who is Killmonger? What is his origin story?

Killmonger is the central antagonist to the film, he witnesses the systemic oppression of black people by the authorities. He is motivated to support and liberate black people around the world from oppressive governments. He is jealous of the wealth and liberty of the people of Wakanda. His plan is to use their superior firepowers to bring about a revolution in countries where black people are oppressed.

CULTURAL CONTEXT

What figure is Killmonger designed to portrayed as?

Killomonger is portrayed like this ‘to bring the energy of Tupac to a marvel film’. Tupac was a prominent rapper in the mid-nineties whose aggressive style and radical politics brought him to fame. However him personality was problematic and inconsistent

CULTURAL CONTEXT

What is the effects of the complicated representation of Killmonger?

This complicated representation not only serves as a contrast to the positive, Afrofuturistic representation of T’Challa but also highlights his flaws. Black Panther is one of the few films where the hero learns a moral lesson from the villain. By the end, T’Challa is inspired to share Wakanda’s technology with the rest of the world for altruistic, rather than destructive purposes

CULTURAL CONTEXT

How does the representation of Killmonger create plurality in the text?

The decision to make Killmonger motivated by a different philosophy rather than purely evil intentions, provides us with a plurality of representation that make for a richer text.

CULTURAL CONTEXT

What is Ethnocentrism

The tendency to evaluate other cultures based on the standards and values of one’s own culture, often leading to a perception of superiority.