By Jordan Jenkins
For the better part of a decade, superheroes have been perhaps the most dominant force within popular culture — and nowhere is this more true than in the realm of film. While this trend was certainly initiated by earlier films such as The Dark Knight and Iron Man, it was really only cemented with the arrival of The Avengers in 2012, which, in many ways, revolutionized the entirety of the superhero movie genre and became the highest grossing movie ever of its type. Ever since, the movie market has seen a never-ending torrent of superhero films playing off of the format it set.
While many of these films are considered widely to be “good,” and most experienced at least some degree of economic success, the market has faired on the side of formulaic and somewhat boring in the past couple of years. In many ways, a fatigue has set in amongst audiences when it comes to superhero movies, and this hasn’t been helped by the frequency of ones considered to be bad.
To anyone looking from the outside in, the 2018 film Black Panther would appear to be a simple continuation of this trend. Another movie joining the already gargantuan Marvel Cinematic Universe that will peak at release and go on to be forgotten in less than two weeks by society at large. Black Panther has managed to become so much more than that, however, drawing in more hype than any solo superhero movie in recent memory and shaking up the marke
t in the process.
Much of this comes as a result of the story it tells. It stars the Marvel comic book character T’Challa, a man taking up both the role of king in the highly advanced fictional African nation of Wakanda, and the parallel role of the warrior Black Panther. It’s certainly an environment and story that has yet to be touched on in full before. Outside of that, however, it represents a bunch of first for Marvel that have allowed it to expand its market. The Black Panther comics were the first to feature someone of African descent in the mainstream market all the way back in the 1960’s. Now, in 2018, it will be the first mainstream superhero film to do so. In appealing to both the traditional comic book market, as well as more mainstream audiences that aren’t typically represented within that community, Black Panther has attracted so much attention and excitement.
For sophomore Jonathan Gardon, much of his anticipation for the film was based upon the change of representation. “It’s a new type of hero that we haven’t seen on the big screen before,” he said, noting that it’s the first time many stereotypes and labels will be broken on film.
All this anticipation led up to my 7:30 showing on Thursday evening, which was sold out and included a diverse audience of fans all excited to see a beloved character featured on the big screen. It was very much an event in the way that opening screenings for franchises like Star Wars and Harry Potter are. Hype was in the air, and coming out of the movie, I think much of this hype was well deserved. Was it the monumental, history-changing film that many a Twitter users wanted it to be? Probably not. It was, however, an excellent movie in all aspects that manages to play the typical comic book movie formula in a way that makes it exciting once again, while also tying in a surprisingly complex commentary on issues of politics.
Firstly, the world Black Panther presents, particularly surrounding the nation of Wakanda, is engrossing in how it ties together authentic representation of African culture with futuristic, science fiction, and fantasy elements. It also makes sure that nearly all of the primary characters are distinct and have clear, although complicated, motivations that defy the typical tropes and roles of the genre.
Furthermore, the movie is explicitly political in a way that is done well. Issues of nationalism, oppression, and the idea of global responsibility are all touched on in a layered fashion. The conflict that makes up the story is very much a conflict of these ideas, and the end message is one that I think applies universally.
Senior Avery Alfred had similar feelings, saying, “I think the film was well worth the hype. I’ve seen tons of movies, especially Marvel moves and this was hands down the best one I’ve seen.” For her, everything from the cinematography to the set design could be described as flawless.
To conclude, I definitely recommend this movie to just about anyone looking to have a good time. Outside of the hype and the social significance that many have defined it by, it’s just a really good movie.