Black Panther Flashcards
1
Q
Black Panther success
A
- Broke records for the highest weekend in the USA, also performed well globally
- Film grossed well over $1 billion worldwide, with 48% in non-US countries
2
Q
Historical context
A
- From 15th-20th century, European powers colonised African countries and exploited the continent for both resources and slave labour
- Africans were branded ‘savages’ and culture ‘primitive’
- During the early 20th century, African-Americans attempted to establish a new black cultural identity with movements like the Harlem Renaissance
3
Q
Cultural context
A
- Superhero genres traditionally played by white, male characters
- In 1990s, Will Smith and Wesley Snipes broke ground playing black characters
- Marvel films recently featured non-white characters but as sidekicks, and very few
- Black cinema traditionally consisted of issue-based social realism
- 2016 #oscarssowhite meme drew attention to the lack of diversity in films
- US/European news media tends to portray Africa as underprivileged, developing countries
- Victorian branding of Africa as ‘the Dark continent’
4
Q
Economic and political contexts
A
- Barack Obama (2009-2017) took initiatives that aided minority and women’s groups
- Donald Trump vowed to reverse these, gaining support from mostly white right-wing Americans
- He also insulted many countries and refused to condemn racist attacks in American cities
- Worrying statistics about the amount of unarmed POCs shot by US police led to the #blacklivesmatter campaign
5
Q
Significance of patterns of ownership and control
A
- Marvel became a subsidiary of Disney in 2008, who are the film’s distributor which makes it good for vertical integration
- Disney agreed to minimal creative influence over Marvel products
- New team in 2009 began developing T’Challa and lesser known characters
- In early 2000s, Marvel Studios began to produce films
- In 2013, Marvel signed a deal with Netfilx to develop series for 6 more characters (i.e. Daredevil, Punisher)
- Caused conflict with Disney, who had their own streaming channel, in 2019 Netflix cancelled their Marvel shows
6
Q
How media organisations maintain audiences
A
- Make a film into a ‘cultural event’ across a variety of Media
- Black Panther’s teaser trailers were shown between NBA games and special collaboration with Lexus shown during the Superbowl
- Crowd-funding projects to buy underprivileged children a ticket
- Film released during Black History Month
- ‘Welcome to Wakanda’ catwalk shown in New York Fashion Week
7
Q
Regulatory framework of contemporary media in the UK
A
- BBFC classifies film and video releases in the UK
- 12a certificate
- The film features very little romantic drama and no sex or nudity
- Fairly violent, but combat is hard to imitate
- Classified PG-13 in USA, similarly in other territories
8
Q
Process of production, distribution and circulation
A
- Teaser trailer released in June 2017 by ABC during the NBA finals, viewed 89million times on YouTube
- Most tweeted about film of 2018 with more than 5 million tweets globally
- Became the most-tweeted about film ever with 35 million tweets
9
Q
Cultural industries, David Hesmondhalgh
A
- Black Panther low risk film for producers (introduced in Civil War, comics 50 years)
- Operate a range of cultural industries, synergy
- Marvel films hugely successful
- But an Afrocentric film could be seen as a risk, especially outside the USA and Africa
10
Q
Media and power, Curran and Seaton
A
- Challenges Curran and Seaton’s idea that domination by a small number of media institutions limit creativity and variety
- Conglomerate model of Marvel more complex pattern of ownership
- How dominance of Marvel in the genre limit opportunities for alternative independent film
11
Q
What film in the MCU?
A
- 17th film in the MCU
12
Q
Who directed BP?
A
- Directed by Ryan Cooler
13
Q
When was it released?
A
- Released in February 2018
14
Q
What Oscars did BP win?
A
- Won 3 Oscars for Costume, Production Design, and Original Soundtrack
15
Q
What was BP nominated for?
A
- Nominated for a ‘Best Picture’ Academy Award
