Black Panther debuted on February 16th as the #1 movie in the world, and it's gone on to show us why it is worthy of that title. The film is a marvel in every sense of the word (no pun intended! - are you sure?), and as a superhero film it transcends the comic world with its underlying themes, of racial equality, isolationism, and humanitarianism. This is partially why the film has been so successful worldwide, even for those who aren't necessarily into comics, or are unfamiliar with the Marvel Universe, the concepts in the film are universal and have real world applications that anyone can follow. Due to this, among many other accomplishments, Black Panther now holds the title of having the most diverse audience base of any film ever produced! People unaware of this have argued that Black Panther is only successful because of its popularity amongst black people; however, according to comscore.com Black Panther is actually popular across all people in a way never before seen in film history. It's audience composition thus far is 37% African-American, 35% Caucasian, 18% Hispanic, 5% Native American and 5% Asian and other races. This breakdown is not only unprecedented, but it is evidence of both the objective quality of the film, and the changing times that we live in [nice!]. 20 years ago a film as rich in African- American and women representation would never have been this popular, the film’s success tells us that it is giving people what they really want to see on the big screen, representation.
Behind the incredible numbers Black Panther has produced in such a short time is great casting, beautiful directing, amazing screenwriting, an awesome soundtrack, and an even better message. A few of these things have been done in other films of the same genre but this is why Black Panther does it better: In terms of casting Black Panther is a breath of fresh air. It introduces a plethora of unfamiliar faces to both the genre of superhero films and more specifically Marvel films. This includes Michael B. Jordan who has been a career good guy in films like “Creed” and “Fruitvale Station”, but beautiful adopts his first true antagonist role as Killmonger. Daniel Kaluuyaa, the star of the critically acclaimed “Get Out” also appears in the film as a respectable villain [is he in fact a villain? Or does he simply have conflicting ideals and loyalties?]. There is also a variety of new female faces that provide a balance in a genre that is typically rich with testosterone. Most notably, Angela Bassett who is entirely foreign to the action film genre also appears in the film as the mother of Black Panther. They all provided admirable performances that I believe is even more worthy of appreciation given that on top of fulfilling difficult roles, they had to forge an African accent throughout the film. These characters actually bring life back into a genre that has been oversaturated with the same few faces, like Robert Downey Jr as Tony Stark AKA Iron Man, Chris Evans as Captain America, or Chris Hemsworth as Thor.
Secondly, Black Panther has a script that reminds the audience that it is a conscious ["woke"?] film. Many lines in the film give a nod to pop culture such as the memorable, “What are thooooose?” line that just makes the film seem even more believable. This throws a balance of comedy into a film that covers some very real world issues. Not only is the film’s script cognisant of modern times and the real world, but it also is conscious of our human history in a way that is sometimes ignored in films. By this I am referring to what I believe to be the most powerful line in the film, when Killmonger is on the verge of death, he uses his last breath to say, “When I die, throw me in the ocean with my ancestors who jumped from the slave ships, ‘cause they knew death was better than bondage” [No lie, this line queued the waterworks for me]. This single line epitomizes the extent to which this is a socially conscious film. Superhero films are usually a thing of fantasy and are often disconnected from real world events, but Black Panther not only acknowledges our real world events, but it is actually ballsy [colloquial] enough to speak on what is now one of the most uncomfortable topics in our history as humans, slavery.
I would go out on a limb and say that Black Panther also has the best soundtrack of any film released this decade [Dag! That is a bold statement]. In terms of superhero films it certainly has the best soundtrack given that superhero films typically lack original music. The soundtrack, which was produced by Kendrick Lamar debuted at #1 on billboard, a spot that it’s held since before the film even came out. The lead single off of the soundtrack “Kings Dead” has gone platinum in the month since it debuted, and the soundtrack as a whole is rich which [with] current pop favorites such as SZA, Future, The Weeknd, Travis Scott, and Khalid, making the soundtrack almost as star-studded as the film.
In terms of the main concept of the film, it plays with the philosophical question of whether it's better to help yourself at the expense of others or sacrifice yourself to help others. I think this question is extremely relevant in the world we live in today because it is at the basis of both immigration and foreign policy. This is just one more way the movie connects to the real world, and I think it beautifully represents both stances, with Killmonger representing those who advocate for humanitarianism and the majority of Wakanda representing those who advocate for Isolationism. By the end of the movie the message is clear, when you have surplus, it is necessary to sacrifice so more people can benefit. But in the course of coming to this consensus viewers are provided with an intense civil dispute that I personally found more interesting than the pointless and inconclusive Civil War fought between Iron man and Captain America in their aptly titled film.
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